Now that I have all of your attention, let me really explain what I am talking about.
I have recently seen a wave of stories come across my desk that have the hero and heroine immediatly lusting after each other and in many cases, already in bed doing the horizontal mambo within the first 30 pages. Wait a minute!!!! Time to slow things down a bit.
Please don't get me wrong. I am not calling for a ban of sex in the books, but I do want you to slow down a bit and think about real relationships. People just don't move that fast.
O.K. Maybe I need to clarify that. People that are building relationships just don't move that fast. Sure there are a lot of one night stands out there but we are talking about relationships and romance novels. Remember the goal is to have a happily ever after? That means that we know the relationship will continue long after we close the book and move on to our next book in the TBR Pile.
What I am seeing, however, is a generally rushing of the relationship. Writers seem to want to get the characters together so fast that we forget the relationship building. As you plot out the story, think about these people as being real human beings. They will want to get to know each other. Sure, they may look at the other person and make some mental note about how cute she is or how hot his butt is, but that is as far as it goes.
I should also add that characters who see someone in a bar are not immediatly thinking about long term relationships, or for that matter, worrying that they are not ready to move into a full social relationship. Again, think about real people.
The key is to give us a relationship that makes us cheer to see them together. Give us something to keep us moving from one chapter to the next. Remember, romance is not simply about the sex.
Wow. That's a pretty sad commentary on our society that a literary agent has to remind romance writers that there is supposed to be...well, romance.
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tHANKS FOR THE COMMENT ABOUT NEO vICTORIANS. IT'S BEEN FUN TO READ ABOUT THIS BOOK, WHICH APPARENTLY FEATURES A HEROINE WHO IS FIESTY AND RATHER "PROMISCUOUS," AND MUCH MORE ASSERTIVE THAN I WOULD EXPECT REAL WOMEN IN THE 1800'S WOULD BE. i SUSPECT IN THAT WAY IT RESEMBLES THE NASTY (TO MY MIND) CONTEMPORARY HISTORICAL," IN WHICH READERS ACT JUST LIKE THE 2009 MODELS, IN PERIOD DRESS. dRIVES ME CRAZY, BUT AGENTS SEEM TO LIKE IT. tHIS UPCOMING BOOK DOES SOUNDS LIKE A FUN READ. wE SHALL SEE.
ReplyDeleteaS FOR iNSTANT sEX, IT'S SO MUCH FUN, BUT IN REAL LIFE ALWAYS LEADS TO THE INSTANT TANKING OF THE HOPED-FOR RELATIONSHIP. oNE PARTY FEELS TRAPPED, THE OTHER FEELS USED, NO WIN IN ALL DIRECTIONS. sO SAD, TOO BAD.
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ReplyDeleteThe book is already ranked in the 300's on the Amazon chart, and is not due out until August. It is being repped by the Linda Chester agency, by a Linda
ReplyDeleteachinist, or something like that, and her blog is the first place i saw the term "neo Victorian."Sounds like a real comer to me, in all ways. Some fun!