It’s time to Meet the Girl!

Writing a romantic suspense has its own challenges – not only does the author have to deal with the suspense storyline, but the romance must be threaded in as well, usually in equal parts.

Because we’ve already jumpstarted the suspense in chapter 1, Kenzie’s scene, and moved her forward into the Noble Quest (staying alive!) in Chapter 2, we’re now going to turn our focus on Luke, our hero.

In Luke’s first scene, in Chapter 1, we started in his home world, and because the suspense plot hadnt’ quite touched him yet, I started out with a glimpse at his character, the heroic man he is, and a taste of what he’ll do for others (namely, risk his life). And, although his first scene doesn’t have the suspense plot in it, it does contain an element of suspense.

And, the event serves to propel Luke into this awkward moment with the heroine in Chapter 2.  He thinks she’s a reporter coming to interview him about his rescue of his nephew.

It gives us the opportunity to really cement the essential conflict between Luke and Kenzie – their different worlds, different expectations.

As I write this Meet the Girl scene, I’m going to cover a number of foundational romance elements from Luke’s POV.

We need to understand the state of Luke’s Love Life. What is his history with women?  Has he been in love?  What holds him back from love?  What kind of woman does he need?

Then, as he meets Kenzie, we move into the elements of their romance.  This is a Why Not/Why romance, which means we’re going to start out with the conflict, then they’ll fall in love as the story moves forward (as opposed to having “love at first sight” and then the big Breakup.).  So, we’ll start with the things about her that drive him crazy and highlighting their essential conflict.  (even if they don’t recognize it).

However, we want to see some potential for love between them, so we’ll hint at something Luke likes as well, maybe something he doesn’t even realize.

Of course, since it’s a suspense, I’ll weave in words that highlight that.  I added in a rainy day to insert an element of chaos.

Here’s the scene:  Chapter 2.Scene 2.Luke with SMW Comments

Tomorrow I’ll give you a Meet the Girl chapter checklist!

Hello to all my friends from ACFW! What a fun conference!  Don’t Stop Believin’!
Susie May