What’s it like to be a man writing romance? What’s it like to be a black man writing romance in a predominantly Caucasian and female romance industry? We are thrilled to have Wayne Jordan here to give us the in-his-shoes perspective on publishing in romantic fiction.

People always ask me – Since you’re a man, what is it like writing romance?
On one level writing and reading romance isn’t easy. I started reading romance while in my teens and I’ll be 50 next year, so it’s been a long time. I endured years of silent ridicule at school, college and even in the workplace because I read romance. For a few years, in the early 1980s, because I thought a literature major should be reading ‘proper’ literature, I gave up my secret fantasy…or should I say fetish.
But as any romance lover knows, it’s not easy to give up reading romance novels, so I returned to the genre. However, I was a bit more mature now, and found that, I really didn’t give two ‘hoots’ what anyone thought of my preference for romance. I was a man who loved reading romance!

In high school, I discovered that I loved writing and ‘had a talent for it’, said my teachers. Scenes from stories would flash in my mind’s eyes, and I’d quickly write them in my never-ending supply of notebooks. Like the stories I read, there would always be a beautiful heroine and a handsome hero. In the stories I created, I would become that hero and in the end too, I’d get my heroine and swoop her into a passionate embrace. Even then, writing romance came naturally. The words flowed freely from my brain. I created wonderful heroes and heroines, placed them in situations with intense, sexual tension, the customary misunderstanding, but eventually I’ve give them their ‘happily-ever-after’.

I submitted my first romance novel years ago (the late 80s), submitted a query and was rejected. Now I look back on that attempt, I’m not surprised that it got rejected. It was almost twenty years later that I submitted my first ‘fit-to-be-published’ manuscript to BET Book for their Arabesque line. I received the CALL. Today, I know a lot more about romance and have published eight books; my ninth, To Love You More, will be released in April 2012 under the Harlequin Kimani Romance line.

However, almost six years after my first book, Capture the Sunrise, went on sale I still feel like the ugly stepbrother of romance. Why? You ask me.

Because, I have two things going against me….I’m still a man (lol) and I’m black.

I’M STILL A MAN
I’m still very much a man writing in a woman’s world and that’s definitely a negative when it comes to writing romance. I’m not saying this is a problem with all readers, but the majority of women still believe that a ‘real’ man can’t write romance.
Have you ever heard these? Or even heard them echoed in your mind?
A man can’t write romance because:
• He would find it difficult to get into the mind of woman.
• He lacks the sensitivity needed.
• He can’t be emotional.
• He can write about sex, but he definitely won’t be able to able to write love scenes.

Crap! Or should I say poppycock!

For me, there are two important factors which define the ‘good’ romance writer. There are others, but these are significant.
1. An individual (male or female) who knows and loves the genre.
2. An individual (male or female) who loves to and knows how to write.
Those are the qualities I possess and have helped me to create the stories I write. I know I’m a good writer. But I also know I still have a lot to learn to become a great writer.

I’M BLACK!
In the world of romance, black writers are the ugly step-sisters! While the acceptance of and respect for African-American romance writers is slowly changing, it’s far from the equal acceptance that should be the norm.

When I started reading romance novels in my teens, I never found it strange that the hero and heroine looked nothing like me. In fact, since my reading at school was comprised of the works of Shakespeare, Keats, Dickens and many of the British elite, I didn’t find it strange at all. It was only when Sandra Kitt’s Harlequin American, Adam and Eva, that I realized that stories could be written about people just like me. In 1999, with the increasing number for African-American romance writers and the growing success of the Pinnacle Arabesque line (eventually sold to BET who created BET Books) I created a website, www.romanceincolor, which focuses on promoting African-American romance authors and their work. Since then, I’ve become a strong advocate for African-American romance. My dreams of being a romance writer changed. I wanted to write about characters who looked just like me.

The state and acceptance of African-American romance in 2011 is still of serious concern to me. The works of African-America continue to be segregated and shelved under the African-American romance, thus limiting the audience potential. While this is technically true, I’m yet to hear a category called Caucasian romance. For me, romance is romance and love is love and has nothing to do with the color of the reader’s or author’s skin. This can change and has to change.

I have the ideal solution. The same way black readers have been embracing books with Caucasians hero/heroines for decades, the reverse is necessary. I read a wide cross section of romance. I have a diverse taste and enjoy all. I read from several Harlequin series lines (Love Inspired Historical, Blaze, Romantic Suspense, Intrigue, Kimani Romance, Superromance, Desire and Presents). Along with this, I read from several other genres (mystery, suspense, mainstream). My favorite authors are Brenda Jackson, Nora Roberts, Beverly Jenkins, Catherine Mann, Mary Balogh, Maureen Smith, Tami Hoag, Marie Force… and the list goes on.

How many of you can say without hesitation that your reading is a diverse are mine; that when you pick up a romance it’s not about the color of the hero and heroine, but the promise of a story that will transport your into a world where love conquers all.

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What’s on your bookshelf?  What are your thoughts on the distance between the races in romance fiction? Do you have favorite authors who are males writing under a pen name? Do you have any questions for Wayne about how he handles the female perspective in his books?

C.J. Redwine continues her HolyCowAwesome story series on Monday.

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Wayne is giving away two copies of his July 2011 book, SAVED BY HER EMBRACE to to two lucky commentors

After dumping her cheating boyfriend, Sandra Walters doesn’t trust men…especially men in white coats! So when she runs into Troy Whitehall in Barbados, she vows to steer clear of the heart-stoppingly handsome surgeon. The passion they once shared is something she’ll never forget, but she isn’t going to let down her defenses again. Even if the good doctor has a bedside manner no woman can resist.

BIO

For as long as he can remember, Wayne Jordan loved reading, but he also enjoyed creating his own make believe worlds. This love for reading and writing continued, and in November 2005 his first book, Capture the Sunrise, was published by BET Books. Wayne has always been an advocate for romance, especially African-American romance. In 1999 he founded www.romanceincolor.com, a website that focuses on African-American romance and its authors.  Wayne is a high school teacher and a graduate of the University of the West Indies. He holds a B.A.  in literature and linguistics and an M.A. in applied linguistics. He lives on the beautiful tropical island of Barbados, which, with its white sands and golden sunshine, is the perfect setting for the romance stories he loves to create. Of course, he still takes time out to immerse himself in the latest release from one of his favorite authors.

