On Writing Romance_ How to Craft a Novel That Sells - Leigh Michaels [119]
"What kind of a banquet is it and who will be there? If there are connections to be made, then maybe—"
"It's for adult literacy," Erika said. "So your friend can hang out with authors and publishers and readers and agents and—"
Stephen was smiling.
"You've thought of someone? Stephen, you're an angel."
Amos slid off the desk. "Now that you have the problem solved, I'll be—" "It sounds right down Amos's alley," Stephen said.
Erika stared at him. "This is no time for a joke." "I was serious. Amos is writing a book. That's why he's here."
Erika tipped her head to one side and inspected Amos. She thought she saw irritation flicker in his eyes.
Well, that makes two of us who are annoyed at being fixed up with each other, she thought.
What really caused the irritation flickering in Amos's eyes? Being fixed up for a date with a socialite? That's what I want you to think, and that's why I used Erika's reaction to point you that way. In fact, he's annoyed at being outed as a
writer, because his real reason for taking this job is to research Erika's life for his book—something the reader doesn't find out for another hundred pages.
The earlier an event is foreshadowed, the less obvious the foreshadowing will be to the readers. Foreshadowing in the first few pages of a story can be very effective, because the readers are still getting acquainted with the characters and haven't yet settled in to read analytically.
If properly done, foreshadowing doesn't slow the forward progress of the current scene, and it lays the groundwork so later pieces of the story are kept running up to speed. Foreshadowing is best when it's so subtle that the readers don't consciously notice it until the second time they read the book.
It's rare for an author to pull off all the necessary foreshadowing in the first draft. Many of the best examples don't present themselves to the author until she's revising the manuscript.
SUBPLOTS
Subplots are the side actions going on while the main story is unfolding. Even short romances without much room for extras can include some subplots, as long as they're closely related to the main plot. In my book The Boss's Daughter, the main story is that the heroine has to step into her ailing father's shoes and take over his auction company, which forces her to deal with his arrogant personal assistant. But there's also a strong subplot involving the interaction between her soon-to-be-divorced parents. Their interaction is what forces the heroine to take the job; it creates some of the conflict between her and the hero; it brings about the book's most dramatic moment, which forces her to realize that she's fallen in love. Because the subplot is so closely intertwined with the main story, it works very well. If the subplot had featured the pending divorce of the heroine's best friend instead, it would have drawn attention away from the main characters.
It's very easy to get sidetracked by subplots because they can be a lot more interesting and easier to write than the main story. The heroine's parents can be as catty to each other as they like because they don't have to be heroic. And the actions occurring alongside the main plot are sometimes more fun than keeping your hero and heroine in opposition.
PLOT CLICHES
Because there have been thousands of romance novels published in the last century, it's inevitable that some of them have featured similar plots. Usually the fact that the characters in each book are different makes even the similar plots distinctive, too. But there are some plot points that have been so overused that they're worn out and require an entirely new approach to make them unpredictable and exciting again.
The only way to be aware of all these problem areas is to read a lot. Some of the standards that appear in far too many romance novels include the heroine running smack into the hero (usually feeling as if she's hit a solid