Thirteen Things about Great Romance Novel Plots



Here are some romance novel plots that always seem to sell with an author's unique spin on the story:

1. The taming of the savage male

2. Marriage of convenience

3. Hero and heroine snowbound together

4. Redemption through love

5. Amnesia

6. Lover blames other for some hurt to self or loved one

7. A difference of opinion on a critical matter

8. Lovers share a goal, but only one can achieve it

9. Secret baby

10. Heroine pretends to be male

11. Ex-sweethearts are reunited

12. Heroine plays nanny

13. Unrequited love

Which of these 13 romance plots have you written or would consider writing? What other romance plots are your favorite(s)?


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Description: Engage All the Senses

In writing descriptions of settings and characters, it is imperative to engage all of the senses of the reader. Descriptions of these new parts of the story warrant more than merely "outside" or "a solemn man." Describing what a place or person looks like is great; it's engaging the reader's visual sense. However, what you see isn't always what you get. The visual description alone isn't enough. It doesn't give the reader a full sense of what the place or person is like.

If you walk out of your house in the middle of summer to get something from your car, are you going to notice what your car looks like? Maybe, but you'll likely first notice the heat beating down on you as punishment for leaving your climate controlled house.

Notice what your characters notice in relation to their situation in the particular scene that you're writing and describe that. For example, a character who's extremely hungry and waiting for his lunch date likely won't notice the crowded parking lot or the row of restaurants on the street. He will notice the succulent smells emitted from the restaurants. How we sense the world is how we need to describe our fictional worlds as they relate to the characters in each scene.

Each new scene requires a certain amount of description. How much description is needed will depend upon the point of view character in that scene. What is he or she doing? What is his or her emotional state? What is his or her intention in that scene?

Subtle sensory detail can sell your scene to a reader. The description of a character opening an oven door who feels the heat push back her bangs can be more compelling to a reader than a mere visual description of what is in the oven.

This doesn't mean that each scene requires descriptive input concerning each of the five physical senses. Consider what the point of view character's senses might be telling him or her at this moment in this place. Find one or two details from the other senses to supplement what can be seen with the eyes. Don't forget the internal senses - hunger, nausea, joy, dread, regret, etc. Also be mindful that certain settings can elicit internal feelings in your reader, too. For example, those of us who have had less-than-pleasant experiences there can have our stomachs affected by the smell of a dentist's office.

Thirteen Things about Great Romantic Couples



Here are some of my favorite romantic couples:

1. Adam & Eve – They got everything rolling for us, at least after Lilith left the scene.

2. Mark Anthony & Cleopatra – What woman wouldn't want a man to die in her arms? (Some men more than others).

3. George & Mary Bailey – We should all have such a wonderful life.

4. George Burns & Gracie Allen – In the early 1940s, during the height of their popularity, George Burns had a brief extra-marital affair. He apologized to Gracie by giving her a new coffee table, and nothing more was said about it. However, years later, when Gracie was serving coffee to a friend in their living room, George overheard her say, "You know, I wish George would have another affair. I really need a new coffee table."

5. Rhett & Scarlet Butler – Okay. The relationship didn't last, but it certainly had passion.

6. Ward & June Cleaver – Ward always brought home the bacon and June always cooked it. Who could have wanted more in 1950s America?

7. Herman and Lily Munster – A truly happy goth couple.

8. Leonard & Mae Hickenbottom – My grandparents. They had six children, with two of them dying in infancy. As my Gram used to say, "We must have done something right. We were married over 56 years."

9. John & Yoko Lennon – We should all have a prolonged "bed-in" every now and then.

10. Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward – Hollywood marriages are known for lasting for periods of weeks or months, but this one is just short of 50 years so far.

11. Homer & Marge Simpson – Soulmate love in animated form: Homer tells Marge that with her, he feels a "profound mystical connection."

12. Darin & Samantha Stevens – True love with a touch of magic.

13. Hume Cronin & Jessica Tandy – Another Hollywood marriage of duration - 52 years.

Who are some of your favorite romantic couples? How have they inspired you?


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Mr. Brooks: Don't Go There

"Mr. Brooks" is a new feature film starring Kevin Costner, Demi Moore and William Hurt. I'd read some very bad reviews of this film and some mediocre reviews of this film before I went and saw it. I went, despite the bad reviews, because I've been a fan of the writers' earlier works. It certainly wasn't the worst film I've ever seen ("Manos: The Hands of Fate" still holds that honor), but I'd put it somewhere between the mediocre and bad ranges.