We are thrilled to have Josh Lanyon with us at RU!  When you think of sexy, well-written, and riveting M/M romance and gay fiction  – Josh is the first one who comes to mind.  His witty, evocative prose and tightly woven mystery plots have created fans of anyone who picks up his novels.  (I picked  up the first Adrien English book and lost a weekend reading all five in the series).  Josh joins us today to discuss key questions to ask when creating believable male characters in your M/M fiction.

The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit

Probably the number one question I’m asked by women hoping to write m/m or gay romance is how to make their main characters believably masculine. Usually the primary concern revolves around the sex scenes, but the sex scenes — the insert tab A into slot C are actually the easy bit and any biology book should be able to tell you what you need to know if you’ve never actually enjoyed sexual relations with a man (or you kept your eyes and ears shut the whole time).

No, while I do totally understand why so many writers prefer to pay closest attention to the most obscure details of sexual relations in the interests of “getting it right,” it’s actually more when it comes to male psychology that most of these books fall flat. Alas, I can’t give you a magical tip for capturing The Male Psychology anymore than one size fits all when it comes to female psychology.

What I can do, though, is offer you five super easy tips for adding believing dimension to your male characters by answering the following questions.

1 – What is your main character’s political affiliation?
I’m not saying turn your character into a vehicle for pushing your own ideological agenda, but it’s fascinating to me how few characters in m/m fiction have any political thought beyond that of gay rights. Most of us identify with a political party and a set of political beliefs. Would it surprise you to know that there are gay Republicans out there? Gay does not automatically equal Liberal. There are gay socialists. Gay independents. Gay people who have never voted and don’t think beyond the next party. And I don’t mean political party.

Your character’s political beliefs probably won’t come up in the course of the story, but thinking them out ahead of time will give you fresh insight into exactly who this man is.

2 – What’s on your main character’s bookshelf?
This is another one that intrigues me — how few characters in m/m romances have ordinary reading habits. They either don’t read at all or they’re fabulously well read and spouting Shakespeare at the drop of a hat. None of them seem to own Kindles or Nooks. Few of them take anything other than a generic newspaper. And yet there’s no better way to get insight into someone than taking a peek at their bookshelf. Likewise, if your character is someone who doesn’t read beyond thumbing through Car and Driver occasionally or looking up a recipe, that tells the reader something too.

Ask yourself: is your main character the kind of guy who kept his treasured childhood favorites? Or was the last thing he read a high school textbook? Does he glance over the National Enquirer headlines while standing in the grocery checkout? Does he subscribe to Mother Jones or the National Review? Does he read Lee Child on long plane flights or Agatha Christie? Does he strictly read non-fiction? Any or all of these mentioned in passing will tell your reader something interesting about the character and make him more real. The character, I mean. Hopefully the reader is real.

3 – Does your character believe in God?
Most of us have some opinion on whether God exists. Again, it doesn’t have to play a role in your story, but answering this question about your character will give you a different perspective on who he is. Almost always it’s going to reveal aspects of his personality that you hadn’t yet considered.

4 – What music does your character listen to?
There’s a standing joke in the mystery genre that all hardboiled PIs listen to jazz. Usually classic jazz, at that. In m/m fiction, an inordinate number of characters listen to classical music or classic rock and roll. Nobody wants their character to confess to a love of musicals or Liza Minnelli or Snow Patrol or Emmy Lou Harris or girl bands or boy bands (unless the characters are in a boy band). But the fact is, almost all of us listen to music.

Think about how interesting you find someone’s taste in music when you’re first falling in love with them. We expect to gain insight into the person through their taste in music — and we’re not far off. Well, think about it. You want your readers to fall in love with your main characters, so it’s only natural that those readers would find your characters’ taste in music of interest.

5 – What does your character wear?
Clothes maketh the man and I’m not talking about boxers or briefs. M/M fiction is clothed mostly in jeans, tee shirts, kilts, and Italian suits. And, yes, it’s about that generic. There’s nothing wrong with any of these choices, it’s just that digging a little deeper will tell us more about the character. What slogan or graphic is on the T-shirt? Or does your guy have an aversion to free advertising? What colors does he like? There’s a difference between a guy who chooses designer jeans and a guy who prefers button fly Levi’s. Is your character self-conscious about his weight? Does he wear pajamas to bed? Does he pay to have his suits tailored? Would he rather be garroted than wear a tie? Does he use shoe trees? Does he travel with garment bags?

There’s a very good chance that having painstakingly answered these questions, you won’t use a single piece of this information in your m/m romance. But having this insight into your characters will make them both easier to write and more grounded and real to your readers.

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Do you struggle with trying to create believable masculine characters? Have you considered writing M/M fiction but are afraid to take the plunge? Josh will be here today to answer your questions.

Stop by Friday when Wayne Jordan, Kimani Press author, talks about being a man who writes romance fiction.

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Three lucky commentors will win a downloadable copy of Josh’s October 2011 release, MUMMY DEAREST

Drew Lawson is on the clock. He’s got twenty-four hours to authenticate the mummy of Princess Merneith and get back in time for his boyfriend’s garden party. What the wound-too-tight professor didn’t calculate in was a centuries-old curse, a reality TV show crew, and handsome, brash Fraser Fortune.

Drew just might not ever make it home in time for that garden party. What’s worse, he just might not care.

Josh also has DEAD RUN coming out on September 13.

Dead Run
Book #4 in the Dangerous Ground series
Contemporary, Action-Adventure, Law Enforcement

The boys are back in town — and Paris is burning!

For Speical Agents of the Department of Diplomatic Security, Taylor MacAllister and Will Brandt, the strain of a long distance relationship is beginning to tell after eleven months of separation. A romantic holiday could be just the thing to bridge the ever-growing distance, but when Taylor spots a terrorist from the 70′s, long believed dead but very much alive, it’s c’est la vie.

Now instead of sipping wine and seeing the sights, the boys are chasing a wily and deadly foe through the graveyards and catacombs of Paris.

Of course, it could always be worse — and soon it is.

How manuscripts did you write before you sold? Five. The first one doesn’t count though. That was my practice book. =)

How long was it from the time you began writing seriously and the time you sold? Oooh, tough question. I’m going to focus on the writing seriously part because the practice book alone took me a few years. I was probably writing (in spurts) for six or seven years before I thought I had something good enough to shop. I was submitting for five years before I got the call.

