Damn Good Romances III – Romantic Conflict

This post is part of a series.

Part 1: Damn Good Romances
Part II: Romantic Tension
Part III: Romantic Conflict

______________

Romantic Conflict

Romantic Conflict is perhaps one of the most misunderstood functions of a romance novel.  It gets misused by writers and critics.

But when it is used well…wow!  Then you’ve got a romance on your hands that you can’t put down because you simply have to find out how it all turns out.

Because “conflict” sounds like arguing, stress, people at loggerheads, you might be forgiven for thinking that romantic conflict is when the hero and heroine are standing toe-to-toe, going at it over some minor or even imagined slight.  Actually, that’s more a function of romantic tension than anything else, as I pointed out in the last post.

But I suspect many new writers and readers may mistakenly think that aguments, misunderstandings, shouting, and negative confrontations between the hero and the heroine constitute romantic conflict, and that’s why so many romance novels feature high stress scenes like this.  Perhaps this is where the Big Misunderstanding plot originated?

Believe it or not, you can have a hero and heroine perfectly in synch with each other, even madly in love and sublimely getting along, and still have a plot that is highly charged on the romantic conflict meter.

The perfect example:  Romeo and Juliet.  They never had a moment of negativity between them.  They were in love almost from moment one.  Yet that classic plot is still incredibly high in romantic conflict and I’ll explain why in a moment.

So what is Romantic Conflict, if it isn’t characters arguing?

The simplest way to define it is to ask a question.  Romantic Conflict is what is keeping the hero(es) and heroine apart.

What’s stopping them from committing to each other?

As you can see, that question is a fundamental plot and character question, not a petty, “You didn’t put the seat down!…Again!” type of question.  It really digs into the heart of the story.

Can you see why, if romantic conflict is constructed properly, the romance turns into such a humdinger?

It is also why Big Misunderstanding plots are not really strong on romantic conflict, even though they’re favourites that keep turning up, even on the virtual shelves these days.  I suspect they’re more sentimental favourites these days, but writers have to work extra hard to make the story pay off for the reader, because when the hero and heroine can resolve their differences simply by talking to each other, Big Misunderstandings become somewhat strained and superficial when they’re dragged on too long.

If romantic conflict is what is keeping the hero and heroine apart, I’m sure you can already see, thinking about your favourite romance novels, that there are all sorts of things that can keep a couple/group apart.

Generally, a writer focuses on two different types:  external and internal.

External conflict is anything that comes from outsides the hero and heroine.  Forbidding families, interferring friends, lack of money, countries, politics, religion, crime, spies, wars, kings, enemy action, you name it.   Here is where all the conflict for Romeo and Juliet lay.  The two families, the Montagues and the Capulets, were feuding and would have forbidden the pair to be together, period, finito.  That was the sum total of their conflict, and Shakespeare built a classic story that has lasted centuries around this purely external conflict.

However, purely external conflict is exceedingly rare these days.  You might find the odd historical romance where the lovers are utterly in love and the world forbids them to be together.  Also, paranormal romance is another genre where such parirings could be forbidden or impossible.  A really good example of that forbidden love is the movie Ladyhawke.

However, the contemporary romance and contemporary circumstances rarely provide stiatuions where anyone would be unable to overcome barriers to love for long.  And if a hero wasn’t determined enough to find a way…how much value as a romance novel hero is he, really?  Romance heroes are supposed to be ardent, determined, and somewhat superhuman.  Love conquers all, even in contemporary romances.  That’s part of the romance novel’s charm.  So a really powerful romance novel needs something more than a family’s wrath to keep a pair apart, these days.

That something is internal conflict.  Internal conflict is just what it sounds like.  It’s barriers and conflict emerging from inside the hero’s and heroine’s own minds and hearts.

The range of reasons and conflicts are endless.  Think of any of your keeper novels.  Pick one.  And ask yourself “What kept them apart?”  You’ll quickly build up your own list of reasons and internal conflicts as you work through your keeper novels and memorable romances.

The art and craft of romance writing is in selecting really strong, realistic internal conflicts for both the hero and the heroine.

There are also external conflicts that can be added to the mix — yes, we’re not done yet!  Family feuds and arranged marriages are not longer barriers to happy love matches in our romance novels anymore — except in historical novels — but even in historical romances, the better ones have strong internal conflicts as well.  But external conflicts are still around and still provide lots of grease to the romance novel mill.

