Fall marks the time of the year that many authors focus on their writing projects. NaNoWriMo provided a good opportunity for writers to gather together and write the first draft of their novel or revise their story. However, the NaNoWriMo organisers are currently facing a backlash over allowing the use of A.I. Many authors announced that they will not participate in the official NaNoWriMo event this November and they won’t relate themselves with NaNoWriMo anymore. 

​Maybe you are one of those writers too. You don’t want to participate in the official NaNoWriMo challenge this year, but you still want to challenge yourself to write the first draft of your novel. Instead of NaNoWriMo, I suggest you take the 90-day novel writing challenge created bythe author of this blog article.

The blog article includes:
What is the 90-day novel writing challenge?
The goals of the 90-day novel writing challenge
Choose the writing software
Brainstorm your novel
Find the time and day that suits you best
Track your writing process
What happens after the writing challenge?
Conclusion
Further reading

What is the 90-day novel writing challenge?
The 90-day novel writing challenge is a writing challenge where authors aim to write a completed first draft of their novel in 90 days.

Writing 50,000 words in a month can be stressful and overwhelming for many authors. The 90-day novel writing challenge is a more realistic and flexible challenge where authors can finish the first draft of their novel in a more relaxed and consistent way.

The 90-day novel writing challenge will help you create a consistent writing routine that you can maintain after the challenge ends. You can ask your writer friends to participate in this challenge with you so that you can share your writing progress, motivate each other and talk about your stories. You will also improve your writing and editing skills.

The goals of the 90-day novel writing challenge
Main goal: Finish writing the first draft of your novel in 90 days.
 The average word count for writing a novel is 80,000 words so for the purposes of this challenge you need to write 80,000 words to finish the first draft of your novel.

Your novel might end up being fewer or more words. The purpose of this writing challenge is to finish writing the first draft of your novel, no matter how many words your novel is. The 80,000-word count goal is just an estimate based on the average word count of novels for most genres.
 
Write 1,000 words every day. 
If you write 1,000 words per day, you will finish the first draft of your novel in 80 days. You can use the remaining 10 days of the challenge's 90 days to plan your novel. Remember that this is just an initial plan and it can change any time. For example, you might finish your novel at 85,000 words or have an emergency that keeps you from writing every day. Stay flexible. Adjust your schedule and deadline as needed. Don’t get discouraged. Keep writing every day or as often as you can.

Smaller goals: Divide the 80,000 words into 4 smaller goals of 20,000 words.
Subgoal 1: 20,000 words
Subgoal 2: 40,000 words
Subgoal 3 : 60,000 words
Completed manuscript: 80,000 words

Divide your story into smaller goals to boost your confidence and motivate yourself to keep writing your story. Every time you hit the 20,000-word subgoal reward yourself. 

The rewards for the smaller goals can be as simple as going out to your favourite restaurant with your friends, going to the cinema or having a day off for yourself.

Make sure to reward yourself with something “bigger” when you finish writing the first draft of your manuscript. The reward can be going on a short trip, upgrading your writing software or going back to your favourite hobby e,g drawing, playing a musical instrument, or reading a book.

Choose the writing software
Choose writing software that is easy and comfortable for you to use. There are many available free and paid writing software on the market.

If you are a new writer on a budget, you can try Microsoft Word or Google Docs but you can also check Scrivener or Campfire if you are interested in writing software with more outlining and editing features.

Do your research and choose one that best suits your budget and needs, if you don’t already have one.

Brainstorm your novel
1) Think about your story idea, genre and tropes. What is your story about? Is it a contemporary romance story, a murder mystery or a paranormal thriller novel?  What tropes will you include in your story?Write down in your writing software as much information as you can about your story idea and tropes.

You can learn more information about how to brainstorm your story’s genre, tropes and main characters in this blog article.

2) Think about the main character(s) of your story and write down as much information as you can about their goals, motivations and flaws in a character profile. You can also write some information about their physical appearance and personality.

You can learn more information about creating character profiles and compelling characters in this blog article.

