I have devoured hundreds of contemporary, adult romances since I got my first taste of them courtesy of Mills and Boon way back in high school. They were and still are my guilty pleasure. Nothing compares to curling up with a romance novel and falling in love with gorgeous, sexy, alpha male heroes to keep you company on a rainy day, heck, even on a sunny day! I absolutely loved how they would all be tough and confident at the beginning and then become undone by the clueless, quirky, unaffected, virginal (most often) heroine in the story. And the groveling, by the hero, towards the end when he realizes there is no other woman in the world for him? That gets me everytime.
Writing a romance was another thing altogether. My fledgling attempts started in adolescence when my best friend and I would together in longhand write a story about our biggest crush in the planet at that time (he was a member of an all male pop group−I refuse to name said pop group for fear of revealing my age) and just realized recently that what we were doing years ago was writing fan fiction!
Fast forward to the present and the demands of a career and family have put creative pursuits on hold. But the thing is, like a romance story heroine, I have never forgotten my first love−writing. It is the happiest of reunions, indeed.
How To Write A Steamy Romance 101
1. Take the plunge and sign up for a writing workshop helmed by the inspirational and ever supportive Mina V. Esguerra
2. Tap some words on the keyboard, stare blankly into space and decide you need some inspiration by perusing all those gorgeous, drool inducing abs posted on co-authors’ Twitter accounts
3. Munch some chips and drink soda in between writing (you do need those extra calories as writing fuel)
4. Ponder on deep topics brought up in the workshop like the anatomical feasibility, desirability and likelihood of having sex with a T. Rex (yes, as in dinosaur)
5. Panic as deadline looms and word count has stalled
6. Spend days coming up with a pen name for assuming your secret identity
7. Obsess over fictional characters who are taking over your waking state and refusing to follow directions from you (who have complete control of the delete key, by the way)
8. Flex atrophied writing muscles and write, write, write
9. Buckle up for labor pains of birthing a story
10. Overcome shame
Suzette de Borja has not recovered from the childhood trauma of not qualifying for a spelling bee contest during her elementary days. When not engaged in an internal debate over the merits of a vegan vs. Paleolithic diet, she is often found in front of a hand held gadget or laptop trying not to be socially (media) awkward on the internet. She lives in an urban jungle with her husband and child who is convinced she is half−girl, half−unicorn.
Please visit her online at:
Facebook.com/SuzettedeBorja
Twitter.com/SuzettedeBorja
suzettedeborja@gmail.com
The Best Friend Hookup is part of the Sizzling #buqosteamyreads bundle. Get it on buqo for iOS and Android, or at buqo.ph.
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