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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/5310-Whos-Who-in-Romance.html
Romance/Love: October 17, 2012 Issue [#5310]

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Romance/Love


 This week: Who's Who in Romance
  Edited by: StephBee Author IconMail Icon
                             More Newsletters By This Editor  Open in new Window.

Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

A banner for the Romance/Love newsletter.


Halloween is just around the corner. I smell the *Jackolantern* pumpkin seed roasting and the apple pies baking. Depending where you live, the colors of the leaves are changing. The weather is cooling off.*Ghost* 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?


Word from our sponsor



Letter from the editor

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.

Ancient Blood   (Rated: 18+)
ASIN: 1601549164
ID #110997
Product Type: Book
Reviewer: StephBee Author Icon
Review Rated: 13+
  Setting:
  Story Plot:
  Length of :
  Usefulness:
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A



Editor's Picks

 Invalid Item Open in new Window.
This item number is not valid.
#413296 by Not Available.


 Anna Open in new Window. (13+)
Love is forever
#261898 by Andrea Author IconMail Icon


 The Dance Open in new Window. (E)
A teen's determination to go to her first college dance stuns her date.
#1384351 by Nomar Knight Author IconMail Icon


 Death Promise Open in new Window. (13+)
A promise he could never break... even after death.
#1215974 by wolveseyolvsey Author IconMail Icon


 GHOST Open in new Window. (E)
Love tells a million tales. This is one of them.
#1831713 by Sabine Author IconMail Icon


Last Chance Open in new Window. (13+)
Tom and Val were once happy. Against all odds, they have a chance to be again.
#147307 by anniesong Author IconMail Icon

 
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ASIN: B004PICKDS
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Ask & Answer

Feedback from my 19 SEP Romance/Love NL:

Joy Author IconMail Icon

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. *Smile*

A pic of me taken 2 years ago.

StephBee Author IconMail Icon 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.

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