For those who prefer the bedroom door closed, and enjoy hints much more than description, sweet romance is their chosen reading.
In days gone by the heroine only needed to be stunningly beautiful. The hero could do whatever he wanted to, as often as he wanted to, as long as she sat there waiting for him. By the end of the book he fell in love with her. Readers today want a lot more than that. Stunningly beautiful, TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) heroines, are no longer popular.
Today’s heroines need a fully developed personality, may have flaws, and need to do a lot more than wait around to be noticed. There has to be a reason why the hero and heroine fall in love, and that chemistry has to be shown vividly on the page. Since there isn’t going to be sex, authors need to write this genre very much relying on the five senses. The looks they share (not just their eye color please. Tell the reader what their eyes are doing), sounds, scents, touches (or the desire to touch if actual touching is not allowed), taste (if kissing is not allowed think of other things to use this sense).
It is not enough to throw the heroine into danger and have the hero defeat the villain. The heroine needs to be an active participant at every stage, not blindly walking into danger by acting stupidly, but thinking and getting involved in her own rescue. This should provide the author with many opportunities to develop the characters and show the reader why they are falling in love.
Happy writing.
Helen Woodall
helen.woodall@gmail.com
Helen is available to line edit and/ or content edit fiction and non-fiction. Rates on application.
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