Tell us about The Call. Was there singing? Dancing? Drinking champagne out of a stiletto? There was shock. For sure. Maybe a little disbelief. LOL. I actually wasn’t home when Angela James called. She left me a message (which I still have saved) and when I picked up the message, I listened to it three times. I had to put the phone on speaker because my hands were shaking. In the message, she said she would send me an email so I ran to my office to see if the email was there. I refused to let myself get excited until I saw the email. The email confirmed it for me. It was also a special day because it would have been my father’s 80th birthday. So, I think my Dad sent me a gift from heaven. For more on that see this RU post. As a side note, the second book I reference in The Call post was also acquired by Carina. The book needed fairly major revisions, but I was determined to get it published because writing it helped me get through the brutality of grief.
What are your favorite Man Laws? I have a few:
Never mess with your best friend’s sister.
Never wonder if you should have thrown the asshole off the roof.
Never mess with another guy’s grill.

Was there a challenge in writing a man’s POV? Or does it come natural? I loved, loved, loved writing this book. It was the first time I really let myself go in terms of finding the character’s voice and it was so much fun. The interesting thing for me is that the male POV usually comes much easier than the female. I have no idea what to think of that, (considering I’m a woman!), but I’m not going to analyze it. =)

Who are you dedicating your first book to, and why? My dad. He, in every way, represented strength and dignity and he never, ever gave up. When he believed in something, he fought hard for it.

After years of submitting my work, I was getting discouraged, but I knew if I wanted to be published, I couldn’t give up. If my dad taught me anything, it was to keep fighting.

Why do you think this particular manuscript sold? The hero. Hands down. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun with the plot, but the hero in this book isn’t your typical hero. He’s the sort of guy you meet and think “Yikes. What an idiot.” But then you get to know him a little bit and realize he has a huge heart and is extremely loyal, so you’re willing to forgive his unintentional slip-ups.

What surprised you about the sell? I’d been submitting the book for a few years and had been getting great feedback on it, but no one was willing to take a chance. I submitted it to Carina after a friend sold to them, but decided if they rejected it, I would rewrite the story. I love the hero in this book and wanted his story to be told. I had actually started outlining the revised plot when I received the call from Carina. So, I guess the answer is I was surprised the book sold when it did.

What challenges have you faced since “the call” you didn’t realize you would encounter? Time. Time has been my enemy for the last four months. People always say to have other books ready when the call comes because your editor will ask to see them. Well, believe it. In my case, I had two other books in the series and an idea for a fourth. Carina bought the second and third books, but wanted revisions on the first in the series. I immediately dove into those revisions. By the time I was done with the rewrite of book one, I received the first round revisions on book two. In the last five months I’ve done revisions on three books. At one point in May I was revising two books at the same time.

Let me just mention that in between all of this, I’ve had to get my website revamped (thank you, Carrie!), get my Twitter and Facebook pages up and running, create author accounts at all the various social networking sites and create a newsletter. Be warned gang, the marketing end of being published can be a full-time job in itself. Figure out ahead of time, what kind of time you’re willing to sacrifice from your writing. I promise, you will never, ever be done with marketing. There will always be something to do. You just need to decide what the most important tasks are because you will need time to write.

Is there anything you wished you’d done before you sold? Not really. And I say that honestly. I’m a big believer in learning experiences. Whether the experience has been good or bad, I always want to walk away knowing more than I did before. The road to publication continues to be a tremendous learning experience and I don’t think I’d change any of it.

What’s your best advice for writers who are still waiting to sell? I’m sure you’ve all heard this one. I know I did, but it’s true. Keep writing. When you finish a book, start the next one. While you’re submitting books, write the next one. Don’t sit around waiting for answers on submissions. Keep writing. Here are three reasons why:

My first book just launched.
I have a September 2011 release.
I have a November 2011 release.

Last year at this time, I was contemplating taking a break from writing because the grind of trying to get published was wearing me down, and then— bam!—I sold three books. That’s how it works. If you have books ready, you’re editor will want to see them.

Do you have anything else you’d like to share with the Romance University readers? Just that I think you all are a smart, savvy bunch and I’m so proud to tell people I’m a co-founder of this blog. We have the most amazing readers. Time and time again, we hear from Visiting Professors that we have great conversations at RU. That wouldn’t happen without our readers, so thank you all for making this blog what it is.

And last, will you tell us all about your debut book?
As if I’d say no. LOL. Man Law is about security consultant Vic Andrews. Vic lives by his Man Laws:
Never mess with your best friend’s sister
Never get caught
Never get attached
When one of Vic’s assignments goes wrong and the target selects Gina Delgado and her kids for revenge, there’s nothing Vic won’t do to protect the family he realizes, too late, he wants. He’ll accomplish his mission but he breaks most of his Man Laws in the process and almost loses his only chance at true love.

If you’d like to read an excerpt of Man Law click here. I’m also giving away a copy of Man Law to a commenter. And because this is RU (and I’m crazy about you readers), I’m also giving away a pair of bullet earrings. Oh, heck, why not? Let’s do a third giveaway of a bullet key chain.

So, get those comments rolling if you want to win one of the three gifts.  Psst…RU, Crew, I’ve teamed up with our own Tracey Devlyn and two other mystery authors for a NOOK giveaway at Romance and Suspense.com.  So, if you’re in the market for a NOOK, just click here for the details!

Man Law available at:

Carina Press
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

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RU Readers! Do you have a particularly manly man in your life? What are some of HIS Man Laws?

Join us on Monday as Misty Evans walks us through helpful pointers on writing a series.

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Adrienne’s Bio: Adrienne Giordano writes romantic suspense and women’s fiction. She is a Jersey girl at heart, but now lives in the Midwest with her work-a-holic husband, sports obsessed son and Buddy the Wheaton Terrorist (Terrier). She is a co-founder of Romance University blog. Adrienne’s debut romantic suspense, Man Law, will be released by Carina Press on July 4, 2011. Her second book, A Just Deception, will be available from Carina Press on September 5, 2011. For more information please visit www.AdrienneGiordano.com. Adrienne can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

The famous hardboiled writer Mickey Spillane, who was at one time the bestselling author in the world, once said, “Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.”

We’ve all had this experience, in movies and with books––an ending that let us down. As writers, our task is to never, ever let that happen.

Not as easy as the opening. I love openings. I can write openings all day long.

But endings? That’s the hard part. Here are a few thoughts that have helped me along the way.

1. Think of the ending as a final battle

Every ending should be a final battle inside and outside of the main character, often both. By outside, I mean that there are physical or circumstantial against the Lead. This might mean the forces of the Empire in Star Wars or the physical stammer of Prince Albert in The King’s Speech.

By inside, I mean a psychological battle that has to be resolved.

