Five things every romance writer should know – by Elisabeth Naughton

1.  An awesome story trumps phenomenal writing any day of the week. Readers care more about what happens in a story than how you tell it. I’ve seen mediocre writers hit it big with a great story and amazing writers struggle because they’re more worried about how a sentence sounds than what it says.

2. In a romance, if your hero isn’t drool-worthy, readers won’t fall in love with your book. Yes, the female lead matters. And yes, you still need to have a great story to hook a reader, but if the hero isn’t compelling, the romance will lack luster and your readers will quickly become bored. Women read romance for the fantasy element. Make your heroes to-die-for and they’ll continue to come back for more.

3. Characters ARE story. Most newbie writers spend more time trying to come up with an intricate plot than creating memorable characters. Keep your plots simple. Spend your time crafting incredible characters your readers can’t help but fall in love with. The urge to see how a character will react to a situation or how they grow though a story is what keeps a reader turning pages, not the twists and turns of the plot.

4. Pacing takes practice. Pacing is probably the hardest element of writing to grasp. It was for me. The pace of your story is how fast readers turn pages. You don’t want the pace so slow your reader stops at the end of a chapter, puts the book down and forgets all about it. On the flip side, you don’t want the pace so fast she becomes exhausted while reading. Learning the right pace for your genre takes practice. I wish I had a magic potion for this, but in my experience, the best way to figure out pace is to read a lot in your genre, then practice, practice, practice.

And finally, the most important point of all…

5.  Don’t ever think you’re too good to need a critique partner. A good critique partner is worth her weight in gold. When you’re a newbie writer, a critique partner will help you figure out things like pacing and character development and how many internals to include and dialogue tags and all the elements that are important to the act of writing. But as the years go on and you become a better writer, she will STILL be the very best secret in your box of writer tools. Why? Because an awesome critique partner knows your voice. She understands what you’re trying to say even when you don’t. She knows how your brain works so she can help you plot a book even if she doesn’t understand the subject. And she’ll be the first one to tell you if that sparkly new idea you came up with is pure brilliance or a giant pile of crap. And you know what? Because you’ve grown together as writers over the years, even if she tells you your idea is a load of horse dung, you’ll still love her. Because odds are, she’s completely right. (Just don’t tell my CP, Joan Swan, I ever admitted she was right!)

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Let’s take a look at Elisabeth’s upcoming release:

Twisted

Eternal Guardians #7

A little about Elisabeth: 

Before topping multiple bestseller lists—including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal—Elisabeth Naughton taught middle school science. A rabid reader, she soon discovered she had a knack for creating stories with a chemistry of their own. The spark turned to a flame, and Naughton now writes full-time. Besides topping bestseller lists, her books have been nominated for some of the industry’s most prestigious awards, such as the RITA® and Golden Heart Awards from Romance Writers of America, the Australian Romance Reader Awards, and the Golden Leaf Award. When not dreaming up new stories, Naughton can be found spending time with her husband and three children in their western Oregon home. Visit her website at

http://www.ElisabethNaughton.com.

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Make sure to check out all of the other stops on this month long tour HERE and enter the grand prize giveaway.

All winner’s will be picked at the end of the month and announce the 1st week of October.