Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels

How to Write Kissing Books, Book 1

By: Gwen Hayes

Narrated by: Natalie Duke

What makes a romance novel a romance? How do you write a kissing book?

Writing a well-structured romance isn't the same as writing any other genre - something the popular novel and screenwriting guides don't address. The romance arc is made up of its own story beats, and the external plot and theme need to be braided to the romance arc - not the other way around.

Told in conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat is like sitting down to coffee with romance editor and author Gwen Hayes while she explains story structure - the way she does with her clients, some of whom are regular inhabitants of the New York Times and USA Today best-seller lists.

Romancing the Beat is a recipe, not a rigid system. The beats don't care if you plot or outline before you write, or if you pants your way through the drafts and do a "beat check" when you're revising. Pantsers and plotters are both welcome. So sit down, grab a cuppa, and let's talk about kissing books.

©2016 Gwen Hayes (P)2017 Gwen Hayes

Interesting Advice to Novice Writers

A pleasingly unbiased presentation of the author's personal approach to writing. Should be very helpful to aspiring authors.

keep coming back

this short but to the point book is an alternative glance at story beats. i would recommend to start with save the cat for general view on beats, but if you are a romance writer, read this book next. it's a filter that magnifies the romance structure of a book, and interlaced with other more genre-agnotsic ones, will help with the romance arc. i keep re-reading it each time before i start planning for a new book. each refresher helps me identify new points and get a better feel for my romance arc. highly recommend.

Good Outline

Author Gwen Hayes presents a solid basic outline for writing a romance novel. I could do without the lists of songs at the start of each chapter, but I get the intention she had in including them.

short but full of great information

This book was surprisingly short for what I had expected. But the information was presented in such a way, almost like an outline, with some great examples, so it didn't need to be longer than it is.

Very helpful guideline

Great book for anyone interested in writing a romance novel. The structure is laid out clearly for the reader and the book is an effortless read.