It's Fresh, Exciting! - Romance Writers Weekly - #lovechatwrite

Readers love romance in part because they know how the story will end. No matter what trials and tribulations the main characters go through, the reader can expect a positive, satisfying resolution. But that doesn’t mean readers don’t want something fresh and new. This week on the Blog Hop, we’ve been asked:

How do you keep your romance plots fresh and exciting, especially when writing a series?

The answer to this question is rather similar to the “Where do you get your ideas” question. I am often inspired by real stories, either that I am told or that I read about. Every couple has a unique meet-cute. Some may be more unusual than others, but all are personal and distinctive.

Whether in a series or with a standalone novel, I love to turn tropes on their heads when possible. She’s grumpy, he’s sunshine. He’s the moody artiste, she’s the cool-headed agent. He falls fast, she’s not ready to settle down. It doesn’t have to be a huge switch to make a story feel fresh and new. Sometimes just a little bit of spice is enough to flavour it in a whole other way.

Now I invite you to hop over to Jenna Da Sie for her take on this topic!

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Talking about turning tropes on their heads...what about a romance novel based on a real diary? Discover AFTER WORDS!

A mysterious diary ignites a shared quest…and an unexpected romance.
 
My inspiration for After Words was the diary of William Henry Smith. I found a transcription online and was immediately determined to work it into a romance somehow. Each chapter begins with an entry from that diary. These excerpts, in William’s own words, tell a heartbreaking story on their own. Here is a sample of what I included in the book.
 
July 21st, 1941
The journey starts here. I don’t know if I’ll be able to record everything about it but I’ll try. My mother made me promise that I write in this journal as often as possible. She believes that writing your thoughts in journals keeps you sane. So I promised her, to comfort her. I’ve left home. We left today at noon from Halifax. It was difficult seeing the coast slowly shrink as we left. I hope this trip won’t be too long, I don’t want to get seasick.
June 23rd, 1942
Me and Rodney just got back from London, we had a great time. We went dancing and met lots of girls. There was this really nice girl that I met. Her name was Daphne. We chatted together for a while and I bought her a few drinks. She’s a little shorter than I am and her hair is beautiful. She wants me to come and see her again.
July 3rd, 1942
Got a letter from mom today. Everything’s fine. Maureen and David are fine also. I’m trying to get a pass to have the whole weekend off so I can spend it with Daphne in London.
September 5th, 1942
I got a letter back from mom today. I wrote to her about Daphne and she doesn’t seem very pleased. She doesn’t want me to see her anymore because she wants me to marry a Canadian girl. I didn’t know she felt that way. She’s a thousand miles away so she won’t know if I’m seeing Daphne or not. Thank the Lord for England.
September 15th, 1942
It’s over between me and Daphne.
December 18th, 1942
We’re constantly training on beaches on the Isle of Wight or near Norway. I’m guessing that we’re going to be landing on enemy beaches. This isn’t too comforting. They checked our feet two days ago after marching over forty-five miles and climbing cliffs and later enemy planes tried to bomb our camp as you can see we are a busy bunch.
June 5th, 1944
They’ve brought us to the ports and boarded us in these massive ships. This is it, we’re leaving tonight.