The external conflict that we love to adore these days has changed significantly.  What keeps the hero and heroine apart can be so much fun to write and and read:  military thrillers, paranormal suspense, vampires, urban fantasy, romantic suspense…and the sub-genre plotlines that go along with our romance novels are added to the romantic conflict in a way that makes the romance hum and zing — as far as we, the reader, is concerned.

Even erotic romance adds to the romantic conflict, if the author knows what they’re doing.  The sexual storyline is a perfect opportunity to add to the romantic conflict by introducting more conflict, more tension, more reasons to keep the couple apart romantically, even as they’re twined together between the sheets.   Lora Leigh is a perfect example:  Her couples are always dealing with a sexual issue before the HEA moment.  Often it’s something the hero is demanding of the heroine — anal sex, or an extreme form of BDSM — that they must work through before love is possible.

Can you see, now, how powerful and all-encompassing romantic conflict can be?

Next:  Emotional Intensity

____________________

LUCIFER out in print, TALISMAN at B&N

Quick update. My contemporary romance, Lucifer’s Lover, just hit print.  It looks gorgeous!  Especially with that cover.  And it’s a long novel, so it’s a pretty hefty tome, too.  You can pick up a copy directly from Createspace right now, or wait a few days for the print page to populate over at Amazon.

And The Royal Talisman, my erotic historical romantic suspense, has popped up at Barnes & Noble.com for all you Nook readers.  Although, as usual, no sign of a blurb, excerpt or author information, despite faithfully filing all that guff when I uploaded…  So I’m directing you to the book’s page here, first, then you can click through to B&N…

 _________________

Top Posts and Pages for January

Top Five Posts for January

1. It’s Just A Job – Wood Elves

From the #2 spot last month.

2. Really Cool Historical Vacation Spots: Constantinople

You might be interested to know that the book I’m madly writing right now, Byzantine Heartbreak, is partially set in Constantinople.

3. Damn Good Romances – Part 1

Colour me shocked!  A new entry!  :)

4. i have seen the writing on the wall…

Down from #3 last month.

5.  Do Women Like MMF?

And my second new entry this month, which keeps my finger off the trigger for another month…! :)

______

Top Five Pages for October

1.  Bannockburn Binding

Yes, I’m very upset about this one.  :)

2. Trilogies & Series

More proof that everyone loves series.

3. Books by Category

From #1 last month.

4. Blood Knot

Holding steady.

5.  Complete Booklist

This is such a monotonous list in some ways.

___

Top Five Articles for October

1. MM and MMF – Let’s Try Again. Why Do Women Like Men Who Like Men?

And #1 for one more month.  This was not just #1 in this category, but overall.

2.  The Difficulties of Writing Really Old Erotic Historical Romances.

A old favourite returns to the list.

3. The Ten Best Romantic Moments In Film History

Stable.

4. What Is Urban Fantasy, Anyway? Urban Fantasy in the Romance field Defined.

Up from #5

5. The Perils Of Writing Erotic Romance.

Down from #4

___

Working Notes – Byzantine Heartbreak is Underway. Yeah!

It’s been a weird week. For a start, it’s been very cold. Like, 35 degrees Celsius below zero cold. That’s negative 31 in Farenheit for all you Imperial-thinking people.

I got Mukluks for Christmas — real authentic ones.  But even at -35, they let the cold in and my feet started to chill up.  I joke at work that I look like an old fashioned babushka:  mukluks, a full length coat, a shawl wrapped around my head, my fur (faux-fur) collar turned up around my ears, and layers and layers of clothes beneath, as I hurry along with my head down.

Only in Canada.

I catch the bus to and from work, so standing around waiting for that bus in the morning is the most miserable thing in the world.  And for some reason, the street where I wait for my bus is always a wind tunnel, even though it’s a perfectly normal suburban neighbourhood street.  Even the slightest breeze at those temperatures is a serious thing.

The location where I catch the bus to come home is just as bad and for some reason, the bus has been late every day this week…except for the two days when I was delayed a few minutes, and then it came early and I missed it, and was forced to wait a horrible 25 minutes on that freezing street for the next (and only) bus to come along.

