Romancing the Story: Writing Romance, Storytelling, and Book Structure

"You want to (write dark themes) in a way that's sensitive and include the dark content but also consider the impact." 

Sarah Hawley, USA Today Bestselling Author, knows how to occupy space in darker …

"One thing I love about the romance genre is that you're allowed to have those big, emotional moments....without apology."

Romance Author and former Hallmark creative producer, Bryn Donovan discusses …

"...each enneagram has a really unhealthy bar all the way up to a healthy bar. So for me, it's 'where did my character start on the bar?' and 'how do I get them to a healthy place of the enneagram th…

"For (the politican couple), it's almost a negotiation -  I know what I want. Are you able to give it to me? And just having that back and forth."

Romance Author Alicia Wilder created a not-so-secret,…

"...if I want readers to be able to identify with the character then I want them to be able to identify with the illness specifically...I can't be ashamed to put the name (of illness) on the page."

Ro…

"I think initially planning it out was kind of difficult. Only because...(the writer) is very descriptive. She says she can't draw, but in my mind, (they) just do it differently. (Writers) do it with…

"....(Screenwriting) is, to me, a lot more puzzle-like than novels...if somebody gives me a screenplay to read that is 140 pages, I know it doesn't work."

Award-winning author Emily Roberson explores …

"As a romance fan, we couldn't get anybody or any of the networks to buy into....(or) pay to make these adaptations, and so we started our own streaming platform..."

Tosca Musk, CEO and founder behind…

"...and if you create this single story for a people of a certain historically, marginalized identities; you know, that gets taken by readers and it gets inside of them in ways we might not expect or…

"...Introducing family shows a different side (to the character) and allows the character to be a little more well-rounded in the way they interact..."

Writing instructor and multi-genre author, Amber…

"It's been fun to kinda see (Melissa's writing) evolve also in the narration I have done for her....her stories get better and better with time. It's the same with narration too."

Romance author Melis…

"If you're just starting out, I personally would recommend waiting (to invest in audiobooks) until you have a full series that...is selling well. ...If the series isn't working, you're not going to k…

"I try to write really fierce, headstrong characters...but at the same time, it's ok to be vulnerable. It's ok to say I don't have all the answers."

Author Kimberly Packard lovingly calls women's fict…

"If it feels like I'm trying to force something...that's usually when I know to kinda let go. Either set it down or hold it with an open hand and see what happens. Whatever happens with it, let that …

"There's this living in alignment, in integrity, and I don't like to do things out of alignment...and this is an area that has some consequences."

Bestselling Author, Tedx Speaker, and therapist, Marc…

"(It) started as a blog, Unleashing the Next Chapter, to document my stroke recovery and unleashing is a nod to the fact that I had just gotten Gizmo (service dog)...to (now) having a boutique market…

"....Whenever you are going to write disability or anytime you're going to write outside of your lived experience, first you have to ask yourself: Do you already platform and support this community?"

…

"...I certainly hope that (this book) reaches the people who do, for one reason or another, feel that the world has just been so unfair to them and why can't it pick on somebody else for once..."

Afte…

"...as we're solving problems in our own stories, we're creating problems for the other stories that (Lark and Catrina) had to work in... It made for some really creative outcomes." - Lucy Limon

As cr…

"They always say start your book on a day that's different. That's called an inciting incident. That's what I try to do naturally. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't."

A decade into writing her …