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 … conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat can be read like you are 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 bestseller 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.
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I’ve had this book on my Kindle for ages and had even started it. I finally read the entire book. It’s a really simple, fun read that takes an easy-to-understand and execute approach to writing a romance that hits all of the necessary beats. I love that this technique is adaptable to plotters, pantsers, and plotsers. Yet, it will also nicely complement other popular plotting methods like GMC. I highly recommend this book for both new writers and experienced writers who may be feeling stuck.
Excellent advice on what needs to be in a romance for it to be a compelling, page-turning read. Romancing the Beat is written in an amusing, straight-forward style that’s easy to understand and follow. It’s only 100 pages, so it’s a like a quick tutorial. There’s a link in the book that allows you to download a free worksheet to apply what you learned in the book. I should have read this years ago!
I love Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels (How to Write Kissing Books, #1) by Gwen Hayes SO MUCH. It is a quick, easy, and fun read, and it is tailored specifically to romance writers and the arcs of our particular stories. When I had to hand in 8 books in 8 months last year (not recommended!), I knew I couldn’t use my usual quilting process (writing scenes out of order and then having to stitch them all together into a coherent whole at the end) because I simply didn’t have time. As a non-plotter, I tend to get kinda twitchy when I think about anything approaching plotting, but Gwen’s book is different. It’s not overly preachy or prescriptive, and you can go as deep as you like into her method. Or you can use Romancing the Beat as a revising tool if you feel like something’s missing from your draft. I highly recommend this fun, friendly, and super useful little book–plus, Gwen has worksheets, and who doesn’t like a good worksheet? Happy reading! xoxo Tamsen
Quick and easy book. I disagree with the idea that EVERY romance book needs the third act breakup but again I’m the writer of my story, which Gwen mentions multiple times in the book, so I can do what I want.
If you write romance or want to write romance, this book is indispensable. Gwen neatly, simply and memorably explains the general story arc to a happy ending, and how to weave it in with suspense, science fiction, fantasy, eroticism, mystery and any other subplot you can consider. It’s a fast read, and she provides bonus materials to keep on your desktop when you are crafting your own creative happy-ever-afters. Of all the books on writing (including Goldberg and King and Cameron) I’ve ever used, this is the one I come back to again and again.
Giving it a 5 because it was very easy to read through quickly and apply and should be helpful. But maybe I should base my score on how well I actually use it? LOL. Nope, 5 stars for now!
This was a nice quick easy to read and understand book to help with my writing. Couldn’t decide whether to base my score on how much I actually use it or not, but that’s not fair. So I had to give it 5 stars because of how easy it was to read and now to hopefully put to use. If I actually get to writing. For NaNoWriMo next year I will definitely use it! Reading it the week before I was supposed to start writing was probably not the most realistic idea.
One of the panels I virtually attended at RWA this year recommended ROMANCING THE BEAT. I’m a devoted plotter, so I wanted to see how best to weave the romance beats into the greater story beats. Hayes’s book is short and sweet. She lays out the beats, where they fall in the three-act structure, and gives a brief description of what each one needs to accomplish. Because it’s so short, you can read it easily in one sitting and be ready to plot or revise your next romance novel. However, because it’s such a quick read, it’s short on details that would have been nice. Whether you’re new to writing romance or have been at it for awhile, there are some great tidbits in here for every romance writer.
Bottom Line
A solid resource that you’ll find yourself referring to over and over.
*** 4.5 Stars ***
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes is a craft book about how to plot romance novels. It’s a short, quick and easy read. The author employs a very simple, straightforward approach, using humor to share practical information in an entertaining way.
I’m a pantser by nature. My logical side wants to be a plotter, but I know that’s just not me. Even so, I still read books on story structure, except I apply the principles after I’m finished writing instead of beforehand. This book comes highly recommended by so many romance authors that when I saw it in Kindle Unlimited, I decided to give it a try.
There are links included for a free PDF beat sheet and free scrivener template that goes along with the formula used in the book for plotting the romance arc. The author’s quirky tone and 80s music references made it a fun read, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
This is a plotting book written specifically for romance writers, a genre that I have delved into in my Winemaker’s Trilogy.
Again, this is a simple, easy-to-use book that gives you a list of the “beats” a writer should hit on their way to creating an effective romance.
This small and pragmatic guide gets right to the point and has helped me immensely.
Helpful tips for the new writer and the weathered veteran at the keyboard