Young Writers Society

I haven't wrote it yet, but I might write a romance in the near future; and I was wondering if anyone had tips on how to write a romance, without it being too cheesy? I think this is the right area to post this, and for those who do post tips, Thanks!

Hey, ash! Here are two articles you might want to check out:

Too Darn Hot

Sidestepping Mary Sewage

Those are just some general things that I reference in critiques all the time. As for specified advice regarding cheesiness itself:

- Make sure that things aren't "too easy". There has to be conflict and obstacles for your characters to overcome in order for the story to be believable. The lack of conflict is what often leads to something being cheesy--without it, the story just isn't any fun.

- Make sure your boys act like boys. I rarely see girls out of character, but that could just be that more girls write romances. But seriously. Pay attention to what your male-types are doing; it'll pay off in the long run.

- Be sure that you don't overly glorify romance/sex/blahblahblah. Sure, it's nice, but viewed objectively it makes people loopy and is a little gross, besides. When you view things as the Cootie Queen, you avoid what I like to call "Honey-Poo" dialogue and behavior--that is, things that are overly sweet and make me want to slap your characters.

If you have any more questions, PM me! I love writing romances, so. ^_^

Real characters and good dialogue are probably the key to writing a romance that isn't cheesy.

Characters that are too perfect and all lovey-dovey just makes for an 'yuck' factor. Romances that are all sunshine and fluffy bunnies are just sickening. They make it hard for people to identify with your characters, because in real life no one is that perfect, and no one gets into relationships that easily.

Just try to keep it real.

Then again, there is a HUGE market out there for cheesy romance books, Mills and Boons books for example...

Just make your characters real. People get mad at each other, they fight, they cry, they scream, they get scared, they're uncomfortable, they change their minds - don't make their relationship perfect. Real love is flawed. Real love can't exist without the arguments and the frustration.