At the heart of every good romance is hero readers will fall in love with.

People don’t call them “book

boyfriends” for nothing! While the ups and downs of the romance itself need to be compelling, it’s the
characters that will keep readers turning the pages. Yes, your hero needs to be lovable, but he also
needs a strong personality, a compelling backstory, and a major life transformation.

A quick note about diversity: If you’re writing a m/m or f/f romance, all of the below tips, and future
ones, can be applied. Simply swap out those pronouns as applicable. Love is love and romance is
romance.

What makes a strong hero?

You’re probably already familiar with the stereotypes: the resident bad boy, the cocky CEO, the rough-
around-the-edges cowboy, the all-grown-up-boy-next-door.

These stereotypes exist for a reason — they work. But they don’t work well unless there’s more to them
than the stereotype itself. That resident bad boy might be adorably fond of puppies. That cocky CEO
might visit his ailing grandmother every week.

For readers, the hero must be well-rounded. Sexy, yes. Charming, sure. But he must have quirks and
comforts that make him real. Give him a hobby, a weakness, a habit that makes him human, but always
keep in mind that he has to be likable. Bad boys can appear cold-hearted, but a well-rounded bad boy
has a heart of gold beneath the surface that prompts readers to root for him anyway.

Tortured pasts and redemption

Every hero needs a past — and I mean a past. Happy childhoods need not apply. That doesn’t mean your
hero must have been neglected or abused, but he does need to have suffered something he’s still
working to overcome. Maybe he did come from a bad home, or maybe he’s carried a torch for the
heroine since their youth. Maybe something has always prevented him from going after her.

Regardless of what the past trouble is, it must be well-defined enough that when the hero overcomes it
(and oh yes, he will overcome it), the reader will feel satisfaction that his journey is finally resolved. If
he’s made mistakes, he needs to be redeemed. If someone else has done him wrong, he needs to find a
way to overcome the past, be at peace, and move on.

Ideally, the characteristics you’ve assigned to your well-rounded hero will directly intertwine with the
events of his past. Maybe he visits his grandmother because he’s already lost too many people who are
close to him. Now he refuses to lose the heroine too. Find ways to tie it all together and your hero will
truly shine.

The hero’s journey: love will change a man

What about his approach to romance? A common trope is to have a hero who’s given up on love for one
reason or another. Either he’s had his heart broken too many times, or his job/life/situation doesn’t
have room for it. Other times he’s open to love, but the heroine isn’t the kind of woman he’s looking for
— or so he thinks.

In the beginning, the hero needs a reason to hesitate, whether it’s tied to his past trauma or not. It’s his
unstoppable love for the heroine that will help him overcome this hesitation. Even if he’s had
relationships before, it’s the heroine specifically who will instigate this change in him and make him
want to be a better man.

This change will coincide with the climax of your romance, when the external and internal conflict come
together and resolution carries the story toward that all-important happily-ever-after. But we’ll save
that for another lesson!

Key takeaways

Create a character profile for your hero. Give him quirks, habits, and weaknesses. Give him positive
qualities too. Make him a hard worker, funny, good with kids, etc.

Flesh out a background — even if you don’t tell the full tale in your novel. Who were his parents? What
was his childhood like? What were his hobbies and ambitions growing up? How did those things affect
the man he is today?
Decide which aspect of your hero’s personality will be changed by his love for the heroine. This will help
drive your internal conflict. Is he untrusting? Standoffish? A believer in casual relationships only? Ideally
it will tie in with his past experiences, but it definitely needs to be something that will change by the end
of the book.

Having a well-rounded hero is often a huge help in drafting the plot. The better you know your hero, the
better you’ll understand what he would do in a given situation. The same goes for your heroine, our
topic for tomorrow!

— Kate

Recommended Reads/Resources

20 Tips for Writing Lovable Romance Novel Heroes (blog)

The Charismatic Romantic Hero – and How to Create Him (blog)

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How to Write an Irresistible Romance

Issue #3 of 10

What Women Want: Creating a Strong

Heroine
Every good hero needs a strong counterpart — the heroine! It’s important to find a steady balance
between these two characters. If one or the other is given significantly more character development,
the whole story will feel imbalanced, and the romance itself will suffer.

Romance readers want to root for a couple who seem like they belong together, who bring out the best
in each other. In order for their journey to play out in a relatable and satisfying manner, they both need
to carry the weight of their individual journeys.

Walk in her shoes: what makes a heroine relatable?

Sometimes, romance authors place so much emphasis on building up their hunky hero that their heroine
gets lost in the shuffle. Since most romance authors are female, it’s understandable. The relatability is
inherent, right? Well, not exactly.

It’s still vital to have a heroine with strong qualities your reader can appreciate, walking the line
between someone they can relate to and someone they could see themselves being friends with. So,
how do you accomplish this?

For one thing, give your heroine a backstory readers will care about. Give her depth. Family. Strong
friendships. A career. Just as you did with the hero, give her quirks and habits, but make sure you
explore why she is the way she is. Is she nursing a broken heart? Does she have something to prove?

Remember, there’s comfort in stereotypes, but it’s when you think beyond the tropes and identify the
qualities you appreciate in a person that your characters come to life.

Tension without antagonism: the importance of a likable heroine

Heroines can sometimes get a bad rap. From entitled and whiny to callous and cold, it’s easy for a
heroine to slide from someone who clashes with or challenges the hero to someone your readers might
hate. And let’s face it, it certainly doesn’t help that women can be especially hard on other women,
resulting in readers sometimes being overly critical of leading ladies.

But avoiding the pitfalls of an unlikable heroine isn’t as impossible as many a romance book review
might have you believe: it’s all rooted in her motivation. It’s not enough for her to be at odds with our
hero, though she should be to some extent (at least until she falls hopelessly in love with him). She
needs a good reason for being the way she is, something the reader can empathize with.

Ultimately, the heroine is often the reader’s proxy character, the person she will most relate to, so you
want her to be someone both the hero and the reader will be happy to spend a lot of time with.

The heroine’s journey: what she learns along the way

So now you have a relatable, likable heroine. But like the hero, the heroine isn’t here just to skip off into
the sunset. She needs to go through some sort of change for love by the end of the book. What’s the
one thing that’s been holding her back all these years? Mistrust? A dedicated career? A commitment to
her kids as a tired single mother?

Our heroine doesn’t know it in the beginning, but she’s on a journey, and her falling in love with our
hero is going to change her in ways she never saw coming. Whatever change she experiences, it should
be identifiable and something that wouldn’t have come about were it not for her falling in love.

Key takeaways

Create a character profile for your heroine. Include a backstory that dives into who she used to be, who
she is today, and what she wants for the future. That last item may change once she encounters the
hero, but flesh out who she is when we meet her so the reader can feel a connection.

Give her strong motivation for her feelings and actions, to steer her away from unlikable stereotypes. All
good romances need conflict, but you don't want your heroine to come off looking mean.

Decide how her romance with the hero might challenge and change her. There needs to be some key
misbelief in her life that the hero helps her see in a different light. It should be specific and solvable.