3) Outline your novel using the 3-act structure and the 15 beats analysed in Save the Cat Writes a  Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody. Write as much information as you need in every beat. You can also write detailed chapter-by-chapter summaries if you want to know exactly what happens in every chapter of your story. The amount of preparation you can do is up to you.

You can find more information about how to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure in this blog article.

Find the time and day that suits you best
Find the time of the day that suits you best to write 1,000 words per day. There is no ideal time to write. Write when it is best for your schedule and lifestyle. Try to write every day in order to keep the momentum going and create a consistent writing routine.

Beginner writers will need at least 1 hour to write 1,000 words but experienced authors will need less time. Take as much time as you need to write 1,000 words a day. You can learn more tips about how to create a consistent writing routine and write every day in this blog article.

Track your writing process
Keep a planner where you add your daily word count and how much time you write every day. You can also create a word count tracker in an Excel spreadsheet where you add the date, scene/chapter, sprint duration, words per sprint and daily word count every day.

This is a writing challenge so focus on writing. Do not edit. Move forward. Write your story. Don’t think about how to improve scenes that you have already written. Leave them for the editing stage. Your goal now is to finish writing the first draft of your novel.

What happens after the writing challenge?
After the 90-day novel writing challenge ends, put your story away. Get back to your manuscript after a month and start reading it. While reading your manuscript, make notes on what changes you wish to make.

Look at the big-picture storytelling elements of your story such as story structure, characters (goal, motivation, flaw, conflict), pacing, setting, show vs tell, dialogue and genre conventions.

Make notes about the issues of every chapter in the manuscript and note down issues that cover the entire manuscript in a separate document. Then, look at the issues you have noted, create an editing plan and start editing your manuscript.  

Conclusion
This blog article encourages authors to participate in the 90-day novel writing challenge. It is high time for authors to look beyond NaNoWriMo and participate in flexible writing challenges that promote their creativity, inspiration, and motivation and allow them to set realistic writing goals. 

Comment below and let me know if you are participating in the 90-day novel writing challenge this year!
Don’t forget to share the blog article on your social media!

Further reading
NaNoWriMo A.I. controversy explained
How to brainstorm your novel’s genre and main characters
How character profiles can help you write consistent and compelling characters
How to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure
How to create a consistent writing routine
Save the Cat Writes a Young Adult Novel

You wish to write a novel but you don’t have the time or the energy. You often wonder how writers manage to finish writing their manuscripts. What is their secret?

The secret to a finished manuscript is committing yourself to a consistent writing routine. Having a writing routine sounds challenging but if you are determined to write a book, you need to have the discipline to write every day and turn your writing process into an everyday habit.

​Having a consistent writing routine can help you avoid procrastination, find motivation and inspiration, complete your novel on time and improve your writing skills. This blog article explains the 7 steps for successfully creating a consistent writing routine.


​This blog article includes the 7 steps for creating a consistent writing routine:
Find the time and day that works best for you
Write down your writing goals
Find a writing space
Create a playlist
Avoid distractions
Use the Pomodoro method
Join a writer’s group
Conclusion
Further reading

Find the time and day that works best for you
Think carefully about your everyday schedule and your commitments. When is the best time for you to write? Early in the morning, late at night or somewhere in between? 

Check your calendar and see when you have free time to write. You may have other obligations such as studies, parenting or full-time job and think it is impossible to find time to sit down and write. Don’t discourage yourself.  Even 30 minutes or 1 hour a day can be enough time. The most important thing is to write every day (or almost every day) to keep the momentum going and create a regular writing habit.

​Check your calendar and mark 1 hour every day for writing. Preferably, the same hour every day. Write down in your calendar that this hour is designed for writing to remind yourself of your writing goal.

Write down your writing goals
Set a writing goal. The goal can be a timed-based or a word count goal. Preferably, write down a word count goal. How will you do that?  Let’s say that you are planning to write a 80,000 novel and you can sit down to write 1 hour a day. Beginner writers can usually write about 1,000 words in one hour. Let’s say that you are a new author and you set a daily word count goal of 1,000 words per day. Divide the total word count of your story with the amount of your daily word count: 80,000/1000= 80 days. You can finish writing your manuscript in 80 days.

