Plotting the Romance—Part I
We’ve begun to build characters for our contemporary romance between Tovah, a rabbi, and Judah, a CEO of a multi-national corporation. The first thing to do is they must meet. The more unusual the meet, the better. Click to Tweet #amwriting #writingromance #donnalhsmith #PlottingtheRomance
Suspense, and conflict are the backbone of any story, whether it be a romance, mystery, thriller, or speculative. The lead character, or in the case of romance, the two lead characters, must overcome their inner fears plus outer circumstances to find their way to each other.
The basic idea of romance is that the romance is the story. No matter the setting or the time, or the basic story premise. The romance, how they overcome their internal and external obstacles and fears must be moved past for them to have a future.
Since we know that Judah is very religious, and that Tovah is a rabbi, they can meet after a synagogue meeting. However, internally, each one finds instant attraction to the other, but do their level best to hide it.
Ask questions and brainstorm the possibilities. Let your imagination fly.
Remember, we previously said that when Tovah sees Judah the first time, her confidence sinks, and she becomes shy and stutter-y. Maybe he’s sitting in the front row, and her homily notes fly off her podium…and land right at his feet. So, he picks them up and hands them to her when she comes for them…without hardly missing a beat in her message.
From her POV, her heart is fluttering and threatening to flush her face as red as an apple. Instead, she whispers, “T-Thank you.”
From his POV, he’s thinking, “I’ve met a lot of lady rabbis before, but this one is different.”
Let your character’s actions, coming from the kind of person they are, drive whatever plot or premise you come up with. The plot of a romance is almost subservient to the romance itself. Click to Tweet #amwriting #writingromance #donnalhsmith #PlottingtheRomance
Donna L.H. Smith 