  Romance/Love
This week: Who's Who in Romance Edited by: StephBee  
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Halloween is just around the corner. I smell the  pumpkin seed roasting and the apple pies baking. Depending where you live, the colors of the leaves are changing. The weather is cooling off. Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins decorate our lawns. In today's Editor's Picks, I offer several ghostly romantic reads. Enjoy!
Today, though, I thought I'd talk about the secondary characters in a romance novel. Just how important are they? Do they help the hero and heroine or only get in the away?
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| ASIN: B085272J6B |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 9.99
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Your hero and heroine need to be "rounded" out and secondary characters help do that. After all, they both have family, friends, and even enemies.
The challenge with secondary characters is that you've got to find the right balance. Too many take away from the hero/heroine's story, not enough may hinder the main characters development. Here's a look at important secondary characters.
The Significant Third
This character is usually pivotal to the action; the reason for the conflict or story. They play a major role. It could be a best friend, a child, a parent, or even the villain. The significant third needs to be kept on the edge of the hero/heroine's romance.
The Villain
This character's goal usually isn't to get in the middle of the hero and heroine's romance - he or she is usually seeking revenge, wanting to acquire money or property, or trying to destroy a threat. The best villains always have a sympathetic element about them. Readers don't need to approve of their actions, but if they understand why the villain does what he does, then he's a much more effective character.
The Other Woman
Written effectively, "the other woman," allows opposition to the heroine. To be useful, she's got to have some sympathetic qualities. After all, if she's a pain, why would our hero interact with her? "The Other Woman," has to have more than a desire to make the heroine miserable, she has to have a reason for her action/interference - and remember - the heroine should be able to put the other woman in her place without stooping to her level.
The Wrong Man
This guy is bad news for the heroine. Mind you, he's not necessarily a bad guy, he just isn't "the one" for the heroine. Again, he's got to have sympathetic/redeeming qualities about him, or why would the heroine have been involved with him in the first place?
Family Members
They may drive the hero/heroine crazy with their brutal honesty, but they can often compel hero/heroine to action.
Friends
They often speak their minds to the hero/heroine with their unsolicited opinions, but showing the hero/heroine with their friends is a great way to reveal what type of person the hero/heroine is.
TIP: An author reveals a character through 3 ways: their thoughts, actions, and words.
Reference for this Newsletter: On Writing Romance, by Leigh Michaels, F&W Publications, 2007.
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| |  | Invalid Item
This item number is not valid.
#413296 by Not Available. |
| |  | GHOST (E)
Love tells a million tales. This is one of them.
#1831713 by Sabine  |
| | Last Chance (13+)
Tom and Val were once happy. Against all odds, they have a chance to be again.
#147307 by anniesong |
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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
Don't forget to support our sponsor!
| ASIN: B07YXBT9JT |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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Feedback from my 19 SEP Romance/Love NL:
Joy 
Fascinating era to write about, partly because there was just enough progress but not too much, and people could hide things from each other or could manufacture believable lies. In our day, everyone's reachable at the click of a button, as is their business. Thanks for a great NL, Steph. 
StephBee is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. Her novel, "The Wolf's Torment" won GOLD in the 2012 Reader's Favorite Contest in Fiction: Supernatural. Her novel, "Victorian Scoundrel" won BRONZE in the 2012 Reader's Favorite Contest in Romance: Historical. Her novel, "Danube in Candlelight" was a FINALIST in the 2012 Reader's Favorite Contest in Romance: Sci-Fi/Fantasy. |
| ASIN: B01FST8A90 |
Product Type: Toys & Games
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Amazon's Price: $ 24.95
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Romance/Love: October 17, 2012 Issue [#5310]
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