Relatability, likability, and capacity for change all intersect to create a strong heroine with direction and
purpose. The more depth you give your heroine, the more material you have to work with as your
characters fall in love.
Indeed, the question of what causes two characters to fall for each other is at the heart of any romance,
and creating strong characters will always go a long way toward providing you with the answer, even if
the paths they each take are very different. But we’ll talk about that more tomorrow!

How to Write an Irresistible Romance

Issue #4 of 10
He Said, She Said: Crafting Your POV
Welcome back, romance writers! We’ve talked about the hero. We’ve talked about the heroine. But
which one is our “main protagonist” and whose point of view should the story be told from? Nailing
down your POV is something you want to do right from the start. I’ve seen manuscripts written entirely
in first person only for the author to realize she’d rather have written it from a dual third person
perspective.

Re-writing a book is a lot of work! Think about your POV and tense before you start writing and save
yourself a lot of hassle later on.

To shift perspective — or not? What works best in romance

A lot of writers tell me they have a certain way they like to write, a style to which their internal voice is
naturally inclined. But that style doesn’t necessarily mesh with a given genre. In fact, an unfamiliar POV
style can be enough to turn readers off completely, no matter how compelling the plot.

So what’s typical in romance? If you’re writing category romance, it’s most common — and desirable —
to have a shifting dual perspective. That is, part of the story is told from the hero’s POV and part of the
story is told from the heroine’s. Why the shift? Because unlike in other genres, in romance, the role of
“main protagonist” is a bit fuzzy. The job is shared between the hero and the heroine to let the reader
into the relationship without “taking sides.”

So much of romance takes place inside our characters’ heads, so to fully understand and appreciate the
relationship, that’s where the reader needs to be. That’s not to say a solid romance can’t be written
from a single perspective, but if you want to play to what sells in a given genre, read what’s out there
and model your POV on the tried and true.
Finding your voices: hero vs. heroine

So, you’ve decided to move forward with a dual perspective POV. What’s next? Ideally, you want to
outline your story in such a way that you can swap POVs based on which character has the most at stake
in a given scene. If it’s something that affects the hero, we need to be in his head.

With all these shifts in POV, there’s something crucial to keep in mind: don’t let your hero and heroine
sound too much alike. Give them each a distinctive voice. All authors have favorite words or expression
that pop up in their writing a lot, and for the most part, that’s okay — just make sure that these
common phrases aren’t shared by both of your POV characters. They need to sound a bit different, so
the reader can feel the POV shifts and fully engage with each perspective.

First person vs. third? Past vs. present?

When it comes to POV, you also have to decide between first and third person narration. Most
romances are written in what’s called third person limited. Even though the narration is limited, keeping
the perspective narrow in any given scene, the reader still gets to enjoy all the insights and internal
thought you’d get with a first person narrator.

This perspective works well with a shifting POV because it affords the reader the opportunity to
experience things from both sides, allowing a deeper understanding of the overall narrative arc. I also
urge romance authors to stick to past tense. Writing in present tense can be tricky, and it’s definitely not
typical in romance.

Romance readers want something new, but familiar. They want more of the same, but with fresh,
satisfying details. Stick to what’s typical, as a base, if you want to increase your chances of connecting
with your audience.

Key takeaways

Most commercial romances feature shifting dual perspectives. If you’re not sure how to balance this,
read what’s out there to get a feel for how the structure works.

Make sure your hero and heroine sound different from each other. If he’s sarcastic, make sure her tone
carries a different feel. You want each perspective to feel authentic and unique.
Sticking to a past-tense third-person limited narrator is your best bet for commercial romance. Again, if
you’re not sure how a typical romance is structured, read what’s out there and make notes about the
flow of the narrative to use as a template for your own story.

In these first few lessons, we’ve covered most of the essential building blocks that go into a strong
romance novel, but there’s one more component you’ll want to give some thought before you dive in
and start writing — the inclusion of tropes. I’ll see you back here tomorrow as we explore best practices
when it comes to using classic tropes in romance.

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How to Write an Irresistible Romance
Issue #5 of 10
Fresh Takes on Old Tropes

Can you feel your romance novel beginning to take shape? You’ve worked out the details of your sub-
genre, sketched out your main protagonists, and you’ve got a rough idea of how you want the flow of
your narrative to work.

But even with all those details in place, there still must be more at play than just two characters falling in
love. Enter tropes, those fun little plot bunnies that make category romance what it is! Let’s take a closer
look.

Great expectations: why tropes matter in romance

As I’ve mentioned before, romance readers are really big on expectations being met. They want a
satisfying, happy ending, but along the way, they want certain familiar events to happen. They want to
see their favorite tropes at play — old flames reunited, opposites attracting with reckless abandon, an
unplanned pregnancy… it’s all part of the romance experience!
This genre is all about escape. Readers want to be able to slip into the sweet, emotional saga and know
it’s going to deliver on exactly what they need — drama, swoon-worthy embraces, and those comforting
benchmarks they know will somehow lead to a picture-perfect ending.

In other words, it's not about whether there will be a happy ending, it’s about how the couple will get
there... and which of your favorite twists and turns they’ll experience along the way.

A trope with a twist: keeping things interesting

“But Kate,” you might ask, “don’t romance readers get bored after reading the same tired tropes over
and over again?”

The short answer is: no, they don’t!

The longer answer is that while romance tropes are pulled from a very particular pool, they aren’t
always executed the same way, and that’s what keeps things fresh from story to story.

Take this classic romance trope: an unplanned pregnancy. Figuring out how to best execute the trope so
it feels fresh and authentic to your characters all comes down to asking yourself certain questions:

What if the heroine doesn’t want children?

What if she wants children, but it’s not the right time?

What if the hero doesn’t see himself as a father?

What if one of them lost a child previously?

The list goes on. And if nothing feels quite right, maybe that particular trope isn’t a good fit for your
story, but it’s still helpful to explore the possibilities. Sometimes you will land on something that’s such a
good fit for your characters, the story almost writes itself.
Which tropes work best in romance?

I’ll include some helpful links below, but when it comes to tropes that work well in romance, you should
focus on those that challenge the characters as individuals, or test the strength of their relationship with
each other.

This usually centers around a major life event or some other drastic life change, like:

Moving back home after many years away (excellent for a reunion romance)

Inheriting a home or business

An illness in the family

A sudden death that changes the character’s circumstance, either in terms of becoming a widow or
widower, or by stepping in as a guardian to a friend or relative’s young child

As I already mentioned, all good romances see the hero and heroine on a journey — both as individuals
and as a couple, and a big part of that journey involves coping with change and becoming the person
they’re meant to be (alongside the person they’re meant to be with!).

When you’re looking at tropes to include, think about the impact each one might have on your
characters and their relationship with each other. If it’s something that ultimately brings them closer
together, it’s definitely worth considering.

Key takeaways

Romance readers have certain expectations when they dive into a new book. Make sure you’ve included
enough classic romance tropes to deliver on those expectations.

To keep the tropes you use from feeling stale, question how they might affect your characters
specifically. Figure out how to twist old tropes in new ways, offering your reader a fresh take on the
familiar.
Focus on tropes that challenge your protagonists. Major life changes, especially those involving
community and family, are always winners.

