Part #3 of our chat with editor @HeatherOsborn LUV: Do you have any suggestions for others who want to write (romance)? What are common mistakes you see with authors who work with you? Heather: I would say than in order to write romance, you should definitely enjoy and read plenty of romance. If you approach it from a place of ignorance about the genre, you will most likely make some pretty fatal errors in terms of reader expectation, and I think we have all seen authors misguided attempts to brand their books as “not your mother’s romance” or acting as though they invented a sub-genre of romance that has been around for decades. It’s never a bad thing to do market research, so why not read what’s out there before you start formulating your own stories? As for common mistakes I see, excluding common spelling, grammar and punctuation issues, which are an easy fix, the number one error I typically see is an author starting the book in the wrong place. Sometimes in an effort to establish what they consider essential backstory, authors will write several filler chapters before the real story starts. A good rule of thumb is to start the story at the moment everything changes for the hero or heroine. Whether this is the moment they meet, or the moment the hero or heroine makes a decision that puts them on a collision course to each other, that is when the story really starts. Another common mistake I see sometimes is when the author does a great job setting up a climactic moment or conflict and then doesn’t know how to resolve it so the juicy stuff all happens off page. I know it’s hard to write your way out of this intricate maze you have constructed, but there must be solutions to problems, and a simple handwave or slight of hand to distract the reader from the action is a major cop out, and it’s my job to point that out. And I’ll offer one last quick tip for authors. Read your books – especially the dialogue – out loud. It will help you catch stilted language and make your writing much more conversational, which is essential. Unless all of your characters are stilted, uptight, and formal, the dialogue should reflect real world word choices, pacing and inflection, and when you read your words out loud, you will easily catch areas or awkwardness.

Posted by LUV Team at 2023-10-18 19:00:21 UTC