In Casablanca, for example, the real fight is inside Rick (Humphrey Bogart). He has spent the whole movie as the anti-hero, not taking a stand against the Nazis. Then the love of his life, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) comes to his saloon, with her husband, the war hero Victor Lazlo (Paul Henreid). At the end, Rick can have Ilsa back. She has consented to leave with him.

And it’s freaking INGRID BERGMAN! Talk about having your ideal within reach!

But if he does take her, he’ll be violating a central moral tenet of society. The writers set it up, too, that it will devastate Lazlo, thus hurting the war effort itself.

Rick has to make an inner battle decision, and ultimately sacrifices what he wants most in the world for a greater good. It becomes the most famous ending in Hollywood history when he gets an unexpected reward – the French police captain, Louis (Claude Rains) does not arrest Rick for murdering the Nazi major. Instead, they go off together to rejoin the war effort. It’s “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

So aim for that in your ending. If it’s an outside forces type of ending, as in a thriller, the Lead must find the courage to fight against strong odds. If it’s inside, the Lead must find the moral courage to do the right thing. If he doesn’t, the story becomes a tragedy.

2. The Q Factor

True character is only revealed in crisis. That’s why novels put characters through the crucible of conflict. Ideally, that conflict reaches a climax where the end is in doubt, the odds are stacked against the Lead, the final battle looks bleak.

The character will need some emotional push to get over the doubts and fears. I call this push The Q Factor. It comes from the character in the James Bond movies, the one who is always giving Bond his gadgets and telling him not to play with them. There is a very important reason this character exists.

Let’s cut ahead to the inevitable James Bond ending. Bond has been hung by his ankles over a school of piranha . The bad guy grins and says something like, “Enjoy your swim, Mr. Bond.” Then he sets the timer to lower James Bond into the pool of piranha and walks out.

As Bond is lowered toward his doom, he manages to get his thumb on one of his cufflinks. The cufflink turns into a small, rotating saw. He uses that saw to cut through the restraints on his hands.

He is able to reach into his jacket pocket and pull out a fountain pen. The fountain pen is, in reality, a device that holds a compressed nitrogen charge and shoots a small grappling hook and line across the piranha pond, enabling Bond to cut his leg restraints and swing to safety on the other side of the pool.

Now, if we had been reading along in the story and gotten to this point, and Bond simply produced those items for the first time, we’d all be groaning. How convenient! What a cheat!

But of course, it was all set up by the Q scene. Because we saw these items before, we are perfectly accepting of them when they come out at the right time.

In fiction, the Lead character should reach a point near the end when everything looks lost. This can be something outside or inside the character, or both. But he is, in figurative terms, dangling over a pool of piranha.

What he needs is courage for the final battle, the ultimate test. This is where the Q Factor can help. It is something that is set up early in the story which will provide the necessary inspiration or instruction for the character when he needs it most.

Luke Skywalker hearing his beloved Obi-Wan’s voice, reminding him to “Use the Force,” is one example of a Q Factor. Simba seeing and hearing his father in the clouds in The Lion King. The voices of these loved ones come back to provide an emotional lift, a jolt of courage, at a crucial moment.

Or the Q Factor can be subtle and implicit. In Casablanca, Rick finally decides to take a stand against the Nazis by getting Victor Lazlo and Ilsa out of Casablanca.

Why does he do the right thing? What triggered it? In an early scene, the Nazi major, Strasser, is trying to figure Rick out by questioning him. Rick doesn’t want to make waves, but Strasser prods him, hinting that the Nazis might someday be in New York.

Rick says, ” Well, there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn’t advise you to try to invade.”

We see here that Rick has good old American attitude somewhere down deep. Near the end of Act 2, Rick allows his orchestra to play the French national anthem at Lazlo’s request. Lazlo is doing this to counter the Nazis who have started singing their own tune in Rick’s saloon.

This is a Q moment. Rick is moved by Lazlo’s bravery. We sense a connection between Rick’s lost idealism and his admiration for Lazlo. When Rick makes his sacrificial decision at the end, we accept that it has built to this point.

In a romance, the Q Factor may be that moment that changes one of the characters so they can truly love. Scarlett sees Ashley as he is, after Melanie’s death, and realizes that she has made an ideal of him. He never really existed at all, except in my imagination, she thinks.

And then she realizes the meaning of a dream she’s been having—it is her running home to Rhett. She now knows Rhett is the one she truly loves. Of course, by then it’s too late. Not all stories have happy endings. (I sometimes wonder if, in the first draft, Margaret Mitchell’s final line was, “Tomorrow will probably pretty much suck, too.”)

So a Q Factor can be a helpful way of thinking through a character’s inner journey. It’s highly flexible. It’s helped me tighten up my endings and might do the same for you.

3. My Own, Personal Method

When it comes to the actual writing of my endings, I have a method I call “Stew, Brew and Do.” It’s a little eccentric, but it works for me.

Stew

I spend a lot of time at the end of a manuscript just stewing about the ending. Brooding over it. I’ve got my final scenes in mind, of course, and have written toward them. I may even have written a temporary ending. But I know I won’t be satisfied until I give the whole thing time to simmer. I put the manuscript aside for awhile, work on other projects, let the “boys in the basement” (Stephen King’s great metaphor for the subconscious mind) take over.

I tell myself to dream about the ending before going to bed. I write down notes in the morning.

Brew

Then one morning I’ll spend a couple of hours poring over my notes and pages, thinking hard about the ending. Then I forget about it.

I take a long walk.

There is a Starbucks half an hour from my office. (In fact, there is a Starbucks half an hour from anyplace in the world). I put a small notebook in my back pocket and walk there, listening to music, not thinking about my story.

I get to Starbucks and order a brew—a solo espresso. I down it, wait a few minutes for it to kick in, and then start writing notes in the notebook about my ending. I write whatever comes to mind, without editing. The most original ideas for the ending happen here. My goal is to have lots of ideas and then choose the best ones.

Do

I go back to my office and write until finished.

4. Resonance

Finally, when I’m in the editing phase, I pay special attention to the very last lines. I want a certain sound, a “resonance.” It’s not something you can formalize. Each book is different. But I often tweak my endings twenty or thirty times. I want to get something like Salinger gets at the end of The Catcher in the Rye:

It’s funny. Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.

That is a line that sums up the entire book in a few words and jerks your emotions at the same time. And it’s possible to get this in any genre. You just have to work hard for it.

But the work is worth it because readers will not only be happy with your ending, they’ll be clamoring for your next book, too.

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What book ending has stayed with you for years?

Join us on Friday for a Debut Author’s Interview with our very own Adrienne Giordano!

