Romance & Erotica

Publisher's note: Naughty Words for Nice Writers was originally published in 2015. It has since been updated with 800 more synonyms and a dozen new categories and writing guides. This is the updated version.If finding the right words for your romantic sex scene is challenging, Naughty Words for Nice...

What makes a romance novel a romance? How do you write a kissing book?Writing a well-structured romance isn’t the same as writing any other genre—something the popular novel and screenwriting guides don’t address. The romance arc is made up of its own story beats, and the external plot and theme need to be braided to the romance arc—not the other way around.Told in conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat can be read like you are sitting down to coffee with romance editor and author Gwen Hayes while she explains story structure. The way she does with her clients. Some of whom are regular inhabitants of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.Romancing the Beat is a recipe, not a rigid system. The beats don’t care if you plot or outline before you write, or if you pants your way through the drafts and do a “beat check” when you’re revising. Pantsers and plotters are both welcome. So sit down, grab a cuppa, and let’s talk about kissing books.

Secret Baby / Baby on the Doorstep / Accidental Pregnancy

A reference tool for plotting romance stories that are based around a baby trope - covering all romance genres.

How do we create fresh stories using these popular romance tropes?
Are you stuck trying to come up with new and interesting scenarios for your characters?

A reference tool for plotting Forced Proximity romance stories - covering all romance genres.

What is the appeal to romance readers of the forced proximity trope?
And how do we create unique stories that feature a situation of forced proximity?

The anxiety faced by characters who are forced into being around someone they find attractive but who’s

A reference tool for plotting Enemies to Lovers romance stories - covering all romance genres.

What is the appeal to romance readers of the enemies-to-lovers trope?
And how do we create fresh stories using this popular romance trope?

Aspiring romance writers will appreciate the industry-insider tips and practical advice offered in this fully revised and updated guide written by a top romance novelist. Step-by-step explanations to creating believable characters, handling dialogue, choosing settings, developing workable conflicts, and crafting effective plots are provided.

This is a great reference book for those writing MM Romance. While a lot of the common romance tropes are also in this subgenre, some tropes are frowned upon. There are also some tropes that are unique to MM romance.

Every year, thousands of romance manuscripts are submitted to publishers, but only the best are eventually published. This simple guide—written by two award winning romance novelists—will show readers what it takes to break into this highly competitive market and will provide them the information they need to get their manuscript out of the slush pile and onto the bookshelf. Readers will learn how to do the following techniques: build a story from premise to plot; add a fresh twist to a classic storyline; create compelling characters; write sizzling sex scenes that carry an emotional punch; research agents and markets; write a story that an editor can’t reject; and promote themselves and their work. New writers, and even experienced writers, will find the solid how to information here invaluable. This is a must have for aspiring writers who want to write the perfect love story.

This new, inclusive guide to planning and plotting romance novels in the 21st Century is written by Vanessa Grant, the author of 32 published romance novels with over 10 million copies of her books sold. Vanessa has been translated into 15 languages and has presented writers' workshops in Canada, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Her iconic guide WRITING ROMANCE was originally published in 1997, went into subsequent editions in 2001 and 2007.

Whether you're new to writing or a published author; whether you're a Plotter or a Panster, this new guide to plotting and planning romantic fiction demonstrates creative strategies for using your own personality and experiences to create powerful characters who evoke strong emotions in both you as the writer, and your readers.

From the slapstick shenanigans of Hepburn and Grant in Bringing Up Baby to the sexy repartee of Shakespeare in Love, romantic comedies have delighted filmgoers -- and challenged screenwriters -- since Hollywood's Golden Age.

Whether you're a first time screenwriter, or an intermediate marooned in the rewriting process, this thoroughly charming and insightful guide to the basics of crafting a winning script will take you step by step from "cute meet" all the way to "joyous defeat." You'll learn the screenwriting secrets behind some of the funniest scenes ever written; how to create characters and dialogue that set the sparks flying; why some bedroom scenes sizzle and others fall flat; and much more. Writing the Romantic Comedy features case studies drawn from beloved romantic comedies such as When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, Tootsie,and The Lady Eve, as well as field-tested writing exercises guaranteed to short-circuit potential mistakes and ensure inspiration.

The basic rules for turning basic instincts into blockbuster success.

Erotic romance reigns supreme as a big category of women's fiction, a billion dollar business serviced by a new breed of uninhibited writer. This book is the necessary how-to for first timers and a terrific guide for seasoned professionals as well, who are putting their racy and lucrative fantasies to paper. Now, for the first time, a veteran erotic romance author shows exactly what to do and how.

Are you full of excitement at the idea of plotting a new story?
But what if you’re unsure where to start!

Have publishers and editors told you to start with the tropes and hooks?
But what if you’re not sure exactly what these are!

Where can I find a handy collection of tropes and hooks to be my go-to resource?

Romance Tropes and Hooks is exactly that go-to resource. It’s a valuable writing tool that every romance writer needs in her craft library for generating fresh story ideas.