So it’s been an interesting week.  It takes five minutes sitting on the bus just to get your fingers to unthaw enough to be able to type, let alone get your brain cranked up enough to start writing coherent thoughts.  The cup of double-brewed hot Irish Breakfast tea I take with me in a thermos cup that I get to sip as soon as I sit down is so welcome!

It must be weather-related, too, but the bus has been strangely over-crowded this week.  Every seat full and standing room only, which makes writing a challenge.

Nevertheless, I got all my blog posts caught up, and I started in on Byzantine Heartbreak, the second in the Beloved Blood Time series.  That was my goal for this week, and I’m pleased to say I pulled it off despite the weird challenges.

Here’s a snippet from this week’s scribbles:

An Excerpt From: BYZANTINE HEARTBREAK
Copyright © TRACY COOPER-POSEY, 2012
All Rights Reserved

“What is it?” Ryan nudged gently.

Nayara blinked, her gaze refocusing on him.  “I…it’s…nothing, Ryan.”

“What thought just occurred to you?”

She gave another tiny shrug.  “Nothing.”

Ryan sat his full weight on the window ledge and crossed his arms.  “You’re not really going to try lying to me, are you?”

He watched her hesitate and realized she was weighing up doing exactly that:  lying to him.  Stunned, he wondered what it was she was considering hiding from him.

“Give it up, Nayara.  Now I know you’ve remembered, I’ll dig it out of you with whatever tools I can think to use, if I have to,” he said softly.  “Especially if I think the station is in danger, and you’ve already suggested it might be.”

“No,” she said quickly.  “It’s not.  Not at all.  It’s just the opposite.  I’ve remembered, and it’s stupid.  It’s actually embarrassing.  It’s personal.”  She bit her lip, glanced at him, then her glance skittered away and he saw she really was feeling awkward.

“Since when could you not tell me anything?” he asked.

Her gaze swung back to meet his eyes squarely and she just looked at him.  No coyness.  There was challenge there.

Suddenly, Ryan realized what she would not share.

His gut tightened.  “You like someone,” he said, fighting to keep his expression neutral.

“No, I don’t know if I like them.  I barely know them outside of business,” she said, and Ryan could see that she was picking her words with care.  “Sometimes I find them most irritating.”  She frowned.

“Do you at least want to give me the gender so you don’t have to keep circling around the pronoun?” Ryan asked.

Nayara’s smile was wise.  “So you can build fantasies around me?  Hoping it is a woman, Ryan?”

Hating it’s anyone at all, he thought.  He made himself smile.  “Why not?”

__________________

THE ROYAL TALISMAN Now Available at Apple and Kobo

My erotic historical romantic suspense, The Royal Talisman, has just been uploaded to the Apple Store and on to Kobo today. Barnes & Noble and Sony are still holding out, but I’ll report when they’ve stocked it.

Have a great weekend!

Today I’m at Books ‘n Kisses

Stop #7 of the Bannockburn Binding book tour.

Today I’m at Books ‘n Kisses, talking about one of my favourite subjects:  history.  No, I won’t send you to sleep.  I also manage to slide movies into it, and blood and gore, so it’s not all that boring.

Swing by for an excerpt that hasn’t been seen anywhere else (I think…I’m losing track about now), and drop a line saying hello.

____________

Also, Bannockburn Binding is out everywhere now — click on the image below to get a link to your favourite retailer.

 

Happy Australia Day To All Us Aussies

G’day and Happy Australia Day.

The ironic thing is, by the time you read this, Australia Day will actually be over — in Australia, anyway, thanks to the International Date line.  But it’s still officially Australia Day where I am.  So I’m saying G’day to all the Australians like me, who are parked in places far from the homeland and, like me, don’t get to have the day off to celebrate, watch fireworks, and melt under what is often one of the hottest days of the year.

Have a great day!

 

About The Industry – All Romance eBooks Trend Analysis for 2011

Every year, All Romance eBooks produces a Trend Analysis that they distribute to all their publishers.

The report is naturally focused upon All Romance eBooks and their position within the industry, but once you sift through that bias, it contains some very interesting information.

I thought I’d share some of the highlights.

 Some buyer highlights

We’re continuing to experience triple digit growth in the U.S. and the bulk of our sales are to U.S. customers. We are currently selling in 202 countries.

