Le Romance!

Close your eyes and imagine the following scenario:

You have all your favorite YA books lined up on a shelf in front of you. Each story is different, unique and follows fascinating plotlines. Maybe these books have made you feel all the feels. You may visualize individual books if you like.

Now I may be wrong about this, but I don't think so. I can practically guarantee you that there is something the same with all of these books, despite the possible variety of genres and storylines/. Something that maybe made you laugh, swoon, curse, or feel any sort of emotion. Probably a good emotion though, because you love these books.

What is that? Romance.

Romance has become a popular trend within the YA genre that it's almost unthinkable to have a YA novel without a romance lead. In fact, tt's often one of the first things that comes to me when I get a new novel idea or begin to plan my next project.

There's nothing wrong with romance either! Who doesn't love books with a good romace on the side of a fast-moving plot? Or a a sweet swoony chick-flick? It's fabulous! But in some cases a romance can make or break the book. So let's talk about this trend, how to create a working romance via The Blender Method, and why it's such a big deal in YA.

YA Romance

The Blender Method

So you’ve decided to have a romance in your book! Good for you. Now let me guess, in your head it sounds fantastic. The Hero’s hot, and the attraction is instant. They work well together and you can’t help but swoon when they kiss in your head.

There’s just one little catch, YOU might love them, but unless you add some crucial ingredients, your readers aren’t going to love them. Enter what I like to call, The Blender Method. Close your eyes again and imagine your romance as a tall glass filled to the brim with a mouthwatering smoothie of your choice. It could be berry, citrus, or even chocolate. Doesn’t matter.  It’s delicious and compliments your meal (*cough* your plot *cough*) perfectly.

But it didn’t start out that way. No-siree, it began when you gathered up the ingredients and tossed them into a blender. Then after letting the blender chop and spin and whine, it became what it is now. And I’ve got the recipe for you: 

THE RECIPE FOR MOUTH-WATERING ROMANCE:

Start off with 1 Hero and 1 Heroine. These are the main ingredients. They can be any flavor, or proportion of your choosing. But make sure they are compatible and different, if only by a little bit.

Next, portion a heavy dose of Character Flaws. This is to change up and add some unique flavor to the mix.

Dice up some Conflict, be it actions, opinions or interests. But don’t forget some Similarities which will be used to soften the differences between them.

Consider sweetening the Conflict with one or more of the following ingredients; Respect, Consideration, Sacrifice and Caring. This will increase our love in the face of difficulty.

Once you’ve gathered up these ingredients, throw then into the blender of Difficult Circumstances. If you are feeling especially naughty you might consider flavoring this romance with Lies, Betrayal, Arguments, Stubbornness or anything spicy of that nature.

Don’t forget to top it off with a cup of creamy Swoon Factor.  Rough times might make it more believable, but a romance just isn’t a romance without that delicious taste.

Now you’re ready to mix it all together. Cover the top of the blender with a lid, allowing nothing to escape as it mixes together. Turn the machine on to the lowest setting  and slowly all the power to grow until the highest setting is blending away at full blast. If you are unsure whether the smoothie is just right, you may turn it off and take a taste. All the smoothie to settle before jacking up to speed again. This will allow the shake up to be all the more effective. Once your smoothie has reached perfection you are ready to serve and enjoy.  Bon appetite!

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PS. Don’t Forget to check the list of Romantic Smoothie No-Nos before you serve. Add any of these into the mix and it will almost always mess up your drink.

  Insta love/lust – this will cancel the differences you have thrown in and enhance the Swoon Factor to a horrendous amount.

  
  Perfection – Characters without a flaw will upset the balance immensely. Remember that conflict is a crucial ingredient to your drink.

  Unnecessary Conflict – This can come in the form of stupid inconsequential arguments, or other characters that pull apart characters.

DISCLAIMER: You may feel inclined to dabble with this ingredient. They are appealing and very easy to use in your smoothie. This is a lie. The use of these tempting beverages will only make it easier the next time you need a quick drink. We don’t want easy and quick. In the event of any of these ingredients making it into the blender, scrap it all and start again. There’s always a fresh start.

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With all that laid before you, it might look like an impossible task, trying to write the perfect romance. And I hate to break it too you, it is kinda impossible. It's not going to come all at once either. Sometimes ingrediants will be overlooked the first batch, and added in later. Sometimes this will be left our or changed to fit each new flavor. It's all up to you to make it the best smoothie ever, but here are a few baking tips before I go

Get A Taste Tester. Unsure if the smoothie is just right? Friends and "beta readers" are perfect to let you know if it's not just you totally in love with the romance you've created.

Focus On Love-Showing Actions. I once read a post by author Kasie West, in which she shared a tip on how to write good romance that I've never forgotten. She said that it's more important to SHOW the "I Love You" through actions than to be saying the words "I Love You" all the time. Oftentimes, it's the sacrifice and the way the characters interact that means more than kissy-sentimal scene covered in cheese. Actions speak louder than words right?

With those in mind, I'm off to revise my cheesily fun chick-flick and make the horrendous first draft of a romance into something swoon worthy. Still worried that your romance skills are lacking? GO WRITE! The more you implemant what you learn the better it will be. So go get that romance! I believe in you.