The plot of your romance is really coming together now, but those tropes you’ve landed on still need a
bit more to carry the story forward and keep things interesting. Tomorrow we’ll discuss the importance
of strong conflict in your romance — because happy endings aren’t nearly as rewarding without a few
bumps in the road.

— Kate

Recommended Reads/Resources

Romance Tropes We Can’t Get Enough Of (blog)

Romance: Tropes, Tropes, and More Tropes (blog)

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Brought to you by Kate Studer

With over a decade of experience working in romance publishing, Kate Studer is a full-time editor and
writer based out of Southwestern Ontario, Canada. As a freelancer, she’s had the pleasure of helping
craft a variety of manuscripts from indie authors to New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. She
loves collaborating on stories readers can’t put down and helping new writers find their voices.

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How to Write an Irresistible Romance

Issue #6 of 10
Rough Waters Ahead: Writing Strong
Conflict
Hang on — things are about to get rough.

The Happy Ending is a key component to all typical category romance novels, but no good happy ending
is worth its salt (salt from tears of joy, of course) without our hero and heroine having struggled along
the way. Conflict keeps their journey interesting and satisfying.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “risk vs. reward” before. Keep that phrase in the back of your mind as
you plot your romance. The hero and the heroine should each have their reasons for not taking a chance
on the relationship. There needs to be some perceived risk and reasons they’re each guarded with their
hearts.

But in the end, the risk is worth taking because of the sweet, romantic reward. Today we’re going to talk
about the importance of conflict in romance — and how you can achieve different types of conflict
effectively.
Internal conflict: how your characters must change

We touched on the fact that both our hero and heroine have to go through some sort of change:
something that will bring them to the conclusion that being together is worth the sacrifices they might
make along the way.

This change usually stems from some sort of internal conflict, a belief or value they’ve carried with them
for most of their life that can be disproven in the face of true love. Internal conflict is all about each
character’s individual journey.

For example, if your hero has had his heart broken in the past, maybe he’s given up relationships
altogether. Not worth the time or hassle. Then he meets the heroine and starts feeling things that
challenge this belief. By the end, he’ll come to the realization that the heroine is worth the risk of his
heart being broken again, but his journey toward this conclusion is where the internal conflict stems
from.

Misguided belief + a challenge to that belief = internal conflict = the hero ultimately choosing to be with
the heroine.

External conflict: what they must overcome

While your hero and heroine are each struggling with their own internal conflicts, there also needs to be
at least one major external conflict that they can work on together.

Why more conflict? Because conflict is what causes people to change and grow. It makes them who they
are, and external conflict brings a couple together and shapes the strength of their relationship.

Maybe the hero is helping the heroine revive her family’s ranch, which has fallen into disrepair. Maybe
the heroine is helping the single dad hero’s young child come out of her shell. Whatever the external
obstacle, the hero and heroine need to be able to work together to overcome it. They may butt heads
along the way — and in fact should! — but in the end, this problem will bring them closer together as
they work to solve it.
The story’s climax: the place where internal and external conflict meet

For a happy ending to feel truly hopeful, all of the characters’ internal and external conflicts must be
resolved. Typically, these issues all come to a head at the same time, constituting the climax of the plot.

Sometimes one character will make progress toward resolving their personal conflict before the climax
(resulting in one character walking away from the relationship while the other hopes to make it work),
but typically, both will have some work to do before they can come back together in the end.

Everything that follows the climax usually feels like something of a domino effect. Either:

Some key issue regarding the external conflict is resolved, enabling the hero or heroine to realize
something important about their internal conflict; or

The other way around, where a personal epiphany leads to a solution to the external conflict.

These issues should be resolved fairly close to each other so that shortly after the reader experiences
the feeling that “all is lost,” they get their happy ending. The resolution should feel sweeping and grand
in nature. The hero doesn’t just decide to see how it goes — he needs to be decisive and certain of his
decision to win the heroine back, and solutions to external conflict need to feel secure as well.

Key takeaways

Think about where your characters are coming from and how it might influence their approach to
romance. They each need something from their past that will hold them back as the relationship
develops.

Think outside the box. External conflicts can be anything from family issues to financial woes to natural
disasters. Be sure to add fresh twists to those classic tropes we discussed previously.

The climax of your novel should hit every nail on the head. This is where all the internal and external
conflicts come together to truly raise the stakes.
Next up, we’re going to discuss some of the details that make romance novels so much fun to write and
read. Pour yourself a cool drink, because things are about to heat up.

— Kate

Recommended Reads/Resources

How to Create Conflict In A Love Story, According to 4 Bestselling Romance Novelists (blog)

External and Internal Conflict: Definitions, Examples and Tips (blog)

5 Reasons to Love Romantic Conflict! (blog)

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Brought to you by Kate Studer

With over a decade of experience working in romance publishing, Kate Studer is a full-time editor and
writer based out of Southwestern Ontario, Canada. As a freelancer, she’s had the pleasure of helping
craft a variety of manuscripts from indie authors to New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. She
loves collaborating on stories readers can’t put down and helping new writers find their voices.

How to Write an Irresistible Romance

Issue #7 of 10
It's Getting Hot in Here 🔥
One of the most frequent comments I hear from first time romance writers is either how easy or difficult
they found it to write sex scenes. As is often the case, writers who’ve read a lot of romance seem to
have less trouble with it, while writers who are fairly new to the genre are never quite sure where the
heat level should land.
There’s definitely an art to writing enticing, sensual love scenes, and it’s often a matter of “practice
makes perfect.” But how much or how little should you include on the page? And how do you balance
romantic tension with wanting your characters to kiss in every single scene? (No? Just me?)

Let’s take a closer look at the passionate romance part of romance novels.

How the sub-genre dictates heat level

Often the question of how detailed your sex scenes should be lies in the sub-genre you’ve chosen:

Sweet and inspirational romances usually stick to a few stolen kisses;

Paranormal, urban fantasy, and historical romance all tend to dive a little deeper, with fairly explicit
intimate scenes lasting a few pages;

Contemporary and western romance can be anywhere along the scale, with most landing somewhere in
the middle, trending toward more explicit encounters that sometimes, though not always, fade to black;

And erotic romance, well, you can probably guess how that goes.

Again, I urge you to read in your sub-genre to discover what’s typical. There is no better teacher than
the wealth of books already out there. It’s also a good way to discover what you enjoy as a reader! Odds
are, it’s what you’ll enjoy writing as well.

Sensual vs. erotic romance

As a romance editor, I often get asked what the difference is between sensual romance, erotic romance,
and erotica. The truth is, it’s a bit of a shifting line depending on where you’re getting your fiction.

Different publishers have different definitions, but typically sensual romance is anything where the sex
happens on the page, it's just crafted with a lighter hand with regards to language and the type of sex
acts. It doesn’t necessarily mean vanilla, but it does usually place a higher value on the intimacy of sex,
with the hero and heroine connecting on an emotional level.
Erotic romance takes things a step further, with more explicit language, descriptions, and perhaps more
adventurous sex acts. However, in both sensual and erotic romance, the romance is still at the heart of
the story, with the sex serving as a way for the characters to connect on a deeper level.

