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Do you think adding thriller in a romance story is good for new adults?

Poll closed Sep 17, 2017.
  1. Yes

    100.0%
  2. No

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. thenuttywriter

    thenuttywriter New Member

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    Creating plot for romance

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by thenuttywriter, Aug 18, 2017.

    Hi fellow writers. I'm currently outlining my first story and it's a romance fiction. I haven't started my characters' profile yet but I'm planning to get to that once I finalized my plot. I had ideas and I mixed them with thriller/mysteries. I noted my ideas down: scenes, plots, themes, dialogues, protagonists and antagonist... but, when I reread my "plan" the next day, I don't think it's any good. I wanna make it simple because I just wanna finish the book already, it's been years that I've been wanting to write my own fiction story. My problem is, whenever I get to brainstorming conflicts, plot twist, and climax, I always end up mixing it with thriller and mystery which I don't really prefer for now because I'm worried that I might not be able to pull it off. Now, I'm rethinking of a new plot, avoiding thriller and mysteries. I already have two characters in mind that I always wanted to write about, but I'm now experiencing writer's block and doubting myself if novel writing really is for me. I have characters and a story I've always wanted to tell the world.
     
  2. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Have you started writing it yet? If not, you, uh, have some work and time ahead of you.

    Tough to tell if it's for you if you haven't started writing yet. I'd get started and see what happens. Outlines are great, but they don't write themselves.

    Again, if you haven't started writing it yet the question of whether you can pull it off or not is irrelevant. But both mystery and thriller elements work great in romance. Your characters need something to do while they're hooking up, so no issues there.
     
    Trish, thenuttywriter and Fernando.C like this.
  3. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    This is a voice of encouragement. Give us something to look at. If you have a story write what you know about the story.

    That is the way I write. I have something to say and I find a character that will live through my telling of what I had to say.

    For instance, I wanted to tell the story about the Arawak Indians in Haiti before they were replaced by what they called at the time, the Congo people.
    I felt it would be a good story because of the cruelty of the French farmers and all the turmoil of that era. So I found a character, and we marched through all the things that went on in that time period. Write, write, write.
     
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  4. archer88i

    archer88i Banned Contributor

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    I think "writing" is the part where you put the words in. You seem to have that confused with the part where you take them out. I forget what the word for that one is. :)
     
    thenuttywriter likes this.
  5. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    There's a subgenre called 'romantic suspense' which combines some sort of thriller/mystery element (like a crime or a threat) and a romance. Maybe that would interest you?

    I wrote a blog post about creating straight romance plots which may or may not help you... https://annakaling.com/2016/05/31/planning-a-romance-novel/
     
  6. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Romance is not one single thing, nor is thriller or mystery. And that is the core of the answer here. If you are writing a Harlequin romance then no you probably can't expect to make the romance share space with a well crafted mystery; the two strands are pulling in opposite directions and there isn't really much of an overlap between those two. But on the other hand if you are writing a really deep psychological mystery where the lead investigator falls for one of the victims and they finally solve the crime together? Yeah, sure, no problems there.

    I tell people that I write teen romance. And that's true, looked at from a certain angle. They certainly all have very prominent romantic plots in them; I love writing first kiss type romances (don't judge me!) but I don't like writing whole books about that and that alone. In fact I always start off with another idea, a much broader, more complex idea. Girl pretending to have cancer, girl getting beaten by her foster father, girl trying to win a beauty pageant, girl who's the primary carer for her sister with Downs syndrome. Fairly meaty plot concepts, lots of stuff you could do with them. The core of the plot is always resolving those parts of the plot. The romance is important and a big driver in the resolution as well as a massively important part of their development as people, but that's not the whole book and it's not even close. But I still call them romance because that's the only word there is. You could definitely call most of my books "thriller" or at least "drama" but with very prominent romances that are a big part of the plot, I think romance is closer to it.

