Gems from the Great Magazine Purge

I've taken a break from reading and have dived into my stacks of magazines. Since some of them have Halloween covers, I figure its about time to go through them. Can't justify buying this year's when I still have last years.

Anyway, I have a variety. Real Simple is a big one. I don't have a subscription but I'm going to have to correct that situation. Martha Stewart's "Everyday Food" and "Living" are well-represented and there's a few of Rachel Ray's magazine (I like her magazine, don't like the recipes). I also get one called Family Fun that I get from Disney. Not sure why. My kids had a couple of subcriptions to their online games and I've been on the list ever since. It has some great stuff.

But today's gem comes from the Romance Writer's Report (RWR), the magazine of the RWA. In the July issue Virgina Kantra has an excellent article on developing the romance in your novel. She talks about physical awareness and how people are hardwired for physical attraction. Even if your characters aren't breathtakingly gorgeous, their needs to be physical triggers which hook the reader into seeing why the characters are attracted to one another. The emotional conflict needs to make the romance seem impossible or at least a very bad idea. Gender typing is not a bad thing in romance. The hero should be able to take care of the heroine, whether it be with a gun or a check book. For the heroine, she needs to show her ability to nurture. No matter how tough she is, we need to see her give a damn about something. Gender typing is a universal concept that will resonate with readers and trigger their own responses. The writer also needs to show why the hero/heroine are attracted to and falling in love with each other. She goes on to talk about showing the couple in society and how that can build the relationship and that the end needs to be satisfying. Readers long to experience the moments of surrender with the characters. And more, the reader needs to believe that these two characters are going to make it.

Anyway, if you RWA members still have this issue, I'd read that article. Kantra also has several other interesting articles on her website. I just remembered I took a class from her online. She's a sharp cookie.

Speakings of sweet things, I just ran into an awesome set of recipes. I'll share those tomorrow.