What separates erotica is usually a much stronger focus on sex over romance. In fact, romance
sometimes isn’t even a factor. Erotica is where some of the most explicit sexual encounters will occur,
indulging in kinks and fetishes (but still between consenting adults) who may or may not feel an
emotional attraction to each other.

Building sexual tension: To wait or not to wait

There’s really no wrong way to do it, but when you’re writing a romance, it’s a question you have to ask
yourself: when are these two gonna get together?

I’ve seen it done successfully many different ways. Sexual tension and chemistry is something that can
spark immediately and intensely, or take time to build. Sometimes the hero and heroine are strangers
who get drunk and hook up at a bar in the first chapter. Sometimes they’re former lovers working
toward a reunion. And sometimes it’s a delicious slow burn, with tension building and building until they
can’t take it anymore.

Ultimately, the point at which your characters share that first kiss or hook-up depends on the type of
story you’re telling. A more erotically charged story will probably see it happen earlier on so that there’s
more room for sex scenes. A sweet, family-centric romance might not see so much as a kiss until nearer
the end.

If you want to build a lot of sexual tension, bring your characters together in ways that are getting them
closer while still coming short of actually kissing. It’s a great way to leave your readers wanting more.
However, there’s also a lot to be said for a couple who hooks up right away, followed by a will-they-
won’t-they journey that explores whether they can turn that hook-up into something serious.

You kind of have to go with your gut and follow what your characters are telling you. This is another
reason it’s so important to sketch out their personalities ahead of time. You want to instinctively know
when they might make a move, and how far they might take things during that first encounter.
Key takeaways

Read in your sub-genre to learn what’s typical in regards to heat level.

Remember there’s a difference between sexy romance and erotica. If you are writing with a certain
audience in mind, make sure the explicitness of your sex scenes falls within existing expectations.

Decide at which point your couple will first hook up. Waiting helps to build sexual tension, but there’s
also something to be said for instant chemistry that consumes them until they have to take a step back
and navigate a potential relationship.

Exciting intimate encounters are one of the biggest draws for romance readers, but there are a few
other elements that show up often in romance novels — and with good reason! We’ll talk about those
tomorrow. See you then!

— Kate

Recommended Reads/Resources

A Checklist for Creating Sexual Tension by Sierra Cartwright (blog)

How to Write Amazing Sex Scenes (blog)

On Romance, Sub-genres and Heat Levels (blog)

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Brought to you by Kate Studer

With over a decade of experience working in romance publishing, Kate Studer is a full-time editor and
writer based out of Southwestern Ontario, Canada. As a freelancer, she’s had the pleasure of helping
craft a variety of manuscripts from indie authors to New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. She
loves collaborating on stories readers can’t put down and helping new writers find their voices.

Enjoying this course?

If you are loving this training series, consider sharing this course with your friends. Hit the link below to
send them a personal invitation.

Romance
Issue #8 of 10
Dogs, Babies, and Bakeries! Oh My!

In yesterday’s lesson, we discussed what many would argue is at the heart of a good romance — the
chemistry-laden, passionate romance itself. But it isn’t all kissing scenes and sexy times that get a
romance reader’s heart racing. No, they also want those little extras that make a romance feel cozy,
comforting, and idyllic.

Ingredients for a good romance

You’ve got the hero, the heroine, a heap of conflict, and a measure of intimacy. What else does your
romance need?

Well, just as most recipes need a dash of this or that, all good romances need those little details that
make our protagonists more endearing and the world they live in more enchanting. I’m talking about
pets (especially dogs), babies, best friends, siblings, quirky townsfolk, and yes, even wise grandparents
— because nobody knows the heart wants what it wants quite like a worldly grandmother.

Not all of these elements have to be crafted ahead of time — sometimes they are born of necessity —
but make sure you have a good sampling of supporting characters to give your protagonists a variety of
people (and pets) to lean on. They will often provide those lighter moments you need when the conflict
takes over, and are an excellent resource for backstory and problem-solving.
Plus, puppies and babies? Who could resist? 😉

From ranches to restaurants: the importance of a charming setting

Romance novels don’t require nearly as much worldbuilding as fantasy or science fiction novels, but
they do need to feel strongly rooted in a given setting. Small towns are immensely popular for a reason.
There’s nothing quite like a close-knit community traveling between a handful of key locations that force
them to cross paths.

Maybe your hero and heroine both work at the same place. Or the retro diner with the kindly owner is
the only place in town to get a decent meal. Maybe it’s a school, or a church, or a library that brings the
protagonists into contact. Whatever the location, it needs to be appealing, and it needs to be
somewhere your characters can’t avoid.

Creating a charming setting is especially important when crafting a series (which we’ll get to in a future
lesson). As much as you want your reader to relate to your characters, you also want them to be drawn
into your setting and see it as a place where they want to spend time, maybe even a place that starts to
feel like home.

Family matters

Family often plays a huge role in romances. Not only might our hero and heroine ideally work toward
becoming a family themselves, but getting to meet their respective families, or parts of them, is an
excellent way to move the relationship forward, or bring about doubts.

Siblings especially can provide a lot of material to work with. From sibling rivalries to in-law examples of
what the hero or heroine might one day want in a marriage, having a brother or sister around can help
drive the plot forward, especially when they act as a sounding board for a conflicted hero or heroine.

They also provide great material for future books. You can’t go wrong with a solid familial presence, as it
helps drive home one of the key values present in most romances — a strong sense of community and
togetherness.
Key takeaways

No good romance is about hero and heroine alone. Give them a pet, a friend, or even an employer who
can help shape the course of the narrative.

When crafting the setting for your romance, give it a personality. The locations your hero and heroine
frequent should almost feel like characters themselves, adding to the overall feel of the story.

Don’t ignore the importance of family. Everyone from grandparents to babies to pets play an important
role in a romance. They say a lot about where your characters come from, and are excellent resources
for resolving conflict.

With only two lessons to go, it’s time to start looking at the bigger picture. In today’s lesson, I touched
on how setting and supporting characters help open the doors for series potential, which we’ll discuss in
more detail tomorrow.

— Kate

Recommended Reads/Resources

Top 10 Reasons to Feature Pets in Romance (blog)

Where Am I? The Importance of Setting to Your Romance Novel (blog)

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Brought to you by Kate Studer

With over a decade of experience working in romance publishing, Kate Studer is a full-time editor and
writer based out of Southwestern Ontario, Canada. As a freelancer, she’s had the pleasure of helping
craft a variety of manuscripts from indie authors to New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. She
loves collaborating on stories readers can’t put down and helping

Issue #9 of 10
Series Potential?

So, you have an awesome idea for a romance novel — or maybe a romance series? It’s very possible.
Romance readers are voracious. They’re always looking for more, which is why romance trilogies and
long-running series often sell so well. But not all romances are meant to spin off into further books.

Read on to discover what it takes to develop your romance from stand-alone to series.

