Ok, this one is a save in my tutorial file. This is not one of my stong points. I can do gratuitous violence all day long, but love? That's a big nope for me.
I'm so glad! The Year of Writing Dangerously is about cultivating a non-fiction writing practice. I'm enjoying it because my comfort zone is fiction, writing about writing, or journaling. The YWD gets me out of those ruts and into possible essay and memoir topics. Summer Brennan, the leader, runs it all through Substack. There's a post every day and so far it's been about establishing the practice. We're just now getting into assessing what we've written. I feel it's pretty low-pressure and I'm enjoying it!
I love this post! Thanks for the pro tips. Maybe you offer paid subscribers a “coaching chat” Like Sarah Fay’s office hours where they ask you questions.
Now that you've mentioned it--I'm noticing what people do. And some are live and some are threads. So I'll ponder. And AMA is Ask Me Anything. Popular on Reddit, one of my guilty pleasures.
I am always intrigued by the levels of heat in different kinds of romances. I tend to read many of Jody Hedlund's historical romances and she writes a sweet romance level with a hint of spirituality in her books. Some I enjoy more than others. There is only kissing and caressing but no sex scenes. I like how she manages to keep us engaged in the romance because she even has the lovers thrown together quite early. It all comes down to the intense emotion she writes between the characters. All the initial attraction from the longing looks to an accidental touch, to kissing and caressing, the misunderstandings, the resistance and the wounds that hold them back, the kindness they show and the way they are there for each other when times get tough as they always do with all the obstacles thrown at them. That said, I do enjoy a well written sex scene that shows the emotion as well as the making love part.
Amy Harmon is another author I enjoy who doesn't write explicit sex scenes but there is always lots of intense emotion.
Lisa Kleypas comes to mind as being good at combining the intense emotion and a good sex scene.
I thought I was writing sweet romance with my novel, but I did put a sex scene in there. Those two just couldn't help themselves after all they'd been through. Haha!
Wow, Cathy, you could have written this post for me! Your sentence about the stages a romantic relationship goes through is brilliant. So good.
I tend to enjoy romance writers that lean more toward women's fiction, like Barbara O'Neal, Susan Wiggs, Jenny Colgan, Jenny Bayliss (love the Jennys and love the English authors).
I also enjoy Susan Wiggs and Jenny Colgan. Just saw another "Bookstore" book by Jenny Colgan at the thrift store that I added to my big pile. I think her bookstore settings got me keen on writing a bookstore in my book.
Years ago as a teen, I was obsessed with Catherine Cookson and read all her books. Love that theme she always has with the clash of the classes in 19th Century England and she always has strong women protagonists.
Ok, this one is a save in my tutorial file. This is not one of my stong points. I can do gratuitous violence all day long, but love? That's a big nope for me.
And if you ever do a post on gratuitous violence, I'll be there for it! Thanks for reading.
Thank you for this post! As you know, it fits in with everything I’m doing and need to learn. And tell me more about The Year of Writing Dangerously.
I'm so glad! The Year of Writing Dangerously is about cultivating a non-fiction writing practice. I'm enjoying it because my comfort zone is fiction, writing about writing, or journaling. The YWD gets me out of those ruts and into possible essay and memoir topics. Summer Brennan, the leader, runs it all through Substack. There's a post every day and so far it's been about establishing the practice. We're just now getting into assessing what we've written. I feel it's pretty low-pressure and I'm enjoying it!
I love this post! Thanks for the pro tips. Maybe you offer paid subscribers a “coaching chat” Like Sarah Fay’s office hours where they ask you questions.
Ooh! I like that idea! I've thought of having AMA posts but a live chat would be great too.
I just meant a thread, but live is fun. What’s AMA?
Now that you've mentioned it--I'm noticing what people do. And some are live and some are threads. So I'll ponder. And AMA is Ask Me Anything. Popular on Reddit, one of my guilty pleasures.
Great tips about writing romance.
I am always intrigued by the levels of heat in different kinds of romances. I tend to read many of Jody Hedlund's historical romances and she writes a sweet romance level with a hint of spirituality in her books. Some I enjoy more than others. There is only kissing and caressing but no sex scenes. I like how she manages to keep us engaged in the romance because she even has the lovers thrown together quite early. It all comes down to the intense emotion she writes between the characters. All the initial attraction from the longing looks to an accidental touch, to kissing and caressing, the misunderstandings, the resistance and the wounds that hold them back, the kindness they show and the way they are there for each other when times get tough as they always do with all the obstacles thrown at them. That said, I do enjoy a well written sex scene that shows the emotion as well as the making love part.
Amy Harmon is another author I enjoy who doesn't write explicit sex scenes but there is always lots of intense emotion.
Lisa Kleypas comes to mind as being good at combining the intense emotion and a good sex scene.
I thought I was writing sweet romance with my novel, but I did put a sex scene in there. Those two just couldn't help themselves after all they'd been through. Haha!
Which romance authors do you like and why?
Wow, Cathy, you could have written this post for me! Your sentence about the stages a romantic relationship goes through is brilliant. So good.
I tend to enjoy romance writers that lean more toward women's fiction, like Barbara O'Neal, Susan Wiggs, Jenny Colgan, Jenny Bayliss (love the Jennys and love the English authors).
Thanks for this great comment!
I also enjoy Susan Wiggs and Jenny Colgan. Just saw another "Bookstore" book by Jenny Colgan at the thrift store that I added to my big pile. I think her bookstore settings got me keen on writing a bookstore in my book.
Years ago as a teen, I was obsessed with Catherine Cookson and read all her books. Love that theme she always has with the clash of the classes in 19th Century England and she always has strong women protagonists.
Love bookstore settings!
Waaaay back in the day I loved Rosemary Rogers. She's kind of forgotten now, but wow could she ever write a good sex scene.