Romance Tropes and Hooks will give you the inspiration to start crafting stories your readers will love with its extensive collection of over 500 tropes and hooks. Each has a description, and some include examples and variations.

How to create a romance hero your readers will love

Do you love reading stories with a sexy alpha hero?
But when you write an alpha he comes across as more of a beta--or worst still, an arrogant, contemptible bully!

Would you like the hero in your next book to be a sexy, self-assured and very appealing alpha?
But what if you're not sure exactly how to create him?

How do bestselling authors write these wonderful heroes?

Writing the Alpha Hero will explain:

- Why we love him
- Who he really is
- His physical attributes
- His personality traits and qualities
- And the different types of alphas

And then it will show you how to create him.

Plus it will take you page by page through a USA Today Bestselling Author's book and analyse how she wrote her sexy alpha hero--and how he eventually won the heroine's heart.

Women love reading stories with an alpha hero.

How to write a first kiss scene that will leave your readers breathless

Do you enjoy a good kiss?
Being pulled into strong, protective arms?
The hero’s lips devouring your own as you cling to him, breathless with desire?
Time stands still while you savour every caress, every kiss, every moment – not wanting it to stop?

Do you want the kissing scenes you’ve written to have the same passion as those written by authors you desperately aspire to be like? Yet do you find that no matter how hard you work to master writing these critical scenes yours always feel flat and definitely do not leave you breathless?

As you know, in any romance story the first kiss between the hero and heroine is a truly significant moment. It is the point where at least one of your main characters acknowledges their attraction to the other.

Would you like to be able to write a first-kiss scene like a New York Times Bestselling Author?
To learn their secrets so that your own scenes are memorable for your characters?
And above all for your readers?

Writing the First Kiss is a guide for romance writers, offering:
–An explanation of why the first kiss is so important in a romance story
–An outline of the steps
–Important points to consider
–Suggestions for ensuring this kiss is memorable.

Plus you will get to read excerpts from the books of 10 New York Times Bestselling Authors showing you how professional romance writers have written this vital scene.

Plus after each excerpt there is an analysis on how the author created the scene.

And there is also a summary at the end of the book highlighting what’s been learnt.

So take the next step in your writing journey and learn the techniques that will enable you to create a first-kiss scene that will be memorable in the hearts of your readers.

An analysis of how to write romantic love scenes like the experts
With excerpts from 10 New York Times Bestselling Authors

Do you enjoy making love?
Being held tenderly in the arms of your lover, the glorious weight of him pressing down on you?
His lips caressing your own as you cling to him, relishing the feeling of being as one while he moves possessively inside you?
Desire surging through you with each thrust until you finally explode in a sensation of emotion, of release, of love?

Have you ever wished the love scenes you've written had the same passion and fulfilment as those you've read?
That they were as heart-wrenching and memorable as those written by authors you admire?
Yet no matter how many times you rewrite this scene it comes across as an instruction manual on connecting body parts--leaving you feeling unsatisfied, knowing your scene is missing out on something other writers seem to find easy to achieve.

As you probably already know, a lot of authors find this scene to be one of the most difficult to write.
It is also the scene readers look forward to the most.

The marriage-of-convenience romance trope is extremely popular with readers, and yet so challenging for authors!

The market for these stories is constantly growing as publishers request marriage-of-convenience stories in their submission guidelines, responding to the enthusiasm of their readers. As a result romance writers are faced with the dilemma of trying to think of new and interesting scenarios to put their characters in.

The tension and delicate maneuvering of characters in this type of relationship is what keeps readers turning the page and buying these stories. Romance writers must therefore equip themselves with the knowledge and resources required to ensure they're able to come up with fresh and interesting stories to satisfy the appetite of modern-day readers.

So how do we create fresh stories in this popular romance trope?

By researching stories that have already been published and looking for new ways to write them.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"Revenge is the act of passion, vengeance is an act of justice."

A story about revenge is based primarily on a protagonist's strong feelings of resentment about a crime or injustice, and their fierce need for vengeance. Stories with this plot scenario are popular with readers, and yet they can be a challenge to write!

The market for enthralling revenge stories will always be in demand so romance writers are faced with the dilemma of trying to think of new and interesting scenarios to put their characters in.

The tension and indignation of the characters is what keeps readers turning the page and buying these stories. However the reader needs to buy in to the protagonist's search for vengeance or justice, and the writer needs to ensure the vengeance meted out is never gratuitous and the protagonist always stays on the right side of fairness. Romance writers must therefore equip themselves with the knowledge and resources required to ensure they're able to come up with fresh and interesting stories to satisfy the appetite of modern-day readers, peopled with characters that resonate with the reader all the way through the book.

So how do we create fresh stories in this popular romance trope?

By researching stories that have already been published and looking for new ways to write them.

How do we create fresh stories using this popular romance trope? Are you stuck trying to come up with new and interesting scenarios for your characters?