Standalone romance vs. series

There are two different ways to approach a series in romance:

1. The first is to focus on one couple’s journey over a series of books, which can be hard to pull off.
Readers may lose their patience and demand the couple be together, but once they’re together, where
does the conflict stem from? This route usually works best when the external conflict is so big, the
romance itself doesn’t have to be the primary source of tension.

2. The second, and most common, approach is to have a common theme, setting, or community, but
with a different couple at the heart of each book. This often leads to the best of both worlds because
any given volume works well within the series, but it also has the potential to stand alone, not relying on
other books in the series to make sense or feel complete. New readers can jump in at any point, and if
they like what they read, they can go back and read previous books in the series, and/or anxiously await
future volumes.

Building a community readers will want to return to

In yesterday’s lesson, we talked about the importance of setting, which plays a major role when crafting
a series. The setting needs to be vivid and appealing enough that readers will enjoy spending time there.

The community that exists in that setting needs to draw the reader in and make them feel like an
insider. It needs to feel warm and welcoming, the kind of town you’d be happy to visit, the kind that’d
be a dream to live in — and for your characters, that dream is a reality.

Ideally, over the course of the series, the setting and community will expand, creating a rich world
where old and new characters interact in locations the reader comes to know well.

Supporting characters worthy of their own book

When writing a romance with a series in mind, you want to plant the seeds for future books early. If
your hero has a sister, she could be looking for love herself. Without straying from your main couple,
give her a few frustrations and issues of her own, ones that can be revisited when a handsome stranger
comes to town in a future book.

From siblings to best friends to lovable neighbors in town, you want to build a community full of
unattached people waiting for their story. That’s not to say that everyone should be single, but you do
want to introduce a few supporting characters in each volume who could potentially carry their own
novel.

Key takeaways

Decide if your romance is going to stand alone or be the start of a series. If you plan on writing more
books set in this world, keep that in mind as you write.

Give your setting the attention to detail it deserves. If it’s a community in which you plan on writing
more than one book, you want it to be an appealing place readers will be happy to return to. If a favorite
bar and grill suffers a fire in one book, be ready to have a mystery man come to town in a future book,
looking to revive the place.
Supporting characters make for excellent romantic leads down the line. Plant some seeds as you go,
setting up your hero or heroine’s best friend or sibling to one day have their own story.

Only one lesson to go! I hope you’re feeling well-versed in writing romance novels by now, but it’s not
over yet! Tomorrow, it’s time to talk about endings and the right and wrong way to wrap up a romance.
See you then!

— Kate

Recommended Reads/Resources

Four Key Elements of a Successful Romance Series (blog)

Writing a Novel Series: Tips for Developing Spin-Offs and Sequels (blog)

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Brought to you by Kate Studer

With over a decade of experience working in romance publishing, Kate Studer is a full-time editor and
writer based out of Southwestern Ontario, Canada. As a freelancer, she’s had the pleasure of helping
craft a variety of manuscripts from indie authors to New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. She
loves collaborating on stories readers can’t put down and helping new writers find their voices.

How to Write an Irresistible Romance

Issue #10 of 10
Happy Endings
Hello and welcome to the final lesson! I’ve had so much fun over the past ten days, sharing some of my
best tips for crafting a romance novel with you. I’m almost sad to see it come to an end, except who can
be sad when the end is a happy one?

The quintessential happy ending is considered a key component in any good romance novel, so today
we’re going to look at giving your readers that moment they’ve been craving — your hero and heroine
riding off (sometimes literally) into the sunset.

The importance of a happily-ever-after

We’ve talked before about reader expectations in romance. Well, arguably the biggest of all is the
promise of a happy ending. If a romance doesn’t have a happy ending, is it even a romance? I suppose
that’s debatable, but when writing category romance, it’s best to think of the happy ending as a non-
negotiable component.

Play around with the characters, the setting, and the tropes, but at the end of the day, your hero and
heroine need to choose each other over all else. And while there doesn’t have to be a proposal or a
wedding, there does need to be some confirmation that everything is definitely going to work out.
Romances are, after all, fairy tales, and you need to leave readers satisfied with a happily-ever-after.

Why you should avoid cliffhangers

If you are writing a series, the question of whether you should leave anything up in the air is one you’ll
probably ask as you bring your novel toward its conclusion.

If you’re planning to write a series that focuses on one couple only, it’s okay to leave a few things open-
ended. But ideally, you want the book to also be able to stand alone. That means providing enough of a
resolution that things feel, well, resolved. At least for now.

There are some elements that can be left dangling with regards to supporting characters, especially if
they are going to be featured in their own book down the road. As far as your main couple goes, though,
you want to give the reader a sense that "this is it" for them. They’ve weathered the storm and come
out stronger.
Cliffhangers rob readers of the satisfying escape they crave in a romance. It might feel like a good way to
get your readers to buy the next book in your series, but in reality — in this genre at least — it usually
just leaves readers feeling frustrated. If you’re going to write a cliffhanger, make sure you have a really
good reason to do so.

Tie up those loose ends

Ending a book on a cliffhanger isn’t the only way to frustrate your readers: leaving other aspects of the
plot unanswered will do that too. After you’ve finished your first draft and you’re going back over the
story to make revisions, keep an eye out for any plot threads that don’t go anywhere.

You shouldn’t introduce any problems that don’t get resolved (with the exception of that bachelor
brother who’s gonna get his own book). If somebody’s business is in trouble, make sure it’s somehow
saved by the end.

Even if it’s a plot that will be revisited in a future book, give it some sort of resolution in this one. The
last thing you want is for readers to reach the end of your book and wonder, “What about the dog they
rescued? Why was it never mentioned again?”

Romance is not a genre where you want to carry problems from book to book. Tie up those loose ends
and your reader will thank you!

Key takeaways

Make sure you stick the landing with a happy ending, no matter what you do with the ups and downs of
your plot.

Even if you’re writing a series, try to avoid cliffhanger endings. Romance is not the genre for major
dangling questions. Readers want a satisfying experience that doesn’t leave them frustrated.
Make sure you haven’t introduced any elements that never get resolved. Issues surrounding other
characters and settings should all be touched on again before the novel concludes.

Thank you so much for coming along on this romance writing journey with me! I hope you enjoyed it as
much as I did and, more importantly, I hope you learned a little something along the way. 😊

I wish you the very best of luck with all your writing endeavors and when you’re ready for an editor,
please come and find me on Reedsy, where I’ll be happy to help you take your project to the next level!

— Kate

Recommended Reads/Resources

Grown-Up Reading: Why Romance and Happy Endings Matter (blog)

On Happy Endings (blog)

Cliffhangers: For Them or Against Them (blog)

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Brought to you by Kate Studer

With over a decade of experience working in romance publishing, Kate Studer is a full-time editor and
writer based out of Southwestern Ontario, Canada. As a freelancer, she’s had the pleasure of helping
craft a variety of manuscripts from indie authors to New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. She
loves collaborating on stories readers can’t put down and helping new writers find their voices.

