romance novels

A Rating System for Books, Part Two: How Can We Include Context?

August 2, 2011 Random Musings
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Thanks once again to all who responded to my last blog post about whether books should have a rating system.  And I say that not just because I didn’t need my flame-proof jacket.  *smile* Many shared thoughtful ideas here on my blog, Google+, and Twitter that helped me refine my opinion.  If you haven’t read that article [...]

Tagged as: antagonist, beta reader, book ratings, feedback, head-hopping, Jami Gold, omniscient, paranormal author, point-of-view, romance novels, Twitter

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Are Romance Heroes Good Role Models?

February 8, 2011 Random Musings
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In preparation for Valentine’s Day, a recent USA Today article gave the relationship advice that a man should: “look into her eyes, focus on what she says and really talk to her.”  Wow, earth-shattering ideas. Or not.  The suggestion to treat a woman like a person and not just a collection of body parts is nothing new. [...]

Tagged as: character archetypes, character flaws, Jami Gold, Jami's rants, love, paranormal author, romance fans, romance haters, romance novels, romance novels are not porn, strong characters

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How to Avoid Head-Hopping

February 3, 2011 Writing Stuff
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We’ve learned that head-hopping should be avoided if we want to maintain a strong connection between the reader and the characters, and we’ve learned that just calling something omniscient doesn’t solve the head-hopping problem. This brings up the obvious question: How do we avoid head-hopping? The answer might be different for each story we write. [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, genre, head-hopping, Jami Gold, omniscient, page turning stories, paranormal author, point-of-view, romance novels, Simon C. Larter

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When Is a Story Worth Writing? – Part Two

January 20, 2011 Writing Stuff
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Writers are often overwhelmed with story ideas.  When I’m in the middle of difficult revisions, it’s normal for me to think of several other shiny ideas that I would much rather work on instead of doing yet another round of edits.  But not every idea is worthy of a story, so how do we decide [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, authors, emotional heart, feedback, genre, Jami Gold, love, muse, non-fiction, paranormal author, plotter vs. pantser, romance novels, story seed

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What Does “Happily Ever After” Mean?

December 28, 2010 Random Musings
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How were your holidays?  Was Santa good to you?  I got a Kindle and quality time with my family, so short of getting an agent and book contract, my Christmas couldn’t have been any better. As I mentioned last time, whether or not we’re disappointed often depends on what we’re expecting.  After all, if I’d [...]

Tagged as: authors, genre, happiness, Jami's rants, listening to characters, page turning stories, romance novels

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Is “Romance” a Bad Word?

October 5, 2010 Random Musings
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Recently, two best-selling authors have insisted that they don’t write romance novels.  In fact, they both acted like romance novels were beneath them.  No, they’re writing more important stories about life and death and war and taxes.  Well, maybe not the taxes part. Why all the hating on romance novels? First of all, if someone [...]

Tagged as: happiness, Jami's rants, love, romance fans, romance haters, romance novels, romance novels are not porn

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