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Bio: JAMES SCOTT BELL is the bestselling author of Deceived, Try Dying, Watch Your Back and several other thrillers. He served as fiction columnist for Writer’s Digest magazine, to which he frequently contributes, and has written three bestselling craft books for Writers Digest, including the #1 writing book of the decade, Plot & Structure.
Jim attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver. He graduated with honors from the University of Southern California law school, and has written over 300 articles and numerous books for the legal profession.
A former trial lawyer, Jim now writes and speaks full time. He lives in Los Angeles. His website is www.JamesScottBell.com.
You can follow him at Twitter.com/jamesscottbell and on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Scott-Bell/108765742543789

Stories are not lists of things that happen.

They are transformative affairs.

This became clear to me one night when I was reading a bedtime story to my five-year-old daughter. In the story, five sisters had a picnic, then played dress-up, then ran around outside, then danced, then sang. Finally, my daughter sighed and told me she was bored.

“You don’t like the story?” I said.

“‘Course not!” she exclaimed. “Nothing’s going wrong!”

Aha. Yes.

Even at five years old, my daughter understood that a story is not a list of events; it is the account of a character facing a struggle.

At its essence your story isn’t about what your protagonist does, but rather what she is trying to achieve, overcome, or accomplish. Tension, not action, propels a story forward. So, one of the first keys to building engaging stories is to stop asking what should happen and start looking for ways to make things go wrong.

Key #1 – Create Reader Empathy & Concern
Readers will not care about your story until they care about what happens to your protagonist. And they will not care what happens to your protagonist until they have both empathy for that character and concern about her.

It has to be both.

Your protagonist might be sarcastic, but she must not be smarmy. She might be unhappy, but she cannot be whiny. She might do undesirable things, but she cannot be unlikable. Only when the reader has both empathy and concern for your protagonist will he or she connect on an emotional level with your story.

To engage readers in this way, you’ll need your main character to desire something your reader desires, but not (at least at first) be able to get it. For example, your protagonist might want to love or be loved, to find freedom, to pursue her dreams, to overcome the wounds of the past, to learn to forgive, or any number of things. But only when readers emotionally identify with that central unmet desire of your protagonist will they be drawn into the story.

Key #2 – Add Multi-layered Struggles
In the world of marketable fiction today your protagonist will need both an external struggle and an internal struggle. So, give her both a problem to solve (avoid foreclosure, slay the dragon, escape from prison) and a desire to fulfill (any of the things I listed in Key #1). These two intertwined struggles drive the plot and the character development forward.

And remember, the initiation of at least one of these struggles must happen on the pages of your story.

Depending on the logic of the story you’re telling, one of the two struggles might have occurred before the first chapter. For example, in my book The Pawn, you first meet my protagonist, FBI special agent Patrick Bowers, on a helicopter flight to a crime scene in the mountains. You soon find out that he’s still emotionally devastated from the death of his wife eight months earlier. So, the introduction of the external crisis occurs in the first chapter, but the introduction of the internal crisis happened eight months earlier.

You might explain one of these struggles, but you must render the other one.

Key #3 – Escalate the Tension
If the tension of the story doesn’t build as the story progresses the reader will lose interest.
Generally, the worse things get for your protagonist as she tries to resolve her struggles the more the readers will be drawn into the story. We want to see the main character get into an impossible situation, and then find a way out that is both unexpected and inevitable.

So instead of constructing a story around a theme (such as forgiveness or freedom, or whatever) build your story around a moral dilemma: What’s more important: truth or justice? What makes us different from those who do the unthinkable? At what point does intimacy require dishonesty?

Tension is built by raising the stakes, deepening the danger, and shortening the time available to complete the task at hand.

It’s all about unmet desire.

Think about this: in a romance story as soon as the romance begins, the central internal struggle of the two main characters is answered, their desire is fulfilled, and the story is over.
So in a very real way, romance stories are not about romance; they are about romantic tension. To deepen this tension, introduce more cultural or societal pressure to keep the couple apart, add misunderstanding between the lovers, create meaningful deadlines, or make one of them choose between saving the life of the other, or sacrificing him (or her) self.

Key #4 – Reveal the Transformation
When I was a sophomore in high school my English teacher told us that a story is something with “a beginning, a middle, and an end.” To this day I remember sitting in class thinking, So what? Everything does! A description of a chair has a beginning, middle, and end. But that’s not a story.

Over the years I’ve heard other teachers give this definition of a story, and, quite honestly, it’s not a very helpful one for people who are serious about improving their storytelling.

At its heart, a story is about a vulnerable character who faces a struggle and makes a discovery that changes his life. I like to tell people that a story is “transformation unveiled.”

So if your character is the same (emotionally, physically, relationally, spiritually, or psychologically) at the end of the story as she was at the beginning of the story, you don’t yet have a story; you simply have a list of events.

If your protagonist isn’t altered, your story isn’t finished.

In summary, create reader empathy and concern, develop meaningful struggles for the protagonist to overcome, continually tighten the tension, climactically resolve the conflict, and then show how the protagonist’s life is altered, and you’ll snag readers’ attention early and keep them engaged until the very last page.

***

RU Readers – how do you find ways for more things to go wrong for your characters?

Join us tomorrow to read an excerpt from Ann Charles’ Nearly Departed in Deadwood, followed at 8pm CST with a live chat!

***

Bio: Steven James has a Master’s Degree in Storytelling. He has written five critically acclaimed psychological suspense novels and taught writing and creative communication on three continents. Publishers Weekly calls him “[A] master storyteller at the peak of his game.”

Welcome back, Tawny!

I’ll admit it, the major hook for me in any romance is the hero.  I love me a sexy hero.  Alpha, beta.  Nerd, Soldier.  Teacher, biker, CEO.  I love ‘em all.  I read romances for the story, of course, but also to fall in love with the hero.

Or I should say, to fall in love—along with the heroine.

Because as hot and sexy and wonderful as the heroes are (and they definitely are, aren’t they!) it’s the heroine that most readers connect with the strongest.  And it’s the heroine that we, as writers, need to focus on to draw readers in to the story.

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever gotten in writing was from my uber-awesome editor, Brenda Chin.  She said that the heroine had to be relatable.  The reader falls in love with the hero, but does so through the heroines’ eyes.  She has to be empathetic—someone the reader can identify with in some way.

Does that mean the heroine has to be syrupy sweet perfection?  Of course not.  Does it mean she has to be a good girl, an average woman, a just-like-Jane-up-the-street character?  Not at all.

She has to be relatable in some small way, so the reader can feel an affinity with her.

