A Touch of Romance

This week we discussed the differences between the romance genre and genres with romantic elements. Even if it isn't the main event, romance can be a great addition to a book.

Love's dilemmas bring another area of conflict, of emotion, and of showing off your characters' heroic and not-so-heroic qualities.

Romance is dramatic. The road to love is bumpy, rough. Who hasn't cried over love? Readers can relate to a touch of romance.

If your protagonist feels one-dimensional, try adding a love interest. The key to any romance or romance element, is to not make it easy for the characters. No one wants to read about the perfect first date, the perfect second date, the perfect declaration of love, and then the perfect engagement. They want to read about what's keeping them apart. They want to hop on the crazy emotional roller-coaster called love, so don't let them down!

On Wednesday, we looked at an example of a suspense with romantic elements. It featured Jack, a man desperate to save his sister by dismantling a bomb, who falls in love with Mary along the way. Let's take the romantic element, Mary, out of the book. It's now a suspense with Jack dismantling a bomb and saving his sister, but Jack's coming off as too...something. Let's brainstorm how adding a minor character as a love interest for Jack--let's call her Sheila--can add tension, conflict, and human traits to the story.

Here are some possibilities. Notice how each can add tremendous conflict and tension, while revealing Jack's human traits and vulnerable spots.

- Could Sheila be a dead ringer for Jack's ex-girlfriend? Conflict: he hates his ex-girlfriend because she broke his heart. She claimed he loved his family more than her. And now here's Sheila, reminding him of his past and his devotion to his sister, bringing the situation to a head.

- Could Sheila be his boss's daughter? He wants to protect her, but he also wants to keep her at a safe distance, or his job might be on the line.

- Could Sheila be his sister's nemesis? He's not sure he can trust her, but she's the only one who can help.

There's a million and one ways to add tension and conflict.

Here are a few scenarios that won't help your book.

- Sheila is everything Jack ever wanted in a woman. She matches his ideal. He feels nothing but excitement and adoration for her. He's thrilled she's working by his side to find the bomb.

Sounds good, right? Wrong. This makes for a boring read. She can be everything he wants and match his ideal. He can even feel the excitement and adoration for her. But he'd better want her as far away from danger as possible, or there's no reason to bring her in the picture.

- Sheila helps Jack find the bomb in an hour. When Jack tells her he can take it from here, and that he'll call her later, she meekly nods and trots off to wait by the phone.

Again, not adding any conflict. Sheila cannot meekly go home and wait by the phone. This is not the type of woman a guy like Jack needs. She'd better fight him, bring more danger his way, or pretend to sit meekly at home while instead working behind his back to help, or the reader is going to yawn.

What do you think? Do you add romance to your novels? Why? To add tension? To bring more conflict to your character? To show the areas your characters are vulnerable and need to grow?

Have a wonderful weekend!

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