Yesterday, I might have give you the wrong impression that Romance In A Month and NaNoWriMo are incompatible. Not at all! Other than an aversion to wordcounts, Romance In A Month methods are highly suited for helping you achieve your novel completion in a month.
In addition to cheerleading, encouragement, and support, Romance In A Month teaches basic Romance Construction Milestones. Whether you outline or fly by the seat of your pants, you will appreciate having milestone targets to make sure you have the most cohesive, exciting, and spell-binding story possible.
The five milestones are:
1. The Cute or Not-So-Cute Meet [or in traditional plot structure, the Hook]. Your characters must meet in a memorable way. This spikes reader interest and gets the ball rolling on your story. For example, the story I'm working on right now, Playing Catch, the Not-So-Cute Meet takes place in a hotel corridor where both hero and heroine are sneaking out of hotel rooms after a one-night-stand with other people. They're both disheveled, both rumpled, and both instantly attracted to each other.
2. Core Conflict - show this conflict, but let the H/h pair advance into a relationship despite the existence of this conflict. This is the "Call to Action" for Heroes' Journey types.
3. Oops I'm In Love Moment [usually 50% for you plotters and story structuralists out there] At some point, everything changes. The stakes increase. Love is involved, at least for one party, if not both.
4. Big Bad Breakup. This is the ultimate test. The core conflict rears its ugly head and rips your lovers apart. This is the dark moment. From then on, your lovers must either give up their once in a lifetime love, or make changes to come back together.
5. Grand Romantic Moment. Climax. Changes have been made, but neither is sure of the other's sincerity. Each takes steps of faith and puts their heart out there, leading to the happy ending.
If you're working on a Romance for NaNoWriMo, it's helpful to jot down the dates you will need to supply these moments. For example, by November 2, you should have written Point #1, November 9, Point #2, November 16, Point #3, November 23, Point #4, and finally, the grand finale, Point #5, on November 30. Ta da!
Meanwhile, join us at the Romance In A Month Facebook Group and try it out.
Write Early. Write Often. Write Well.
This year, I'm going to do both RIAM and NaNoWriMo. If you're doing NaNoWriMo, please friend me at http://nanowrimo.org/participants/tiaclare
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