The Mystery of Writing Romance

A Romance Writers first Left Coast Crime Convention:  

Okay, I attended my first Left Coast Crime convention. It was close to where I live. I had a mystery writer-friend to go with. And, I’m writing a romantic suspense. What could it hurt even though I have been pursuing writing romance and concentrating on that market, I could definitely learn from any writers, of any category.  Right?

Of course.

What I didn’t expect was the epiphany. The serendipitous discovery that I am writing a mystery, that it has been a mystery from the beginning, and I needed to understand that about the complexities of the plot that I keep developing. Even as I try to make romance the heart of the story, it is really about something bigger. And something more fun. Because I love a mystery.

I have always loved mysteries. And for me, the Left Coast Crime convention inspired me to work even harder on my story so that I will love it more. Which could be a bad thing if no one else loves it, but as they say, write what you love, so, I will.

And with all the love in that last paragraph, I can’t deny that feelings and relationships in stories are just as important as a mysterious plot. Just not as intriguing to me as a reader. How to develop the intrigue, the crafty ways that authors use to create story arcs, plot points, how they make characters real and likable (warts and all, because a good protagonists always has flaws) and the important conflict development that puts a reader on the edge, were all discussed during the conference. The format in each session was always a panel of writers with a moderator to initiate discussion. I found this very helpful and the dialog between the participants fun to be a part of, as well.

So, I came home, went to my writer’s den and stopped fighting my natural inclination to write deeper and work harder on all those elements of a good mystery.

 But I’ll definitely be keeping the sex scenes. Writing a good love scene is really hard, you know. Uh, no pun intended. . .