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Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Issue #1 of 10
The Importance of Character
Development

Think for a moment about your favorite novel. Why do you love it? Does it have a riveting plot that
keeps you breathless as you flip frantically through the pages? Does the theme truly speak to your soul
and your circumstances?
Both plot and theme are vital elements that should never be neglected in writing, but ponder this, if you
will: would the stakes of that plot have you biting your nails if you didn’t care about the characters in it?
Would the full impact of that theme be adequately conveyed if it was lived out by one-dimensional
characters?

The short answer is no.

Characters must endear themselves to readers

If you want your novel to become someone’s prized, well-worn copy, you must treat your characters as
if they were loved ones. They must feel familiar and vibrant. They must sprout from the page, and
endear themselves to your audience with their personalities, quirks, and ways of talking. Yes, even
villains endear themselves to readers — the good ones at least — just in a different way. If your readers
don’t hate your villain, the stakes aren’t as high. If they can’t sympathize with your villain on any level,
you have lost the humanization that makes the best villains great.

If you learn to build your characters with clay rather than merely drawing them on paper — giving them
complexities, distinctive personalities, and strong motivations — your readers will deeply invest
themselves in the plot. They can make predictions on what will happen because they feel they know
what each character might do in a given situation and they will stick around to see if they’re right. When
you make readers love your hero or heroes, they want to make sure those characters come out alright in
the end. You’ve hooked them, and isn’t that every author’s dream?

Your characters will guide your plot

Understanding your characters also helps you craft the book. Don’t know where the plot should go
next? If you’ve properly outlined your characters, as I am going to teach you to do in the lessons to
come, you can consult all of that background information and those personality charts and ask yourself,
what would this character do next? What might make this character do this? This brainstorming tool can
help you take the plot in exciting new directions, and as you grow more familiar with your characters’
beliefs and motivations, your theme will grow a little clearer, too.

In these lessons, I’m going to give you the tools to shape your characters from the smallest details like
eye color and food preference; to how they walk, talk, and interact with the other characters; to the
ways in which their pasts dictate their futures.
If you understand your characters inside and out, the writing process becomes easier, and if you love
them... well, chances are your readers will love them, too.

Hannah

Recommended Reads:

Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (book)

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Brought to you by Hannah Sandoval

Hannah Sandoval is a freelance ghostwriter and copy editor who has worked on over two dozen
manuscripts, and a published author herself. Her guilty pleasures are Rocky Road ice cream and crime
TV shows. If you would like to connect with her to discuss assistance with your manuscript or character
outlines, check out her Reedsy profile.

What Makes a Great Character?

I have a theory that the best characters have three things in common: dimension, conflict, and empathy.
Using three famous characters as examples, I will break down how authors use these three elements to
great effect, and how you can, too.

1. Dimension

You’ve doubtless come across dull protagonists, and I’ll bet serious money the reason you found them
boring was that they were too simple, too perfect, or just flat. Protagonists who do no wrong provide no
conflict or tension — with only a small set of similar attributes, they become boring and cartoonish. If
you actually knew someone monotonous and one-dimensional, would you want to hang out with them?
Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is layered with internal paradoxes. He’s quiet and
somewhat timid — his daughter often laments that he is weak and ineffectual. Yet, we discover there is
power in his soft, steady words. He stands strong in the face of adversity. He turns out to be a dead shot
with a pistol, too, which would seem to contradict his pacifist demeanor.

Atticus also has his flaws and failures. Under his sister’s influence, he tells Scout she needs to start living
up to her lineage and become a lady. Our principled man is not without his moments of weakness, and
thus he feels far more real.

2. Conflict

A strong character must have some sort of internal conflict that drives the plot in some way. Conflict is
the momentum that keeps a story going, and grappling with issues related to the plot within the
character keeps readers hooked.

And who is more conflicted than Carrie White, the namesake of Stephen King’s debut novel? As puberty
hits, Carrie develops powerful telekinetic abilities. She also begins to grapple with her feelings for her
abusive zealot of a mother. Carrie has no friends, and thus her mother is the center of her life — she
truly loves her, but also fears and loathes her.

As Carrie struggles to control her powers, she also struggles to manage her feelings of anger and
resentment. She is kind and sweet, and the core tension of the story comes from the reader wanting her
to stand up for herself, but also fearing that she’ll lose the innocence that defines much of who she is.

3. Empathy

Missing yesterday's lesson? Click here

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Issue #2 of 10

What Makes a Great Character?

I have a theory that the best characters have three things in common: dimension, conflict, and empathy.
Using three famous characters as examples, I will break down how authors use these three elements to
great effect, and how you can, too.
1. Dimension

You’ve doubtless come across dull protagonists, and I’ll bet serious money the reason you found them
boring was that they were too simple, too perfect, or just flat. Protagonists who do no wrong provide no
conflict or tension — with only a small set of similar attributes, they become boring and cartoonish. If
you actually knew someone monotonous and one-dimensional, would you want to hang out with them?

Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is layered with internal paradoxes. He’s quiet and
somewhat timid — his daughter often laments that he is weak and ineffectual. Yet, we discover there is
power in his soft, steady words. He stands strong in the face of adversity. He turns out to be a dead shot
with a pistol, too, which would seem to contradict his pacifist demeanor.

Atticus also has his flaws and failures. Under his sister’s influence, he tells Scout she needs to start living
up to her lineage and become a lady. Our principled man is not without his moments of weakness, and
thus he feels far more real.

2. Conflict

A strong character must have some sort of internal conflict that drives the plot in some way. Conflict is
the momentum that keeps a story going, and grappling with issues related to the plot within the
character keeps readers hooked.

And who is more conflicted than Carrie White, the namesake of Stephen King’s debut novel? As puberty
hits, Carrie develops powerful telekinetic abilities. She also begins to grapple with her feelings for her
abusive zealot of a mother. Carrie has no friends, and thus her mother is the center of her life — she
truly loves her, but also fears and loathes her.

As Carrie struggles to control her powers, she also struggles to manage her feelings of anger and
resentment. She is kind and sweet, and the core tension of the story comes from the reader wanting her
to stand up for herself, but also fearing that she’ll lose the innocence that defines much of who she is.

3. Empathy
Empathy is most powerful when attached to villains. If you want a great, complex villain that sticks in
your readers’ minds, you must make readers understand why your villains do the things they do.
Creating a moment where the reader feels some empathy for the villain humanizes them, eliminating
that cartoonish “Big Bad” feel.

Harry Potter’s Voldemort is a vile half-being who kills for pleasure and power, but you can, on some
level, understand where his hatred of muggles comes from. Neither he nor his mother felt any love from
the muggle half of his family. Sure, it excuses nothing, but you at least understand his origins. You also
come to understand that despite how big he walks and talks, at his core, there is an insecure, angry, hurt
child who constantly needs to prove that he can succeed without a mother or father. He is not a
caricature; he is a living, breathing threat.

If you have at least one of these elements attached to your main characters, you’re in good shape. If you
attach all three, you’ve got a character who leaps off the page and demands to be noticed.

I’ll see you tomorrow,

Your Readers Will Love

Issue #3 of 10
Which Comes First? The Characters or
the Plot?