PS. Thanks to the minions of Tumblr for helping demonstrate these points.

They Did It, Not Me!

Hullo everyone. Legolas here with a thoughtful, rambled, somewhat discussion post.

So a few weeks ago, I went to a book signing for one of my favorite authors ever. Ever. And when I got up there to meet him, I actually had the nerve to ask, why he killed my feels at the end of one of his trilogies. His answer was so cliched and yet true. "I'm sorry, but they did it not me. It wasn't my ending to choose."

That's got me thinking lately about the writing phenomenon of  "They Did It, Not Me." It's interesting when you think about it, how often as writers we refer to our characters as real people. This used to confuse me back when I was a young twelve year-old writer, but lately I've really been able to see how true this is.

The more you get invested in your story, the more you write and develop it in your brain, and the more real your characters become to you. Right? Sometimes I've even had characters be the first thing that shows up. It's almost like we've got this psychic connection.

Such as my Pinterest board SKYLAR SAYS. When I met Skylar through a pin all I really know was two things. A) That she was blonde and she was part of a contemporary story, and B) That she loved converse shoes. But that alone was enough to give me a peek into her story. And as I pinned things I felt represented her, I've learned so much more about her story. She's one of the most vivid characters I've ever had, and I don't even know her full story yet.

Has this ever happened to you? When you've just been so emotionally and physically connected that you know things about them that you didn't know? That things show up and you just feel that it belongs with that protaganist? Hands down it's a wonderful feeling. That's writing at it's core. When it's not just telling your story, but feeling and knowing your story. It's more than words and it needs to be.

Which brings me to thinking about the "They Did It"  part. Once we know THEM and can begin to discover who they are without having to make things up, that's where it happens. For instance, I wrote a first draft and I produced a character that I loved. She was my baby and she character that brought out so much in my protaganist. And yet...she had to go. She needed to die. And I didn't give it a second thought. My friends protested loudly, but nope. I knew that was her story, and I was okay with that. It got the MC where I wanted her, and it just needed to happen. Yeah, I'm sad, especially since she's a marksmen herself, but it's her story, and it would be wrong otherwise. 

Okay, so what if you don't have that THEY part? What if you've never felt this inner connection? You're probably gonna need to find it, is my guess. So how do you go about this character discovery? Well there are many ways. I've heard lots of tips for these kinds of things and I'm just gonna mention a few.

Visualize It - This is my way! If you're a visual learner, chances are that's how you connect! Surf Tumblr or Pinterest for things you already know about your story. Create places to bunch them together and keep a stock. [hence why Pinterest is so great for writers] However you learn, is probably gonna be the best way to discover you character.

Think It - Go somewhere public and sit. Watch the people around you. Guess they're stories. Make some up! Imagine your character in their place. Would they react more like the shifty-eyed teenage boy in the corner over there? Or the shy girl? Who knows!

My dad and I used to drive by the same person walking to the same place at the same time each day. After a few weeks, we had his whole life story playing out that we could have written a book about him. Maybe we will!

Write It - So maybe you're not a visual learner. Maybe you need to pick a random and totally bizarre scenario and write a few different reactions to it. I did this once, and it was interesting to see what I came up with. Need a prompt?

• Your protagonist finds her/himself trapped during an Indiana Jones like mission. He or She is lowered by a rope to the ground and lands in a big pile of sticky goo. Write three scenarios in which your MC is afraid, annoyed, and curious.

• A giant squid just attacked your protag's cruise ship! Write three scenarios in which your character is terrified, wimpy and active(takes action).

• It's a sad day for your MC when the ex-love of his/her life starts to make moves on his/her archenemy to make him/her jealous. Write three scenarios in which your MC is feeling revengeful, bored and angry.

With that sad, I want to hear what you have to think! Tell me about your connections and how you find them? Do you think it's important? Let me know. And lastly, my challenge to you: Pick a character you don't feel connected too and DISCOVER THEM. Get to know they're personality. If you can't, they won't contribute to the story and they'll just be totally

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Originally Post HERE. 

They Said It, Not Me (1)

So, in the last post I talked about writing slumps. And I mentioned in the post, that one thing that helps you get out of one, or never get stuck in one, is to have supportive friends who can boost and encourage your creativity. It's totally one of the best solutions out there. But there's another thing that can motivate me.

Awesome Quotes. 

I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to quotes and funnies about writing that lift my spirits and keep me encouraged when it gets hard. So I'm going to share some with you. Because sometimes you don't need advice, just a little reminder to keep chugging. And basically, because them all and I can't paste a whole Pinboard on here, I'll come back every couple weeks with more. 

Way to keep it positive. I love the way this is put.

My knees hurt already. 

It's really hard to get that perspective sometimes. This is a great reminder.

*giggles* Hehe...okay

First, isn't this quote seriously eye-poppng? 

Second, Woot. All those grammar mistakes are worth something! 

This is a HUGE one for me. I love this tip. It's so easy as an amateur to get caught up in how amazing your writing is, but forcing yourself into a humble mindset like this, does wonders for development. 

And because we all need a little humor in our lives...

Okay. I'm gonna stop there before I paste my whole board onto a post. If you are looking for more, feel free to check out my BOARD. And with that inspiration get to it! Go write like the wind!