Bronwyn Jameson ~ Romance Author

Story Selection - Getting It Right For Your Line

I didn’t ever get into the first season of Australian Idol, but the second year I happened to be lurking around the remote control when the audition shows hit the screen. I was fascinated; I became hooked. And as the shows unfolded I noticed the importance of song choice. Really talented singers didn’t always choose the right song for their voice / personality or -– most importantly for a popular vote show -– for the public.

This got me thinking about story choice in category romance. I’ve read a lot of contest entries over the years and in the process have seen loads of wonderfully talented writers. A lot do well in contests since their talent shines through, but then they fail to win over the editors at their chosen category line. Why? Many reasons, but it struck me that one I see time and again relates to the Idol song-choice issue.

They aren’t choosing the right material for their audience. In other words, story choice is all wrong for the market.

Each category / series line has specific requirements in focus, length, writing tone, sensuality and so on. There are some storylines which just happen to work particularly well within certain lines … and some that, well, don’t. If your queries aren’t getting you past first base, or if your rejection letters repeat the message: “not right for this line”, or even if you’re getting further and learning that your stories “lack the emotional intensity” required by your chosen line, perhaps you need to change your approach.

How well do you know your line? What are its essential elements? Which classic storylines suit those elements? And why?

If you can confidently answer those questions, I have one more for you – do you use that knowledge in crafting the right story for your line, right from the get-go?

Let me illustrate my point with the example of my latest sale. While finishing up my Plenty books I had a lot of ideas swimming about on what to write next. But the only one to grab a real hold on my imagination was a bit risky, I thought, for Desire. Too heroine-focussed, more chick-lit in tone, lots of girlfriend stuff going on as well as the romances. I could have adapted it. Maybe it would have worked. But I didn’t have time for “maybes” or “could haves.” I didn’t want to invest a lot of planning time, get enthused, get rejected, and have no books in the pipeline for 2005.

So, I decided to craft a “safer” idea from scratch … and since I was doing that, why not make it a mini-series? I’ve always wanted to set something in outback Australia, so I started there. I also decided to start with the heroes, since they are such an integral part of Desire. (Note: If you’re writing for a line that’s more heroine-centered, start there!)

But before I got too invested in characters, I thought about what kind of story defines Desire — these storylines needed to have high emotional stakes inbuilt into the conflict, and the potential for intense sensuality. In other words, it helps to throw the hero and heroine into close or forced proximity that tightens the sexual tension between them to explosion-point … or, another angle, give them a good reason to fall into bed together, a reason with conflict built-in.

I didn’t want a straight “we’re attracted” thing. I wanted to up the stakes. So the kick-off question to start my brainstorming was this: why would this hero and heroine climb into bed together? And after circling around for ages I kept coming back to the age-old reason. To make a baby.

Emotional high stakes, necessary sex, and inbuilt conflict IF the characters involved aren’t exactly thrilled. Why would they have to make this baby? I brainstormed a list of wild and wacky (and sometimes almost plausible) ideas, but circled right on back to the old standard. Terms of will. I layered in some extra motivation, came up with three half-brothers all with very different (character-driven) ideas on how to go about this. None of them are too happy about being forced into it, but the stakes of failing are so high that they must.

(Note: this is the process that worked for me, to create stories I wanted to write but which suited my line. I could have chosen a different path, different stories, but with the same key ingredients. What are those for your line?)

Next step – working out the back-story and motivation.

By the time I had my heroes worked out — and each brother needed a unique and distinct personality or the books risked being all the same — I already had a pretty good idea what kind of woman to pit them against. I wanted conflict, I wanted different books, and I wanted plausible motivation for these ladies.

So, my emotionally-scarred cowboy needed a woman who understood him well, who knew what he’d been through and could heal his wounded heart. I chose a childhood friend who’d loved him forever. Her agenda is much broader than having his baby: she’s confident she can make him live and laugh and love again.

The second brother is the playboy charmer, who thinks this is all a bit of a game. He needs a woman who doesn’t fall for his charm and looks, a challenge who sees through his veneer to the real man beneath. Why would she fall for this baby-making scheme? For the money. I painted her into a corner where his “indecent proposal” seemed like her only option.

Which leaves the eldest brother, the alpha boss. He coolly chooses The Ideal Wife and Mother, proposes, but his nice orderly world is turned upside down when his chosen one jilts him. Now, at first the runaway bride was going to be his woman, but somewhere in the planning stages her bridesmaid got all protective and feisty and SHE became the heroine. I liked the idea of an alpha whose plans go completely awry, not just when he’s jilted but when the wrong woman ends up pregnant.

So, this is my rather longwinded and self-indulgent explanation of how I tailored the books to suit my line. I chose a basic premise that fulfilled the line requirements. I chose characters and storylines that fitted the expectations of emotion, conflict, tension and sensuality. I made sure the concept excited me — that enthusiasm does come through in your writing. And, lastly, I made sure that despite the traditional and standard hooks employed, I had something fresh and interesting in each book.

How? There’s a slew of marriage of convenience and baby-making and terms-of-will books out there. How do you make sure yours isn’t run-of-the-mill ho-hum lost-in-the-crowd?

You make it your own with interesting, fully-drawn characters; with a unique setting (the outback has not been done in Desire but in another line that might not be fresh); with your writing voice; by reversing roles or twisting the classic line or combining elements to give an original twist to an old favorite; and by choosing great scene ideas that aren’t from the stock-standard list and that make your story interesting and compelling.

I hope I’ve given some of you mega-talented writers something to consider before you start your next book. Is it right for the market? Does it fulfill all the requirements and expectations of your chosen line? And if you can’t answer those questions, then perhaps you need to spend quality time re-acquainting yourself with the books that define the line … and those are the ones out in the bookstores now!