Before we start outlining your characters’ backgrounds, personalities, and appearances, I want to
address a common question. Which should you outline first: your characters or your plot?

Well, all writing is subjective and there is no ‘best’ method — which is a good thing. Not every writer’s
creative process is identical, so the order is all up to you and will be dictated by your muse. However, to
get your wheels turning, here are the main pros and cons of developing character or plot outlines first.

‘Plot First’ Method

Pro: Select the perfect characters for the job

Plotting first is especially helpful if your novel takes place in a fantastical or futuristic world. Knowing the
plot’s setting and events gives you a better idea of what sorts of people inhabit that world, how they act,
and their day-to-day experiences. As you unravel your plot, you may realize exactly which type of
character will fit best within it. If your plot requires someone highly skilled in combat or computer
hacking, you have the basis for your protagonist.

Con: Character realism may suffer

Be careful not to let the needs of a complex plot force you to cram together an unrealistic hodge-podge
of traits into your lead characters. You’ll need to shape your character’s background and motivations to
suit the course of your plot, but not at the risk of creating a character whose complexities make no
sense. On the flip side, if you fail to match character with plot, your readers may end up asking, “Now,
why would the protagonist do that? That doesn’t sound like them.”

‘Character First’ Method

Pro: Character motivations and personalities naturally fuel the plot

As you outline a character’s motivations, you’ll uncover what situations would cause them the most
conflict. You’ll also learn how they react to situations and interact with each other. This can help you
turn a general plot idea into a complex web of biting conflicts, high stakes, and exciting, realistic
dialogue. If ever you get stuck along your plot trajectory, you can use character maps to fuel a new idea.

Con: Aspects of character may be difficult to pinpoint without a larger knowledge of plot

If your plot is just a vague idea like “noir mystery” or “post-apocalyptic,” you may have trouble
pinpointing the nature of your characters’ backgrounds. You need, at least, a semi-developed idea of
plot trajectory to fully understand your characters’ lives and the traits they need to survive your plot.

Whichever method you select, don’t let either aspect (character development or plot) overshadow the
other. Spend time on both elements before you work on your first draft.

So now that we’ve addressed that pressing question, we can start outlining our characters in
tomorrow’s lesson. See you then!

Hannah
Developing Characters That Your
Readers Will Love
Issue #4 of 10
Outlining Part I: Origins Matter

Let’s start outlining!

I’ll spread the process over three lessons, covering three essential aspects of character outlines. The first
is character backgrounds. Where your character has been will dictate where they are going. Past
experiences define who we are as people: our opinions, how we react to certain situations, our fears,
etc.

Mapping out your major characters’ childhoods and the landmark events in their lives before the
opening of your story is a necessary exercise. Not all of that background will figure into your story, but
every character should have an inciting incident and formative events that have led them to the
“present” of your book, and those should be shown (or at least suggested) in the novel so that your
readers understand who your characters are.

Outlining methods

Common outlining methods include the bubble brainstorming method, the Q&A method, and the
stream of consciousness method.

The Bubble Method: you might write your character’s name in a bubble and then draw some branches
to other bubbles that contain that character’s family members with a brief description of how your
character feels about each one. You then create other branches to bubbles containing memories your
character shares with each person.
The Q&A Method: you could start by writing a question about your character on one line and answering
it below. This is great for writers who like to keep things super organized.

Stream of Consciousness: keep vital questions in mind, but you jot down anything about the character’s
past, even full scenes, as they come to you in an unbroken stream of paragraphs.

No matter which method you use, having some questions to ask yourself to spark imagination is
essential.

Questions to ask to develop a character’s origins

Here are a few questions to help you get started:

What is their family dynamic? (How many members, how do they interact, etc.)

Was their childhood happy or troubled?

Where did they grow up?

Were they rich, poor, middle class?

Who are their friends and how did they meet?

Were there any traumas in their lives?

What are some of their happiest memories? Worst memories?

Why did they choose their career?

How many romantic relationships have they had? Were they good or bad? Why did they end?

What is one thing they would wish to change about the past?

Not every answer will make it into the book, but they will help you better understand your characters.
For instance, if a character’s older brother died due to gang violence but was venerated by his gang, that
character might wish to follow in his sibling’s footsteps. But if the character was impacted by the effect
the death had on their mother, he might become a cop who tries to save youths from gangs.

Crafting character origins is all about connecting dots and threading together past and present to create
characters with thick, healthy roots to support their growth throughout the story.
Your Readers Will Love

Issue #5 of 10
Outlining Part II: Shaping a Character’s Personality

Character origins dictate some aspects of a character’s personality, but many elements are ingrained at
birth. This lesson is about taking the time to fully develop a well-rounded character personality.

Personality dictates a character’s relationship with readers, as well as with other characters in the story.
Your protagonist doesn’t have to be a goody-two-shoes — they just need a trait or two that endears
them to the audience. Likewise, villains need traits that make the audience hate them. These personality
traits will also dictate how they react in any plot situation. Stay true to those traits, or you’ll leave
readers puzzled.

Developing a Personality

Remember those backstory questions from yesterday? Here are a few more to help you mold your
characters’ personalities:

What are their biggest fears?

What are their interests, hobbies, and passions?

What things and people do they like best? Dislike?

What makes them angry?

What makes them sad?

What makes them happy?

How do they cope under stress?

Do they act differently around friends than around family?

Are they introverts or extroverts?

What do they want most? (In family, in friends, in a lover, in their career, in life in general.)
That last question is one of the most important. Understanding what your characters want out of life
can create conflicts (for example, the character stepping on toes to reach a goal), dictate and explain
actions, and determine how they interact with the other characters.

People are bundles of contradictions

It’s important to select a complex, varied array of traits. People are complicated. If you want your
characters to be realistic, avoid heroes who never cause harm, break no rules, and always have the right
answer. Avoid villains who are always angry and aggressive, always make the wrong decisions, and
always lose.

That doesn’t mean your heroes and villains can’t have a few stereotypical traits, not by any means.
Those traits are common for a reason. Just don’t make those their only traits, or you’ll end up with a
caricature.

Perhaps your villain is a sullen, merciless hitman who never speaks a kind word… except to his disabled
daughter, whom he adores.

Of course, not all great villains have redeeming qualities like that. Umbridge from Harry Potter has none,
but she still is a complex villain. Her passion for pink and cats and her habit of giggling contrast heavily
with her violent, manipulative tendencies.

Maybe your hero is extremely loyal… to a fault, trusting too much and giving the wrong people too many
second chances. Perhaps it’s a weakness for one person in particular — like the great Sherlock Holmes
has for Irene Adler, one of only two people to have outsmarted the renowned sleuth.

Draw from people you know, from yourself, and characters you love to create complex figures. As their
personalities come through in their words and actions, your story will begin to resonate with readers.

Hannah

Recommended Reads:

8 Character Development Exercises to Help You Nail Your Character (blog)

The Ultimate Character Questionnaire (over 150 questions) (blog)

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Issue #6 of 10
Outlining Part III: The Importance of Character Descriptions

Many beginner writers make the mistake of focusing on hair color, eye color, height, and race when
describing their characters. While those elements help create a picture in readers’ heads, they don’t
really make a character stick out.

