Every writer wants to be different and rip up the rulebook. But if you write in genre fiction, the rules are there for a reason: because readers expect them and want them. If you fail to follow them, readers will shrug and say things like “it was a great story, but something wasn’t quite right”, and they won’t come back. The solution? Follow the rules, but put your own twist on them. Build obstacles/characters/side plots around them. You can still be special, but in a good way. If you’re writing lesbian romance, here are the top six scenes to put on the page…
1. Your two leading ladies should meet in a quirky way. Whether they’re friends or hate each other is up to you. In my book Twice In A Lifetime, Harriet and Sally meet when they take each other’s luggage from the airport carousel by mistake. In This London Love, Kate and Meg meet when one is ordering funeral flowers for her uncle and the other is the florist.
2. They should realise their feelings for each other gradually. Hearts should flutter. Eyebrows should quirk. Their world should begin to alter before their very eyes.
3. They should share a first kiss that makes them forget everything. Their lust should top the charts.
4. Their plain-sailing romance should be interrupted by something that will make them break up, amid much furrowed brows, anguish and soul-searching. This is the ‘All Is Lost’ moment. Don’t leave it out.
5. The ‘Proof of Love’ moment is a pivotal one, too. It’s when one character decides to sacrifice something in their world so they can win back the other. It’s the moment that makes your readers swoon. Your characters should lay it all on the line.
6. The ‘Lovers Reunite’ moment. This is key. Romance always has a happy ending, be it a Happy Ever After (HEA) or a Happy For Now (HFN). If you don’t provide a happy ending, you haven’t written a romance. Remember: nobody ever dies in a romance! All my novels come with a happy ending guaranteed.
Happy romance writing!