In my first book, DOUBLE DARE, Audra was a bad girl in every way.  She was super-sex, with spiked black hair, wore leather and had multiple piercings.  She was wild, ambitious and overly-confident in herself.  She wasn’t the average woman at all.  But I received so much mail about her from readers who said they didn’t think, when they started reading, that they’d understand or relate to her at all. But to their surprise, she was just like them.  Not in any of the ways I’ve already described, but in her deepest fear.  Her need to be accepted and fear of chasing her dreams at the expense of the status quo.

Because really, everything else is just surface.  It’s the emotions that we capture our readers with.  It’s the character’s emotional journey that they’re interested in.

And what if you, as the writer, are nothing like the heroine you’re writing?  I can’t speak for all writers, but for myself, it’s all about finding that emotional connection. What does the heroine fear?  What does she dream of?  These are powerful motivations that both drive her, and that in the heroines I’ve written, I can relate to.  In many ways, their fears and dreams are universal.  They are the same fears and dreams that I have, that many of my friends have, that I’ve seen played out over and over again. It’s finding that emotional connection, as a writer and as a reader, which makes our heroines so wonderful to take that romantic journey with.

An example would be my current heroine, Rita Mae Cole, in A BABE IN TOYLAND, a novella in the December Harlequin Blaze MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE anthology.  She’s a bad girl (I have to say, I do love to write the bad girls, and even more those sexy bad boys).   She’s making her way home for the holidays by selling misfit sex toys, has no problem seducing the guy her family has the hates for, and is so flighty she’s never been able to hold down a job for more than six months.  None of this spells relatable, although it does make for some fun writing and reading *g*

It was her emotions, though, that readers can connect with, even if they’d could never-EVER imagine themselves selling the Tyrannosaurus Sex of dildos out of the back of a pickup truck to make enough money to buy their parent’s a gift.

Rita Mae is the youngest of three sisters, and has always felt like the biggest loser in her family.    No matter what she’s done, one of her sisters already did it better.  They are more talented, smarter, better.  She loves her family, but she seriously wonders if someone made a mistake at the hospital, because she has none of their gifts.   It’s her dedication to her family, and her fears and self-doubts, that make her relatable.  And because the reader can connect with that, they are able to laugh about the way she packages fur-lined handcuffs and edible body paint into Christmas stockings instead of cringe.

Rita Mae’s story, A BABE IN TOYLAND, is out now in the MUST HAVE BEEN THE MISTLETOE Blaze anthology.   I hope people will check it out and let me know what they think… did they relate to Rita?  I’d also love to invite readers to stop by and check out the contest I’m holding to celebrate the holidays and the release of my novella, A BABE IN TOYLAND.  I’ll be giving away the sweetest chocolate truffle ornament – it looks good enough to eat – and a copy of one of my books.  Details are on my website contest page.

***

RU Crew, have you ever had a tough time writing about a particular heroine? What gives you fits about character development? Tawny will drop by to answer question. And don’t forget she’ll give away a book from her backlist to one lucky commenter!

Join us Friday when Harlequin Super Romance author Liz Talley will talk about taking your readers for an emotional roller coaster ride!

Tawny’s Bio:

Tawny Weber is usually found dreaming up stories in her California home, surrounded by dogs, cats and kids.  When she’s not writing hot, spicy stories for Harlequin Blaze, she’s shopping for the perfect pair of boots or drooling over Johnny Depp pictures (when her husband isn’t looking, of course).  In December 2010, her ninth Blaze, A BABE IN TOYLAND hits the bookshelves.  Come by and visit her on the web at www.tawnyweber.com.

RU Crew, today we’ve snagged a fascinating interview subject, Alex Maddow, the hero in Tawny Weber’s September release

. Alex is here with me on a beautiful beach at the Sea of Cortez (near Baja California for the geographically-challenged

Kelsey: Alex, I understand you’re an astrophysicist. #1: What is an astrophysicist? And #2: What inspires a guy to become one? (We’ve settled onto a couple of colorful beach towels facing the surf, and I’m trying not to stare. This guy—with his killer body—looks nothing like any science nerd I ever knew in school!)

Alex:  (He leans back on his elbows, totally unaware of how this showcases his abs.) Astrophysics is basically the study of physics in space.  The project I just assisted Drucilla studied the interplay of cosmic strings, hydrogen gas and gravitational influences. My dad and grandfather were astrophysicists, so you could say it’s a family thing.  I don’t remember ever wanting to be anything else.  I fast tracked through school – I started college at sixteen.

Kelsey: You’re obviously a smart guy, which means you were a smart kid. Tell me a little about how other kids treated you.

Alex: (His auburn hair reflects the intense mid-day sunlight.) I never quite fit in with the other kids.  I had friends.  Usually kids on the beach, in the neighborhood who liked to play ball.  That kind of thing.  I was always into sports, so that helped people ignore the brainiac tendencies, making it easier to fit in.

Kelsey: Your profession sounds intense. How do you chill out in your spare time?

Alex: (He turns to me, pulls off his sunglasses and smiles. I knew it! Warm brown eyes that crinkle slightly at the corners.) I surf.  I spend at least three months a year hitting the waves.  Nothing brings life back into perspective than flying through the ocean mist.  It used to be, the only time I felt at peace was when I was surfing. Now?  It’s amazing how great I feel just being around Drucilla.  The woman is amazing!

Kelsey: You sound pretty well-rounded—smarts and surfing. So what scares you to death?

Alex: (He frowns and covers up those incredible eyes with his shades.) Following in my father’s footsteps.  Being all about the work, locked up in a lab somewhere, ignoring life around me.  I love what I do, but it’s easy to obsess with a theory.  The men in my family suck at relationships, too.  I don’t want to end up ruining the best thing that’s ever happened to me.  But my mom rocks, and she’s always been there to teach me balance.

Kelsey: I’ve heard psychologists say that men are often attracted to women who remind them of their mothers? Would you agree?

Alex: (Huffs out a little laugh.) Now that’s not an image I want to consider for too long.  I mean, I love my mom and all, but attraction?  Other than maybe their sweet nature, Drucilla and my mom are nothing alike.  Dru is a little obsessive about the work.  She’s more like my dad when it comes to that – totally focused on success.  I’ve been there, seen that, though, so I’m good at talking her off that ledge and back to the fun side of life.

Kelsey: What’s the one question you hoped I wouldn’t ask in this interview?

Alex:  (He ducks his head and then looks back up at me.) Well, I was hoping we could sidestep that whole ‘why did you almost ruin the best relationship of your life and blow it with Drucilla’ question.