Kevin Costner plays Earl Brooks, an entrepreneur/owner of a box company in Portland, Oregon. He's a family man and a good citizen who seemingly has it all: A thriving business, a loving wife (Marg Helgenberger), a daughter (Danielle Panabaker) in college, and a spacious home. But Mr. Brooks also has an addiction, a dark and unnatural addiction. While by day he is seemingly the perfect man, by night he is the Thumbprint Killer, a ruthless serial killer who commits thrill killings that seem to be perfect crimes. The script fails to tell, however, of any reason for his compulsive, destructive behavior.

Although Mr. Brooks has kept his urge to kill under control for over two years with the aid of regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings (in his introductions, he states, "I'm an addict"), on the night he is named the local Chamber of Commerce's Man of the Year, his demons, manifested as a gleefully sadistic alter ego named Marshall (William Hurt), take hold. After the awards dinner, he takes his wife home and, under cover of working on his pottery hobby in the small shack that houses his kiln, heads out to commit a brutal double murder.

This time, however, Mr. Brooks makes a critical mistake, and is photographed by Mr. Smith (Dane Cook), the victims' peeping Tom neighbor. Recognized as a local celebrity by the disturbed Mr. Smith, Mr. Brooks finds himself blackmailed into committing another murder, with Mr. Smith as a tagalong. That's right. Mr. Smith has no interest in turning Mr. Brooks over to the police. He just wants to accompany him on the commission his next homicide. The serial killer has his own stalker. Mr. Brooks also faces trouble on the home front, as his daughter arrives home unexpectedly from college, and evidence soon surfaces that she may have a murder investigation of her own to face.

A quirky yet efficient millionaire heiress detective (Demi Moore) is assigned to the Thumbprint Killer case and zeroes in on Mr. Smith as a potential witness. The detective is trying to put her second divorce behind her, but she's not presenting the kindof settlement offer desired by her husband. Aside from the Thumbprint Killer, she's also looking for a revenge-bound convict she helped put in jail that just escaped from prison.

While the acting performances in this film were fine, the story was lacking. I'd expected a lot more from Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon. They wrote "Stand By Me" and "Starman." At first I suspected the final draft of the script may have been completely rewritten by the director, losing some of the writers' intent in the process. Then I saw that Bruce A. Evans directed the picture. This story is detailed, but it never digs beneath the surface in search of motives or insight. I found only one memorable line in the film, uttered by Mr. Brooks: "If I were here to kill you, you'd already by dead." There were some interesting plot twists in the third act, setting itself up for at least a guess-it-wasn't-so-bad ending. However, my hopes were quickly quashed by an ending with which I was unable to temporarily suspend disbelief. The script also left open the possibility of a sequel that I hope will never be made. If you simply must see this film, wait for it to come out on DVD.

Thirteen Things about Great Villainess Names



Here are some names I'd consider giving to a villainess. Some inspire me because they have religious meanings and I think it would be fun to create a character that was the antithesis of that. Other names intrigue me by their sound as they roll off the tongue.

1. Bella – Of Italian origin, means "beautiful." Bella sounds like someone who would be beautiful and cunning.

2. Francesca – Of Latin and Italian origin, means "from France." This is one of my favorite female names. It has such a beautiful sound to it that it would lend itself to someone who attempts to sway the hero from his goals.

3. Gertrude – Of Germanic origin, means "strength of the spear, spear maiden." Gertrude or Trudy could easily wield spears toward the protagonist and enjoy not following in the trail of the saint of the same name.

4. Helene –Of French origin, is a form of "Helen." An exotic sounding name that could make for an exotic villainess.

5. Ida – Of Germanic origin, means "hardworking." Ida could work diligently to thwart the protagonist at every turn. I picked this name because my grandmother Ida could be more than a little bit difficult.

6. Josephina – Of English origin, means "God will increase." A fine, strong sounding name.

7. Lynnette – Of French origin, means "pretty one."

8. Marina – Of Latin origin, means "of the sea." Water is symbolic of the subconscious. Many secrets and bad intentions lurk beneath Marina's sea.

9. Natalia – Of Italian origin, means "born on Christmas day." It would be fun to create a character that was the antithesis of her holy name.

10. Quin – Of Celtic/Gaelic origin, means "descendant of Conn."

11. Theodosia – I selected this name in honor of silent movie vamp Theodosia Burr Goodman, a.k.a., Theda Bara (in the above photo).

12. Veronica – Of Greek origin, means "bringing victory." I'm sure there are a lot of wonderful Veronicas out there, but I haven't met one yet that I liked.

