  Romance/Love
This week: Edited by: SantaBee  
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I'm excited to be back for another guest editing spot with the Romance/Love Newsletter. Last time I talked about the qualities a female romantic lead should embody and I got some great feedback on that, so I just want to thank everyone for their support.
This week I wanted to talk about conflict, but conflict in regards to romance. While conflict is essential, ultimately you want your hero and heronine to make love, not war. |
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Ah, l'amour! It inspires hope and your story already implies a happy ending between the hero and the heroine. It's a romance, after all, not a tragedy. That said, it's not enough to have the hero and heroine meet. It's the conflict they encounter which threatens to keep them from their happy ending.
Conflict must have layers. It's not satisfiying if the hero and heroine are tackling a problem and getting along great. They have a problem to solve together, yes, but no conflict.
So what is conflict? Honest to goodness meaty romantic conflict?
It's not:
Fighting or aruging - this is superfiscal.
(Let's face it, fighting is not romantic.)
A delay - where's the conflict in a delay?
A failure to communicate - Your hero and heroine must be able to make a decision. They must know what they want.
Another person meddling - if this is the cause of the conflict, then the hero/heroine might appear too passive to take charge of their lives.
Ultimately, conflict centers around the type of character the hero and heroine are.
Short Term Conflict
This is a short term problem that brings your hero & heroine together.
Long Term Conflict
This conflict challenges the hero and heroine to find happiness.
Think of it like this:
The short term conflict is an external problem that usually opens up your romance story. The long term conflict is the internal conflict that the characters have - lack of trust for example, or a painful past. This is the conflict the hero and heroine have to overcome to come together as a couple.
Trust issues, a fear of rejection, these are a few examples of the "meat and potatoes" of romantic conflict.
 Once you get past the short term conflict, you need to explore the long term conflict. Then you can draw the deep emotions out of your characters.
Here's the plot pattern:
1. Your story opens with a short term problem that the hero & heroine have to tackle.
2. Hero and heroine are attracted.
3. The long term conflict threatens to get in the way of true happiness. ie, he has trust issues, she fears rejection.
Now you need "THE FORCE" or the reason the hero and heroine work past the long term conflict.
The force can be:
The hero & heroine need each other so badly they can't walk away from each other.
Outside influences keep them in close proximity. (A rain storm keeps them in a log cabin)
The hero or heroine have a logical and valid reason to force the other to stay in the situation. ie, she is contracted to work for him until the project is finished.
Reference: On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels, 2007, F&W Publications
FEEDBACK: Remember the Sound of Music? It's one of my favorite romances. What's the short term problem? The Baroness? What's the long term problem? Maria feeling like she's not the captain's equal? Write in!
Can you share a romance you recently read or watched that embodies short and long term conflicts?
If I'm able to come back what would you like to see me tackle next: Romantic poetry or Types of Relationships - how to ruin and repair them.
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Here's some picks from around the site:
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#1597948 by Not Available. |
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A short story in a letter format about love and war that I did for a proverb assignment.
#1602460 by Ligeia  |
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Here's some feedback from my 23 SEP 2009 Newsletter:
Brooke 
Another great newsletter Steph.
Great advice for everyone on writing the female romantic lead. I appreciate the time and effort you put into writing these articles.
You're welcome. I'm a romance writer by nature so I love writing these newsletters!
Briar Rose
Just a thought about Tempest's villain question. Patricia Veryan has several series of books and in one series, the guy who is her main villain in the first book shows up again and again, changing, learning, growing, until he is the hero of the final book. I haven't finished the series yet, but I was intrigued when I read about it. You're right, though, he couldn't have true love until he had learned his lesson and reformed. But reformed rakes are always the best. ;)
Of course, if the villain loves a villainess they can be together, but the very action of "falling in love" is so vulnerable that a real baddy won't be capable of it.
Anyway, just wanted to jump in on the conversation. :)
Thanks for another great newsletter!
Great thoughts! Thanks for sharing!
Doug Rainbow
"Genesis of the Raven" is a fictionalized account of how Edgar Allen Poe came to write his famous poem. It is a love story of an ill-fated, or, perhaps, well-fated love triangle. Poe's wife and his mistress have characteristics that invite comparison and contrast.
sunsetfire
What a wonderful newsletter this week! I particularly enjoyed the love poems at the end, especially "If I Knew". It was very touching to me. I absolutely love these newsletters every time they come because they are so real to me. Keep it up!
SantaBee is a 911 Dispatcher with LAPD. Her paranormal romance, "The Hungarian" will be published with Desert Breeze Publishing in May 2010.
Your Full Time Romance/Love Newsletter Editors:
darkin
Fyn-elf 
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Romance/Love: October 21, 2009 Issue [#3336]
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