Kelsey: (From the intensity in every line in his body, I can tell this Drucilla is one lucky woman.) And the answer is?

Alex: (Shakes his head.) Aww man, I really don’t know.  I mean, maybe it’s like Dru says, maybe I was so afraid of being like my father and  hurting people who loved me, that I sorta sabotaged things so she wouldn’t get hurt. But see, that makes me sound like an idiot.  I hurt her so she wouldn’t get hurt?  Yeah, really dumb.

Kelsey: Thanks so much for the interview, Alex. Good luck with that Dru problem!

Alex: Thanks. Later, Kels.

***

Okay, RU Crew. This is your chance to grill Alex. What’s really going on with him and Drucilla? What’s he doing hanging out at the Sea of Cortez instead of working in his lab? And feel free to toss out questions to Tawny as well!

Join us Friday when Laurie Schnebly Campbell talks about creating your hero’s fatal flaw. (Hmm…wonder what Alex’s fatal flaw is??)

Tawny’s Bio:

Tawny Weber is usually found dreaming up stories in her California home, surrounded by dogs, cats and kids.  When she’s not writing hot, spicy stories for Harlequin Blaze, she’s shopping for the perfect pair of boots or drooling over Johnny Depp pictures (when her husband isn’t looking, of course).  In September 2010, her eighth Blaze, RIDING THE WAVES hits the bookshelves.  Come by and visit her on the web at www.tawnyweber.com.

Wayne Levine chatted with some men about a very sensitive topic, whether or not they fantasize about other women while they’re intimate with their significant others. If you’re easily offended by

either the truth or crude language, today’s lecture may not be for you. However, for me the topic is like a train wreck—wrenching—yet I’m absolutely unable to look away.

Here’s Wayne…

This month I’m playing the role of middleman. Adrienne asked some male friends whether they fantasized about other women during sex. Being the bright men that they are, they either: refused to answer, danced as fast as they could, or benefited from some well-timed distractions or natural disasters.

And so, the RU ladies came to me. That’s my business. You come to me for the hard-to-get stuff, the info others haven’t the cojones to handle. This job takes real men…and real confidentiality.

Now, I have a wife. She can read. Though she’s not so interested in following my every word—after almost 30 years—with my luck, she’d read this. So I’ll just moderate this one.

I posed the question to the men of our BetterMen Community.  Below you’ll find their responses. Perhaps next month we can find out whether you women fake orgasm with your significant other. And if so, when and why?

Men, it’s all yours:

The question: Have you fantasized about other women while having sex with your wife or significant other? Tell us what or who you fantasized about and why. Also, do you have any feelings, positive/negative/neutral about having done so?

Man #1: I always fantasize about another sexy women while having sex with my wife. She could be a girlfriend, or her girlfriend, or just someone that I had recently come in contact with. Could just be a 30-second chat at the grocery store.

Anyways, we had a few sessions with a Pilates instructor who she [my wife] knows and we discussed wanting to have a threesome with her, but never did.  However, I’ve had plenty of fantasies about it while we’re doing what we do.

Man #2: This is an easy one!
 
After having sex with the same woman for a while, it’s the fantasy of that hot chick that you saw earlier that day or week that keeps us going, especially while getting a blowjob!
 
I believe men weren’t built to just have sex with one woman for long extended periods of time. But that’s what our society has deemed to be the proper relationship with a woman.
 
If it weren’t for the fantasy of fucking that other woman while fucking your partner, I sincerely believe that the majority of men would stop fucking all together, especially those married to out of shape, unattractive women! Although, I’m not suggesting sex with your partner can’t be intimate from time to time. I do believe those intimate occasions are sparked by either an event that brought the couples closer together for a period, or as a man, you feel your partner may not be into you any longer and you want to reconnect with her. Otherwise, most of us are fucking our fantasy women while having sex with our partners.

Man #3: Yes, I do this, but not very often, maybe 5%-10% of the time. For me it tends to be someone I know that I fantasize about, not a random person that I saw that day. Can’t really say why. It is not always someone who is really hot. I think it is more about the thought of something different that is exciting. My feelings are neutral. I think it is pretty normal, I don’t obsess over it, and I still have fun times with the wife.

Man #4: I have done it few times, and only when I have the hots for another women in our circle of friends (usually married, untouchable women). That’s the closest I can get to those women without taking any risk. My feelings are neutral and my curiosity to hear these fantasy women moaning and reacting to the pleasures of my lovemaking still remains. I have to watch out not to mentioned their names during sex.

Man #5: If I need to I do it.  Not too often because it distracts from the intimacy, but sometimes you just need to get the job done. 

And then there’s this:

Man #6: I do not fantasize about other woman while having sex with my wife.  In fact, it’s wild considering our very healthy physical life (or maybe that’s why)…any sexual fantasizing I do is about her. Maybe our situation is unique.

Man #7: At first I thought not to respond – just too busy and not interested. Well, after reading a number of responses to Wayne’s question, I thought is was time someone should weigh in on the other side. I do not use fantasies of other women when making love to my woman. I have chosen (it is a choice, not a “falling into”) to love my wife and am turned on by our intimacy. While the “physical” stuff is part of it – the far greater portion of the “turn on” is intimacy – the love I have for this woman. And, in fact, when an occasion arises (no pun intended) that I choose to masturbate, the fantasies of my wife are a far bigger turn on than a Penthouse girl – a Penthouse girl may be interesting, but it is the thoughts of my wife and how I feel when we make love that is most stimulating.!!!
 
So…, I do not relate to most of the comments from the men. I do believe most guys “have it all wrong.” I am 67 and my wife is 70 and I have had the best sex of my life in the last 10 years. My wife is dying of cancer, so the sexual part of our marriage has declined in the last months, and we are entering a new phase of our relationship. But my memory of our lovemaking will stay with me.
 
Thank you, men.

© 2010 BetterMen

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Whew, I’ll admit this was an intense one today! And I’m not completely sure which question to pose to our readers. So maybe some general reactions to the topic? And do you want to know if your guy fantasizes about others while in bed with you?

Join us Thursday when Jeannie Ruesch of Will Design for Chocolate returns for the final lesson on websites. This installment concentrates on multi-published authors and what they can add to a website to enhance the experience and connection with readers. On Friday, Theresa Stevens helps us ground flying body parts.

Wayne’s Bio:

Wayne M. Levine, M.A. is the director of the West Coast Men’s Center in Agoura Hills, CA, where he coaches and mentors men, and facilitates men’s groups. He also created the BetterMen Retreats for men, and for fathers and sons. In addition, Wayne is the founder of BetterMen.org, a life coaching and mentoring resource for men.