Top ten markets: United States, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, India, New Zealand Philippines, Malaysia, and the Netherlands.

Female = 89%

Male = 11%

I find this one very interesting, because I believe it’s not just specific to All Romance eBooks.  I suspect the growth trend they’ve experienced can probably be applied to ebooks in general and romance ebooks in particular, for all ebook retailers.

The sales to the non-US countries is even more interesting, because many of them do not claim English as their primary language, and All Romance eBooks don’t sell foreign language editions.

J.A. Konrath, who is probably one of the loudest champions of indie publishing, has predicted that non-English translations will be one of the primary sources of income for indie authors over the next few years.  All Romance eBook’s sales trend is supportive data for that prediction.

Some bookish highlights

Heat Rating = over 97% of sales are on books rated 3 or higher, of significance is that the 5 and 4 flame sales have see a combined drop of 4% over last year with most of the difference shifting to the 3 flame rating.

This could mean one of two things.

1)  Readers are getting sick of erotic romance and are choosing “tamer” romances once more, or

2)  The definition of “hot” has shifted along the scale so far that what was once considered 5-flames for ARE is now only 3-flames.  The 5-flames is now kink, BDSM, and extreme erotic, while readers who still love their erotic romance are still buying them, they’re just buying 3-flame romances, not 5.

The fact that The Romance Studio have thrown away their “erotic” categories in the CAPA awards this year and melded the erotic and non-erotic all in together would hint that romances are all erotic these days.  Erotic romance is losing its distinction.  “Extreme erotic” is now the uppper end of the scale, while we are simply enjoying “normal” romances.

Despite everything I’ve said here, it is only the books that I label “erotic romance” and put the highest “hot” rating on that sell the best for me, personally.  If I lower the rating or label in the slightest (down to 4-flames for instance), the sales plummet.  My ARE sales figures do not match what All Romance eBooks are reporting, here.

Sales Revenue DRM v Non DRM = 97% was for Non DRM titles for 2011

96% was for Non DRM tittles for Nov & Dec

These figures are misleading.  Can you see the catch?  ARE don’t state how many DRM titles v’s Non-DRM titles are available.  If there is only 1% protected titles available overall, then naturally, the non-DRM titles are going to out-sell the protected titles.    So even bothering to compare from year to year is meaningless.

But, much further down in the report, ARE had this to say about DRM protection:

A special note about DRM, the impact of agency, and piracy.

While ARe supports both the DRM and non-DRM business models, we advocate that publishers refrain from using DRM and provide open access – it’s what our customers overwhelmingly want. We appreciate and understand the concerns expressed about potential revenue loss due to piracy. We believe the best deterrent is to provide customers with easy access to appropriately priced content.

Tens of thousands of DRM titles were removed by what has commonly been referred to as “Agency” publishers in April of 2010. Data from Q1 of 2010 seemed to indicate DRM might have ended up being approximately 12% or more of sales in 2010, as opposed to the 4% that resulted. Although we certainly realized some lost sales due to the decrease in that inventory, data supports the fact that many readers simply found alternate content to interest them and accordingly shifted those purchasing dollars to non-Agency publishers.

The market share of DRM titles decreased further in 2011 to 3%. We attribute this to two factors: the decrease in overall market share of DRM inventory due to the loss of Agency publishers, AND buyer preferences shifting to Non-DRM publishers and Indie Publishers.

Agency Publishers returned to the site in early November. The DRM/Non-DRM market share split did improve during the subsequent two-month period of time (from 3% to 4%). We anticipate a 4-6% share in 2012, a far cry from what we believe we possibly would have seen without Agency interruption.

So if ARE are carrying 3-4% DRM titles and readers are choosing about 97% non-DRM, then that would seem to indicate that readers are not choosing based on whether the book has protection or not.  Which belies what ARE are saying, above.

Although, there are other sources (J.A. Konrath is one) that say readers do care, very much, if a book is protected or not, regardless of whether they have illicit intentions or perfect innocent ones.

I know I get mildly vexed by all the heinous “we are watching you!” safeguards on ebooks, when I buy DRM proected ones, but I don’t think it would stop me from actually buying a book I really wanted.  Would it stop you?

File Formats

File formats = PDF and ePub account for 85% of files downloaded. Next is PRC/Mobi at 14%, other file formats combined equal less than 1.