Think about signature attributes

You want something that imprints in the readers’ minds and helps to define the characters themselves.

Think Katniss Everdeen’s braid, which aligns with her practical, self-sufficient nature. She can’t have her
hair in her face when she’s hunting or fighting. Think Sherlock Holmes’ pipe, which he puffs on furiously
when he’s puzzling over a particularly difficult case. Think the large, pale “vulture-eye” in Poe’s “The
Tell-Tale Heart,” which serves as the catalyst for the entire story. The old man is never named, but you
remember him clearly, don’t you? That is the power of excellent character description.

Behaviour

As you might have picked up from the Sherlock Holmes example, a character description does not
always have to deal in appearance. Gestures, habits, and tics are very much a part of character
description and should showcase a new aspect of personality. If your readers become familiar with a
character’s gestures, they will know when they are angry, anxious, or happy without you spelling it out
for them.

Symbolism

Symbolism is an element of character description that can be fun to play around with. You can use
indirect suggestion through imagery to give readers a hidden clue or message.
Flannery O’Conner was a master of inserting symbolism in her character descriptions. In “Good Country
People,” those attuned to symbolism might have guessed the Bible salesman’s true nature from the get-
go. His signature suitcase of Bibles is so heavy that it tilts him to one side. He is literally a crooked
salesman. Dropping symbolic Easter eggs like this is not only fun for you, but also for your more eagle-
eyed readers.

Questions to ask to define a character’s appearance

Hair and eye color? (Basics, but classics.)

Any “flaws”? Scars, crooked nose, etc. (Don’t make all your heroes look like movie stars: that isn’t very
realistic.)

What’s their body type? Skinny, lanky, short, pudgy, etc.

What are some of their physical habits? Do they twirl their hair, wring their hands, stand with hands on
hips? (Think about people you know and observe those you don’t to help you come up with ideas.)

What gestures do they use when they are happy, sad, scared, angry, etc.?

Make your characters distinctive from each other. Of course, siblings will share some traits, and friends
should have similarities that help them get along — just don’t have a bland collection of nearly identical
personalities.

Good descriptions allow your readers to picture your characters and make them last in readers’ minds
long after the book is closed.

Your Readers Will Love

Issue #7 of 10
How to Properly Use Flashbacks

Now you know how to flesh out a character’s background, personality, and appearance. It’s time to
properly implement all of that information into your novel. You don’t want to just plop it all into the
story in block paragraphs. Your character’s identity must be woven into the story to create the best
reader experience.

A long, long time ago

Let’s start with their background. A common way to highlight and introduce the most important
elements of a character’s background is through flashback. This is usually only reserved for your
protagonist and antagonist — though often just the protagonist if the story is told from the hero’s
perspective. It’s also only used for moments that truly impacted the character and relate somehow to
the present storyline.

Secondary characters’ backgrounds (or less important memories) can be told through dialogue, or one
or two sentences of exposition in the narrative rather than with a full flashback.

So what is a flashback? It’s when you cut away from the main plot line and immerse the reader in a
scene that took place in the past.

Flashbacks can be presented:

As a dream.

Through a character reminiscing in their head.

As its own chapter, with a date or some sort of prefacing line to indicate that we’re in the past.

In the middle of a chapter narrative, and written as if it is happening in the present. In this case, the
memory is often in italics to differentiate it from the “present” of the main storyline.

Any of these methods can be effective. The key is selecting the right memories for a flashback.

What is their defining moment?

Go through your character outline and find the answers to lesson 4’s origin questions. What moment
had the largest impact on who your character became?

Did your heroine’s rocky relationship with her mother make her run away at seventeen, forcing her to
grow up faster than she should have? That would make a great flashback that would help the readers
understand why she’s a hard worker to a fault, and empathize more with her.
Did your hero have a near-death experience that resulted in a terrible fear of heights? That’s a great
flashback option, too, especially if the plot will later force him into a precarious situation involving
extreme heights. That’s another way flashbacks are helpful: if you set up a character trait through a
flashback that makes the readers feel like they also experienced that moment, then any related stakes
that occur later will be raised even higher for readers.

Get creative with your flashback method if you want. You don’t have to stick to the dream sequence or
have your character reminisce while driving. In Harry Potter, for instance, J.K. Rowling uses the
‘pensieve,’ a magical device that allows wizards to actually watch memories play out like an interactive
film.

No matter how you do it, the key is making your readers feel like they’re living in that flashback scene
and ensuring the flashback teaches them something new and vital about the plot or the character.

Tomorrow, we’re flashing back to the present to look at another side of implementing character.

Missing yesterday's lesson? Click here

Developing Characters That Your Readers Will Love

Issue #8 of 10
How to write (and not write) character
exposition
Exposition is a useful writing tool, but it is commonly overused, and that is when it turns ugly.

As a literary device, exposition is meant to introduce background information and convey necessary plot
points quickly. Exposition can be found throughout literature and is commonly found in the first few
chapters to get readers up to speed.
If your main character is speeding to her grandfather’s house, crying, you might insert something like,
“Her grandfather was the only person she could talk to about her mother’s wild mood swings, and this
time, a phone call was not enough. She needed to go see him, get away from the ugly words spoken
between her and her mother.” You’ve explained why she’s going to her grandfather, revealed a little
about her mother’s personality and her own background, and you’ve set up a conflict. You’ve oriented
the reader with exposition.

Warning: Exposition Overload

The problem appears when you cram too much in. If you write, “Her mother had thrown a vase at her
head and screamed that she regretted ever having a daughter,” you’ve ruined the potential for a great
flashback scene later in the story. Those ugly words would have been far more powerful in scene form,
especially after we’d gotten to know the protagonist better.

Revealing characters in a scene

When inserting the elements of your character personality outline into the story, remember the old
adage, “Show don’t tell.” Giving some background info is necessary, but don’t cram in lackluster
sentences like, “Georgia always got angry when her little sister stole her clothes.” Instead, show that
angry part of her personality in scene with a mix of narrative and dialogue:

Georgia stomped across the hall, huffing through her nose, and kicked open Lila’s door.

“Where is my red skirt? Any idea?” she said, one eyebrow raised to dangerous heights.

Lila stammered.

“If I find a single stain on it, you’re dead,” said Georgia, throwing open Lila’s closet and rummaging
through the clothes.

Lila crossed her arms and skulked on the bed. “I didn’t do anything to it. Geez, it’s not a big deal,” she
mumbled.

We get a taste for Georgia’s short fuse. We see her mannerisms: if she huffs through her nose again in a
later scene, we will know she’s upset. We also get the sense that Lila is a bit afraid of Georgia without
having to come out and say it, thanks to her gestures. But her final line shows she isn’t totally going to
roll over for her big sister.

The best way for readers to identify with and understand your characters’ personalities is to live
alongside them in a scene. In that short exchange, you get a sense of each sister’s personality and their
relationship — as there’s far more information than can (or should) be expressed in single line of
exposition.

Exposition has its place; you just need to learn when and when not to use it while implementing your
characters’ personalities.