Wayne’s interest in men’s issues began in the early ‘90s with his participation in men’s work activities. His experiences with men’s groups, as a participant, leader and program developer, taught Wayne to “father” men and to support them in making difficult and important changes in their lives.

He earned his Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University/Los Angeles. Wayne also received his BA in journalism and graduated Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Southern California.

Wayne’s been married to his first and only wife, Ria, for over 25 years and is the proud daddy of Emma, Austin and the family’s menagerie of animals.  Wayne strives to be a better man, husband and father each day in Oak Park, CA.

Join Romance University this week as we cover the gamut from refocusing on your writing, whether men fantasize about other women, connecting with readers via your website and grounding those flying body parts!

Mon 7/12 – Crafting Your Career: Find out how a PERT chart helped Sally Bayless recognize her lack of writing discipline. She’ll walk us through the drastic steps she took to refocus on her writing.

Wed, 7/14 – Anatomy of the Male Mind: RU once again goes where few others dare. Wayne Levine asks some men if they fantasize about other women while making love to their wives. A not to miss lecture!

Thu, 7/15 – Special Lecture: Jeannie Ruesch of Will Design for Chocolate returns for the final lesson on websites. This installment concentrates on multi-published authors and what they can add to a website to enhance the experience and connection with readers.

Fri, 7/16 – Chaos Theory of Writing: Join us for Ask An Editor where Theresa Stevens helps us ground our flying body parts.

All Romance University lectures are generously provided by our Visiting Professors. RU is a tuition-free zone!

Best regards,

Tracey Devlyn, Carrie Spencer, Kelsey Browning & Adrienne Giordano

PS  - Want RU’s weekly lecture schedule in a cool new email format straight to your in-box? Sign up on RU’s homepage or any of the lecture posts!

Welcome, Dr. Debra!

A few days ago, I received a newsletter from my publicist, Annie Jennings, where she wrote of an incident she’d recently observed. She was at a bagel shop, and she saw a woman, laden with food and coffee, walk out the door behind a man. He didn’t notice her, and she ended up becoming squashed as the door closed on her. The man continued on, oblivious.

Annie freed the woman and watched as she scurried after the man. In Annie’s words, “She was gaining on him, little by little, but he did not notice. She could have been hit by a car right behind him, and he would not notice. I was horrified when I realized he was her husband.”

After I read the newsletter, I continued to think about the story.  For one thing, it made me thankful to have a boyfriend who’s a gentleman. Don would never squash me in the door. Instead, he’d hold it open for me. But he can still have those male moments, one of which occurred a few hours after I read Annie’s newsletter when we attended church.

As the service concluded, our beautiful, world-class pianist played “On the Wings of Love.” I started to leave, but Don, instead of following me like usual, stood watching the piano. I could see he was enraptured by the music.

Don walked toward the piano as if mesmerized, leaving me waiting at the pew. He never glanced behind him to see what I was doing. I stood there for a few seconds, remembering Annie’s story and feeling amused that a harmless and mild version of that woman’s experience was now happening to me. I sat down in our pew to wait until the spell ended.

These two examples illustrate something about the male brain that women don’t understand and often take personally:  The corpus callosum (the bundle of fibers that link the left and right brain hemispheres) is thinner in the male brain by about 10%, with as much as 30% fewer connections. A man has a harder time crossing his brain hemispheres. This means LESS information is exchanged between the two sides. However, this gives him GREATER ability to focus on a specific task, often to the exclusion of everything not relevant to him at the time.

Therefore, male brains are organized for monotracking. Men have difficulty concentrating on more than one thing at a time. For example, a brain scan while a man is reading or at the computer will show he’s mostly deaf.

A woman, with her thicker corpus callosum, has the physical ability to connect and relate large pieces of information. This allows her to see the “big picture” and remember more details. Therefore she’s good at multitasking. (She wouldn’t leave her husband trapped in the door.)

As for Don and I, if the situation were reversed, I probably would have said something to him before wandering over to the piano: “This is my favorite song. Please, wait a minute.” Or “I want to hear this. I’ll meet you outside.”

While this excuses Don becoming beguiled by the music and forgetting me, it doesn’t excuse the man who left his wife trapped in the door. I’ll bet he’s probably a man who often forgets his wife, not showing her the gentlemanly courtesy and attention she deserves. And perhaps her self-esteem is so low, she doesn’t realize she deserves better.

Thinking about Annie’s story also made me remember a man I’d briefly dated. Mike was a nice, attractive, intelligent man. But he also had a very male-focused brain.

On one of our first dates, we attended a Bruce Springsteen concert. As we walked through the crowded parking lot, threading through the cars, he kept striding away from me. I was tempted to stop walking and see how long it would take before he realized I wasn’t behind him. Even through, I knew what was happening wasn’t about me, but about his male focus on getting us into the concert hall, I couldn’t help becoming a little frustrated. I finally grabbed his hand, so we could stay together. Not a romantic start to the evening.

So, what does this mean for your romance hero? If you’re writing romance, you don’t want a man who loses his focus on the heroine. That means if he’s watching his favorite football team play a championship game, between plays, thoughts of her still need to creep into his mind. (And not just when he wants her to fetch him a beer or he’s watching the cheerleaders bounce around.) This is probably why we don’t see a lot of sport game scenes in romances.

On the other hand, your hero needs to have that male focus when it’s necessary and realistic for the story. For example, I’m often frustrated by books and movies where the hero stops to TALK in the middle of the action, especially if the scene is supposed to be suspenseful. If he’s trying to keep them safe, that will be his focus, not stopping to romance her.

And make sure that no matter how rough-hewn your hero or how tough your heroine, you show the reader that he treats her in a way that shows she’s special to him.

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If you want to learn more about men, sign up for my August online class, Understanding Men.

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So RU crew, what questions do you have for Dr. Debra today? And do you believe women can ever truly understand men and vice versa?

Due to the late post, we’re going to give away one of our RU leather pocket jotters to a random commenter.  Thanks for your patience!

Be sure to stop by Friday when Laurie Schnebly will be here to talk about the personality ladder. Sounds like some good character development help!

Dr. Holland holds a master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Therapy, and holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern California, and is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  She has twenty-one years of experience counseling with individuals, couples, and groups.

Dr. Holland is a popular psychotherapist, consultant, and speaker on the topics of communication difficulties, relationships, stress, and dealing with difficult people.  She is a featured expert for the media, and does entertainment consulting.