NOTE: We believe PDF, ePub, and PRC/Mobi are the “must have” formats.

Agree, agree, agree.  With one proviso.

PRC/Mobi, by the way, is the platform that Kindle is built upon.  It’s actually identical to Kindle, except for a change in serial number and file name.

If you’re buying ebooks in a format different from these three/four, then you might want to think about starting to change over to one of these four.  Actually, three.  I’d give up on PDF, too.  It’s too unweildy for the fluid ereaders.  It’s a useful will-open-on-anything format, but as a permanent, native format, it has problems.  Pick either Kindle, ePub or Mobi, and find an eReader you love that uses that format (or use your cellphone, iPad or tablet), and start trading over.   Soon, everything will be available in these formats.  Yes, everything.

In terms of which romance sub-genres owned the biggest piece of the pie in 2011, the top 10 are = Erotica, Vampires/Werewolves/Shapeshifters, Gay Fiction, Paranormal, Contemporary, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Multiple Partners, Interracial, Historical, Time-travel, Drama, and BDSM.

No big surprises here.

 _____________________

 

 

 

 

Working Notes – Backstage Pass

Last time around, for working notes, I had skipped over two books, and had to back track.

This time, I don’t have a book to talk about at all, because of another phenomenon of the indie publishing industry:  doing it yourself means actually doing it all yourself.  Everything.  The formatting, uploading, releasing, technical un-hitching, acquiring of ISBN numbers, the lot.

For the last week, since I finished with Lucifer’s Lover, I thought I would be able to dive right back into the second book of the Beloved Bloody Time series (and it is about bloody time, too – I’m dying to get back to it).  Ha!

Hoisted by my own petard, as they say.

Fact is (was…still is, as I write this), I wasn’t quite finished with formatting and creating  and releasing versions of Lucifer’s Lover, and technically difficulties mean that here I am, a week later, still struggling with getting the last two versions out the door.

One of the primary difficulties was simply a matter of time:  I’m also smack dab in the middle of the book tour for Bannockburn Binding, and I have to keep up with that, as well.  And as luck would have it, all my scheduled posts for my blog ran out at the same time.  So, I suddenly had to drop a few higher priorities in order to address a few urgent ones:  posts for this blog, guest posts for the blog tour…I figure you would like to read something interesting when you visit here and there, no?

Then, and only then, could I get back to formatting and uploading the last two versions of Lucifer – namely, Smashwords, and Createspace.  (Createspace is the print version – and feeds the Amazon print page, too.)

So for my “snippet” of my current work today, I thought I would give you a sample of the list of steps I go through to get a book out there, along with some notations.  I don’t always follow every single step, because some books are re-releases, for example, or for some other reason I might leave off steps.  But this is a standard, all-inclusive checklist for self-publishing a book, if you’re not paying for a lot of external processes like editing, formatting, distribution, etc.  I do everything myself but design the cover—but I have magazine editing experience.

First draft:  Write the book.  Pretty obvious, but just finishing a book is a milestone and should always be celebrated.

Final title for book.  A book`s title can change during the writing.  The final title is a marketing decision, weighed up with a careful eye toward reader appeal, with a dozen different criteria guiding the selection, including length, the initial letter of the title, the use or overuse of certain words and more.

Spell check and grammar check draft manuscript, then put book away to freeze.  (Get on with another book) I drift between not-very-good to terrible at following this step.  Oh, I spell check and grammar check the nuts off a script, no problems.  But putting it away and letting it freeze?  Yeah…not so good on that one.  But I do try, because I know how much more of a book’s strengths and weaknesses I will spot if I get just a little more distance from it.

Write blurb  This is a pretty standard duty for authors, but for me, there isn’t an editor or marketing department standing over my shoulder telling me if the blurb works or not.  So I sweat this task out, working and re-working the blurb, comparing it to best-selling books in my genre, tweaking until I think the blurb has the necessary come-hither quality.

Create book page on website and update site for upcoming book, etc. Again, another chore that was always mine.