    My point is that the words we have aren't helpful when you are sitting down and trying to decide what to write. These things can mean whatever you want them to mean.

    What you need to ask yourself is what you really want to write. What do you think you can write well and what do you think will serve the plot well? Romance can be both totally gratuitous and useless to the actual plot and it can be a superb and touching B-plot that makes the main characters feel like a real human being who can be vulnerable and loving and intimate. You can use a romance to be a nice light hearted, warm and fuzzy plot point to play against the grimness of a thriller, or you can make the romance the really dysfuntional part of someone's life and their police work is what they are amazing at. You can do all of these. There is no right answer when we are working in such broad strokes.

    I like romance, I like writing books with romance in them and I'm writing for teenage girls who like romance. So there's sure as hell going to be a hunky boy (or girl) for them to get gooey over. But that's me.

    What do you want to write?
     
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  7. thenuttywriter

    thenuttywriter New Member

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    Thanks for the link. I'll definitely read your blog post.
     
  8. surrealscenes

    surrealscenes Senior Member

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    You might try looking at things differently.
    You say you want to write a novel; how many words are you thinking? 100k? 20k? Try tackling a short novel. Try tackling parts at a time- in romance there are certain steps to getting what you want. try to focus on a part of the romance, like the chase, or the meeting, or the courtship.

    A lot of words are used by different people to mean the same things, like 'plot'. In my opinion, the MC & plot are closely intertwined. I feel the main characters need to grow with/inside the structure, otherwise they often seem 'tacked on'.

    My opinion is writers block is fear & it seems like you have some. Maybe novel writing isn't for you....right now, but maybe short stories are for you right now.
     
    thenuttywriter likes this.
  9. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

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    The only way to get to the point that you can pull it off is to practice it. Why not now?
     
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  10. thenuttywriter

    thenuttywriter New Member

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    Yes. You're definitely right. I wouldn't know until I start writing it. Thanks!
     
  11. thenuttywriter

    thenuttywriter New Member

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    Your plot ideas are awesome! I'd love to read your books!

    I feel excited again about my story. I've been a fan of fantasy novels with romance in them, but I feel like writing romance thriller is my thing. Maybe it is. All I have to do is to start writing it and see what happens.

    Thanks so much! :)
     
  12. Seren

    Seren Writeaholic

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    Don't worry about whether you can "pull it off". To me, it seems like you're having writer's block because you're trying to make yourself write an idea that you don't really want to write. Follow your heart and write what you originally wanted. This is supposed to be fun, first and foremost, so do what you like. And don't rush it, either! You should enjoy the writing process instead of sacrificing plot to rush to the end. :)
     
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  13. thenuttywriter

    thenuttywriter New Member

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    Thanks so much! You made me feel better. I'm now resuming my first plot idea of romance thriller that I had doubts about. :)
     
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  14. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    You will only find out what you like by doing.

    Trust me, I am not someone you'd think writes romance. It's not even close to what I originally wanted to write. I found myself slowly spiraling around it; I write very character focused stuff about people being slowly torn apart by problems of their own creation and so that kinda needs something else to balance it out, needs something that I can get my teeth into as a writer that can be as important and as impactful but that pulls on another direction and romance fits that so well. I ended up writing these romances where it's all these people kinda clinging to each other because that's all they have left, where there's secrets and lies and they have to get through all this shit together constantly petrified that they won't love you anymore. Even though I came at it from the other end I just found something that fits me and while now I can say it really makes sense for me I would never have imagined it before.

    If you want to read any of my stuff then feel free to send me a PM.
     
  15. Catrin Lewis

    Catrin Lewis Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Community Volunteer

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    A subplot or two is always a good thing in a novel. They add depth and interest. In fact, I'd say they're necessary in a work of any length. Just make sure they tie in together with the main plot and influence it (e.g., the thriller plot brings your lovers together/separates them for a time/makes their relationship more difficult, etc.). And if your main plot is the romantic one, make sure that gets resolved last.
     

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