Romancing the Beat

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 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.

Hayes describes planning a romance story with acts, phases, and beats.

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.

The book is short, exciting, and valuable for any subgenre. Hayes does not tailor her advice to market trends or make assumptions about gender, sexuality, or sexuality: romance is romance. Hayes studies many love stories and reduces them to the essence of everything it takes to create a story that satisfies feelings. Romancing the Beat will teach you how to write a compelling relationship beyond chiseled abs and stormy eyes.