Complete cover art questionnaire and send to cover designer.  Most authors get to fill in art questionnaires for their publishers, but I’m betting none of them have to provide the designer with printer’s specifications, spine width, trim allowances, bleed information, paper width and variations, the price of the book (which I have to figure out on my own, too), and more technical and graphic specifications of this sort.  I provide all this, along with the hero’s eye colour and the heroine’s full lips and pouty expression…

Read through book as a reader for impressions.  Mark up as necessary.  Here is where leaving the book alone for a while pays off.  I get to read it with relatively fresh eyes, and enjoy the read.  But often, if I haven’t left the book alone long enough, I’m reading and mentally editing as I go.  Still, I try to read like a reader…

Edit carefully.  Then spell check and grammar check.  Round two of the editing/checking/line editing/checking, typo-filtering process.  It’s here that I slide in professional editing or line-editing services if the book warrants it (it’s not a re-release, has never been edited before, or other circumstances).

Create Master manuscript with front and end matter.  It’s here that the publishing process really starts to depart from a normal author’s lot.  All the front and end matter that appears in a book I get to create myself, instead of the publisher doing it for me, because I am the publisher.  And I don’t get to invent it…it all means something.  This is where the acquiring of ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers) comes into play, one for each version of the book – the Amazon, Smashwords, All Romance eBooks and Createspace version each have to have their own ISBN.  Then each have their own front copyright pages and copyright requirements.  Plus I’m also creating a “pretty” version as an Advanced Reader Copy.

Pour into Createspace template and format for page count.  This gets even more technical.  This is the two-page internal page layout for the print version, complete with bleeds, trim lines, folios (what you, the reader, calls a page number, but the printing industry gives a different name just to fool you), special fonts for the title page, justified text, kerning tweaks, and more.  This file determines how many physical pages will be in the print edition, which drives the price of the print edition, and also the spine width, which the cover designer needs to know to finish the cover.

Upload to Createspace.  The interior of the book gets uploaded to Createspace and waits for the final artwork, so I can hit the “publish” button on the print version and order a proof.

Create Amazon version from Master file and upload to Amazon.  Now I’m into full publication mode.  This task sounds simple enough, but there’s a lot of formatting involved to meet Amazon’s technical specifications, plus I have to resupply the same basic information all over again (Title, author, blurb, price, category, genre, tags, keywords, ISBN, bio).  Usually, each distribution platform wants the cover art formatted to their specific sizing, too, calling for a tweak of the original art files.

Format file for Smashwords and upload.  I admit I tend to procrastinate about Smashwords, because it’s technically the most fussy and difficult to meet the technical requirements.  They’re demanding, although they’re getting better.  Just like Amazon, I end up re-supplying the same basic information, re-shaped to Smashword’s specifications.

Format file for All About Romance and upload.  The fourth distribution outlet, and one of the easiest to deal with (except I usually end up forgetting to rename all my file formats and having to go back and re-do my book page anyway).

Send out requests for review and/or blog tour.  If the book is an Author Edition, or a re-release, I don’t do a blog tour.  If it has a huge number of glowing reviews already (like Lucifer’s Lover), I don’t even bother with the review requests.  Asking for reviews is a semi-new task for me.  Ellora’s Cave used to send out all their titles to a pre-set list of review sites, saving me the bother, until I built a list of other review sites that I liked and approached on my own.  Now, as an indie author, I have to find sites that will deal with indie published romances at all, and then do my own asking.

Update my site.  The book is officially released now, so there’s a ton of changes that have to be made on my website to reflect that fact.  Links, cover art, book page updates, widgets in sidebars, and more.  I also upload a copy of the book’s cover into my Facebook page.

Blog post about the release.  And then, finally, after all that, I get to tell you about the release.  Talk about the tip of the iceberg, huh?

___________________

BANNOCKBURN BINDING Now Available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, Apple.

My MMF futuristic paranormal time travel romance, Bannockburn Binding, has just popped up on the Barnes and Noble site this morning.  Alas, without a blurb, story descriptor, category or anything to tell you what it is other than it’s mine.

I thought that, if it had popped up finally on Barnes and Noble, it might have generated on the other retail sites, so I wandered over to Sony and Apple to take a look and yes, it was there, too.  And lo and behold, it’s even at Kobo, which is usually weeks behind at getting books up.

So I’m linking you to the book’s page on my site, first, so you can read the blurb and excerpt there, before linking over to Barnes and Noble, or before choosing your preferred non-Amazon retailer.

Happy Saturday!

Cheers,

Tracy.

Next Page »