For the last two weeks on the blog, I’ve been going through the 10 beats of a romance that we discussed last February so as to refresh our minds before we start putting the elements together. This week, we’re going to dive into taking those beats and combining them with our story structure so that we can actually build our novel.
Just to sum up, we’re going to be working with the first three beats as we start putting together Act 1.
Beat 1: Boy Meets Girl: In this component, there is an event, goal or circumstance that occurs to bring our hero and heroine together—Usually this happens in the first chapter, but it definitely needs to happen by Chapter 3.
Some examples that you thought up before:
You’ve got mail—they were both in a chat room and started talking about New York City in the fall.
Sleepless in Seattle—the phone call to the radio show
Harry Met Sally—the car ride
While You Were Sleeping – Christmas at the family’s home.
The Cutting Edge—the hero and heroine bump into each other at the Olympics when he knocks her down. But really later, she needs a skating partner.
Titanic—the Ship!
Chasing Liberty—the heroine runs out and needs a ride to get away from the paparazzi.
Return to Me—the hero is on a bad date in the restaurant.
Beat 2: Interest/Need: Something about their own situation makes their heart vulnerable to romance.
Some examples might be:
Titanic…Rose hates her life, feels suffocated and longs for freedom and adventure. Jack is a vagabond, and when he sees this beautiful woman who loves him, he is affirmed. She believes in him!
Sleepless in Seattle—she is marrying a man she doesn’t really love. He’s lost the only woman he thinks he can ever love.
It’s very important for you to figure out what it is about your characters that make them ready or vulnerable to romance. Often this element is revealed though a conversation they have with their friends. Or is a part of inciting incident.
Beat 3: Why Not: These are the Obstacles between the hero and heroine, the True Love that conspires to separate them.
As we’ve talked about before, there are two romance structures: Why/Why Not and Why Not/Why.
The why not/why structure is when the obstacles appear first, and the why (they need to be together, which we’ll get to soon) appears second.
Or, you may have a why/why not book where they fall in love first…and then realize why they can’t be together.
Never the less, a hint at the obstacles in the beginning are a way to keep the tension high between them.
So, now we have the three beats we’ll be using to insert into our first Act elements:
Let’s review the First Act:
ACT 1
Life
Inciting Incident
The Big Debate
Noble Quest
We start with LIFE – that snapshot of their ordinary, everyday world, the starting place of their journey. Many romances start with the hero/heroine meeting in the LIFE chapter, and if you are writing for Love Inspired or Heartsong, this is a must. If you are writing a longer trade novel, you can have them meet in chapter two, but definitely, you want them together by chapter three.
So, let’s say you’re putting them together in chapter one. Along with the other first chapter elements of hinting at what is at STAKE for your character, putting them in Sympathetic Situation (or a situation that makes the reader identify with them), Anchoring them into the world, starting with the story already in motion and finally hinting at the story problem, you also want to weave in the beats:
Boy Meets Girl – you want them to meet each other. Now, they don’t have to talk to each other, but you want to make a statement that they’ve seen each other. Some of my first scenes are running into each other, seeing one or the other on television, tracking someone down as the object of an investigation, being assigned to protect/interview/fire someone. Asking for a job, rescuing someone on the side of the road, being assigned to work with them… anything that would put them together. They might even be haggling over the same pumpkin/Christmas tree! Whatever works. Like I said, they don’t have to talk – they just have to remember meeting each other.
Start with asking: How do your characters meet?
Weaving that in with the other chapter one elements – can you combine this Sympathy? For example, in Escape to Morning, my heroine has just come off a body recover with her K9 SAR dog, and the hero nearly runs the dog over with his car. He feels badly for her, so he invites her out for dinner.
Ask: Does your Boy Meets Girl moment contain any elements of sympathy?
Now, after you have the Boy Meets Girl, you might add in an interest/need. Something about their life suggests they are single, or in need of a good woman (or man). For example, in Taming Rafe my heroine has a date to her gala event, but he’s rude and condescending and it is clear she’s with the wrong man. In Nothing but Trouble, my heroine, PJ, breaks up with her boyfriend in the first scene (and thoughts of her old beau Boone enter her mind almost immediately. This is how I get him on the page. J )
In Reclaiming Nick, Piper sees Nick as a patron of his café, and watches him rescue a girl in need. She makes a comment about how she doesn’t need a man rescuing her – and we realize she’s never had anyone protect her.
They may not REALIZE they have a need or interest, but the reader does by the way they react, or comments they make, or an opinion or internal thought. The idea is that they notice the other person and something about them piques their interest because they have a need/latent desire for a relationship.
Ask: How do your characters show they have an interest or need for romance?
Finally, you’re going to add in tension – by hinting at the Why Not. Now, let’s go back to the other elements. You might incorporate the element of sympathy here. OR, you could move onto the STAKES of the story – what might happen if she doesn’t get what she wants, and how does HE stand in the way of it? Let the Why Not do double duty and be a part of her overall conflict.
For example – in Reclaiming Nick, Piper and Nick’s Why Not is that she is trying to prove that he helped kill her brother. At stake is her career – she is trying to land an anchor position and landing this story will cinch it. So, if she proves his guilt, then she gets the job. The Why Not plays a role in the plot – she has to choose between happily ever after in love, or happily ever after in her job.
Ask: How does the Why Not contribute to the stakes of your story? Can you hint at this in the beginning scene, or act?
I know it’s a lot to think about, and yes, you can stretch some of these elements over the first couple chapters, but as you put together your romance, you need to know how to let elements do double-duty and lay a firm foundation for every story thread. Tomorrow, we’ll be talking about how to incorporate they why/why not into Act 1, and move your story into Act 2!
By the way, although the story crafting retreat is full, ACFW Denver is having a one-day intensive seminar on story crafting – I’ll also be introducing my new “Managing the Muddle” class on how to strengthen the middle of your novel. J http://www.acfwcolorado.com/events.html
If you have questions about how to build a great romance, check out the romance discussion at www.mybooktherapy.ning.com
Susie May