13. Zara – Of Arabic origin, means "shining, flower."

Which of these 13 names would you consider giving to a villainess? What other names do you think would be great for a villainess and why?


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Description: The Establishing Shot

Establishing shots. They're not just for movies anymore. When you see an aerial shot of a particular location in a film, then a closer shot of the main character, it's pretty easy to assume that the character is somewhere in the area depicted in the earlier aerial shot. These wide shots are known as establishing shots and are used to give the viewer a sense of where the action of the film is taking place. Even in films or television shows that don't utilize the wider establishing shot, e.g., "Lost" in which a jungle surrounds the characters, it's still easy to see the context of where things are happening.

For the viewer to comprehend what's going on in the story, filmmakers must show their viewers where it's going on. Authors need to provide the same courtesy to their readers. They need to put the location of each scene in context so that readers can see, just as easily as the viewer of the film can see, where the scene is occurring. Readers need to know where the action is taking place so they can adequately understand what is taking place. If the author tells the reader that two characters are carrying on a conversation "outside," is it on a foggy day in London or a hot, humid day in Mississippi? The difference in context can make a huge difference in how readers perceive your story.

Even without an establishing shot in a movie, the audience can still see bits and pieces of the characters' surroundings behind them to give a clue as to where the scene is taking place. In fiction, readers can't immediately see what's surrounding the characters. It's the author's job to provide that information. Authors need to provide readers the establishing shot by giving a description of what the locale looks like, how many people are there and their relation to each other, what they're wearing, what they're doing, etc. By doing so readers can understand where the characters are and what they're doing. Failing to do so can cause readers become confused and leave the story. Provide a brief description of what the location is like, who's present there and what they're doing within the first page after introducing a new location. Tell readers early on where your characters are and they'll easily be able to understand what's going on and stay in your story.

Thirteen Things about Great Villain Names



Here are some names I'd consider giving to one of my villains:

1. Ambrose – Of Greek origin, means "immortal." Sounds like someone who would be very clever and dastardly, and if immortal, an eternal evil genius.

2. Boris – Of Russian origin, means "battle, fight." Aside from sounding like a meanie, the meaning even suggests trouble.

3. Bronson – Of English origin, means "Brown's son." Sounds like a sneaky, wicked guy.

4. Donovan –Of Gaelic and English origin, means "dark chieftain." Again, the meaning of the name hints at a bad guy.

5. Elkin – Of Hebrew origin, means "God purchased, God created." Okay, so this name implies he might be more of a good guy, but the name just sounds creepy.

6. Gustav – Of Germanic origin, means "stave of the gods." He could be a staff of one of the nasty gods.

7. Hobart – Of Germanic origin, means "bright mind, intelligent."

8. Jackson – Of English origin, means "Jack's son."

9. Jaden – Of American English origin. To me the name suggests a sneaky person who would lurk around and snoop on people, then pounce on them when they least suspected it.

10. Kromar – This is a name I created. To me, it sounds like someone who would be smart and evil. Krom (chrome) could be used as a nickname.

11. Royce – Of Latin origin, means "rose."

12. Wesley – Of English origin, means "Western meadow."
I know it's sometimes used as a hero's name, but I think it lends itself more to a bad guy.

13. Vann – Of English origin, means "God is gracious."

Which of these 13 names would you consider giving to one of your villains? What other names do you think would be great for a villain and why?


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Description: Location, Location, Location

Location, location, location. It's not just the be-all, end-all component of real estate. It’s what authors need to describe to their readers so that readers can imagine the scene. A lot of the stories I've read lately have been very heavy in dialogue. That's fine when readers are anchored in the scene with the characters and care about what happens to them, but readers need a sense of the world in which these characters are inhabiting to feel close enough to them so that they want to follow these characters on their journey. Readers need to be able to picture where they are and what's going on in each scene. It's fun to fill in the blanks for the author on some of the details, but readers need to be provided enough description to imagine the scene in their minds.

Some authors may feel that description is more of a telling than a showing. However, descriptions of places (and characters) are not telling. Readers need to be tossed descriptions of places and characters if they're going to know what they look like. Descriptions of the locale and the characters in a scene entrench readers into your story. Describe what the scene looks like so that readers are there in the scene. Provide only what needs to be described at that point in your characters' lives so that the story continues to move forward. Do this and it will become kind of a Zen thing: Readers will become one with your story.

A paragraph of description early in the scene embeds your reader in that scene. Readers are tethered to the location of the scene with the characters. Provide some description in every scene and again when the location changes within the same scene.

Let your readers know what's going on in each scene. By telling them a description, you're actually showing them your characters' world.