Brothers of the Vine
Forever Evermore
Women of W.A.R.
Here at Romance.com.au we don’t just care about reading romance… we also want to help you WRITE.
Here’s the latest from Nicola Robinson who works as a Publisher for Harlequin Books:
Thinking of writing a novel, romantic or otherwise? Here are our top 5 tips for writing a publishable manuscript:
- Write! Dreaming about it will get you nowhere. Put some words on the page and keep going.
- Write the story you want to read. You are going to spend a lot of time with your story, so you need to feel a real passion for it.
- Rewrite! Your first draft can always be improved. (The same goes for your second, third, fourth and so on …) But try to complete a first draft before rewriting, or you may find yourself stuck in a loop, reworking the same material over and over.
- Find a reader you can trust to give you honest and constructive feedback. This is unlikely to be your husband or mum – they will love whatever you write, because they love you. You might get feedback by joining a writers’ group, or paying for a manuscript assessment.
- Learn from other writers. There are many writing courses available, as well as excellent books on fiction writing, such as Stephen King’s On Writing.
PS. No matter what you were taught at school, adjectives and (especially) adverbs are not your friends. Use sparingly and with caution.