ROMANCE-ology 101: Writing Romantic Tension For The Inspirational And Sweet Markets Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
A KISS IS NOT JUST A KISS ... NOR IS A SIGH JUST A SIGH ... In ROMANCE-ology 101, Award-winning “Passion Most Pure” expert Julie Lessman tackles the subject of romantic tension in today’s inspirational/sweet markets with humor and heart. Offering tips for ramping up the WOW factor with romance that is both sweet and swoon-worthy, Lessman highlights tried-and-true methods with before-and-after examples to illustrate the following points: -- Getting inside the Hero’s Head with Internal Monologue -- Maximizing Use of Beats in Dialogue -- Effectively Using Dialogue to Escalate Tension -- Utilizing Dual Point of View -- Escalating Romantic Tension with Anger -- Using All Five Senses for Heightened Effect -- Cashing In on the Kid and Pet Factor -- Enhancing Mood with Emotionally Charged Words/Verbs -- Capitalizing on the Element of Surprise -- Exposing Desire in an Unwilling Character -- Immediate Hero/Heroine Confrontation -- Making the Most of Touch and Response -- Implementing the Concept of Forbidden Fruit -- Words with a Hint of Taboo -- Appropriate “Bleep” Words for Inspirational Romance -- KISS-ology 101: The Many Faces of a Kiss TESTIMONIALS: "Julie is one of the best there is today at writing intensely passionate romance novels. Her ability to thread romance and longing, deception and forgiveness, and lots of humor are unparalleled by anyone else in the Christian market today." — Rachel McRae of LifeWay Stores “Julie Lessman writing a book on romantic tension is a perfect fit. This is a writing book that needs to be on the shelf of every author because nobody does romantic tension better.” — Mary Connealy, bestselling author of The Kincaid Bride and Trouble in Texas series “I’ve always referred to Julie Lessman as the Queen of Romance and her new craft book is proof. Passionate and practical, humorous and savvy, Romance-ology 101 is a must-read for Lessman fans and all who desire to create pulse-pounding romance. A keeper!” — Laura Frantz, award-winning author of The Colonel’s Lady and Love’s Reckoning “Passion with a Purpose, Julie's tagline says it all! She's the queen of romantic tension that stirs both your body and your soul.” — MaryLu Tyndall, award-winning author of Escape to Paradise trilogy
Paperback: 74 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (October 2, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1490955771
ISBN-13: 978-1490955773
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.2 x 11 inches
Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,162,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #108 in Books > Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Writing > Romance #3631 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Literature > Creative Writing & Composition #13686 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Romance
Great and succinct book on how to put the "wow" into your kiss scenes, especially. Having heard Julie Lessman teach at ACFW conference a couple of years back I am thrilled to have this book that is logically organized, gives examples, and makes a lot of sense. Highly recommend. If you write Christian romance you MUST have this book!
First of all, the way it's written is rather comedic. The whole schoolmarm routine got old fast. Lots of flashbacks to my Catholic school days. You'll understand if you read it, but there's a lot of THWACK! Eyes on the board, people because I'm going to teach you...Would be okay if she actually taught me what she said she was going to. There are a lot of references--teasing almost--of what she would like to get across but she rarely gets to the meat of anything. I have to admit, when I read L Howells's review, I was skeptical. Surely it couldn't be true that someone in 2014 could be that blithe about such passive-aggressive, female/male behavior but it was definitely there and it bothered me. I wanted all the things L Howell brought up, such as learning how to convey shyness and tenderness and vulnerability.I'm a bit puzzled why it has received such high marks. IMHO, it's another hyped book that doesn't meet its claims. If you tell me you're going to help me ramp up the wow factor, then I, as the customer, expect you to live up to your claims.The reason I'm torn is that she did a pretty good job with referencing how to get inside the hero's head and how to maximize beats in dialogue, but once again, never got to the meat of the matter. Some good reminders (I've read a lot of books, always on the quest for the holy grail) of things that truly help create memorable characters and some good points of what not to do. Good stuff for beginners. However, if you're more than a beginner or if you're like me--looking for ways to inject romance into a non-romance (thriller, in my case) as a sub-plot--this isn't for you.Also, a lot of typos and missing words. I love how authors ask you to point out their typos (don't know if she did) but I don't have time to edit someone's book and there were far too many in this book to consider extending the favor.
I've long been a fan of Julie Lessman, so when I heard she'd written an instruction book I just about flipped--because if anyone knows how to write romance, its Lessman.If you're gonna learn from someone, why not learn from the best?! I'm so happy that she included examples of her stories because I always knew her scenes were powerful in so many ways--and here, she shows us HOW she does it! THANK YOU, JULIE!!Her book illustrates such things as using dialogue to elevate tension, making good use of the five senses, touch and response, duel POV, the importance of beats, etc. The list goes on, and believe me--everything is so valuable you will start using this stuff ASAP!!! Make sure you have a highlighter or pencil handy, because you will be making notes and underlining like crazy.The funnest part, is that she makes it fun! She treats you like a student--in a literal classroom--so there's humor throughout. (You'll just have to read it to know what I'm talking about. :)) It's upbeat and loaded with information you can use TODAY to start making the romance in your story AMAZING. I'm sure you will reference this again and again! I know I will!
Rape culture is alive and well in America.Lessman has a quick wit and easy style, which makes this book an easy read. Her tips range from the useful (utilize the hero's POV, not just the heroine's) to the basic (use action "beats" instead of dialogue tags) to the disturbing ( use "anger" and "unwillingness" to create romantic tension). She gives a nod towards political correctness ("domestic abuse and date rape are a real problem"), but the examples she uses to illustrate her tips seem to indicate that not only is aggressive male behavior acceptable but it's romantic and desirable. There's a lot of grabbing wrists, pulling her roughly to him, crushing her mouth, dominating, and yielding. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like kissing when I'm angry, and if some guy kisses me when I don't want him to, he's getting a knee to the groin and slapped with a restraining order. It's time that we stop teaching women, and especially young women, that this kind of behavior is healthy and acceptable.I downloaded this book because I wanted to add romance to my stories. I was hoping to find tips on how to create a full range of emotions surrounding a kiss: tenderness, respect, shyness, vulnerability, love, and soul sharing. There's enough physical lust in our entertainment these days. And yet, that's all that Lessman focuses on. Her tips are intended to turn up the heat without ever "going there." If that is all that you want to do, then you will find this book helpful. However, I was hoping for more from this book. If you want examples of authors who do sweet romance in a healthier way, I would recommend Georgette Heyer or Sarah M. Eden.I recommend this book if you are a critical thinker who can separate the good information from the bad. Otherwise, don't bother.
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