Mark down in your calendar the expected deadline and write down your daily word count and the amount of words you have left every day. Remember that this is your initial plan and it can change at any time. For example, you might finish your novel at 70,000 words or have an unexpected emergency that keeps you from writing every day and actually finish your story in 4 months.

Don’t get discouraged. Keep pushing forward! Keep writing every day or as often as you can and you will soon have the finished manuscript in your hands! 

Find a writing space
Find a quiet and clean writing space. It can be your office desk, the kitchen table, the garden table or anywhere else you want. This will be your designated writing space. Set it up beforehand so that it is ready for you to write every day. Get all the things you need in your writing space before you sit down to write such as water, snacks, notes and anything else you might need. Make sure that all your writing notes are already organised so that you can start writing as soon as you sit down.

Create a playlist
You can also find or create a playlist with songs that match the mood, tone and genre of your story to help you find inspiration and avoid writer’s block. Create this playlist beforehand so that it is ready when you sit down and write. You can use noise-cancelling headphones to help you focus on your writing and remove outside noise.

Avoid distractions
You have only 1 hour to write. Turn off your phone, or move it to another room to avoid the temptation to check your messages or emails. Don’t check your social media during your writing time. Tell the members of your family how important writing your novel is for you. Inform them that this hour is solely dedicated to writing and no one can disrupt you unless it is urgent. 

Use the Pomodoro method
The Pomodoro method is a time management method that helps you perform focused work during 25-minute intervals (pomodoros) and then take a five-minute break. You can use the Pomodoro method to help you avoid distractions and improve your focus. For example, you plan to write for 1 hour. You can set a timer to write for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break to read what you wrote or note down some notes. Then, set your timer again for another 25-minute session and then take five minutes to update your character profiles, outline or any other notes you may have,

Join a writer’s group
Connecting with other writers or having an accountability partner can tremendously help you finish the first draft of your novel. You can find motivation with other writers, share your daily word count goals, brainstorm through any issues that you encounter as you write your story and make writer friends.

Remember that you’re not alone. There are dozens of writers trying to finish their manuscript. You can find other writers by joining your local writer’s group, by attending writing workshops, classes and seminars or by joining writer’s groups on Facebook.

Conclusion
This blog article explains the 7 steps to create a consistent writing routine. I believe the seven steps mentioned in this blog article will help you create and maintain a successfully consistent writing routine and turn your writing process into a regular habit. Keep writing!
​
Do you like this blog article? Comment below and tell me your writing routine!
 Don’t forget to share the article on your social media!

Further reading
Are you still in the outlining stage? No problem. Check out these resources to learn how to outline your story:
How to brainstorm the genre and the main characters of your story
​How character profiles can help you write consistent and compelling characters
How to write a novel using the three-act structure

What type of writer are you? Do you prefer to outline everything in advance, make up your story as you go or somewhere in between? Knowing what type of writer you are can help you establish your ideal writing and editing process and successfully write your book. This blog article analyses the three types of writers: pantsers, plotters and plantsers and their main features.

This blog article includes:
Pantsers
Plotters
Plantsers
What type of writer are you?
Conclusion
Further reading

Pantsers
A pantser is a writer who writes “by the seat of their pants”. They have an idea, a theme, a character or some story events in their mind and start writing their story immediately without any written notes. They are called discovery writers since they like to let their imagination and creativity lead them as they write their story and like to have the freedom and flexibility to write whatever they want without being restricted by an outline.

 Pantsers can create notes while they are writing their story. A pantser can write the most important information of each scene such as the number of the scene, word count, pov character, present characters, setting, the main story event and any other comments in an Excel spreadsheet or their preferred writing software to help them keep track of the important elements of their story and make their lives easier during the editing process.

Plotters
A plotter is someone who plots their story in advance. Plotters like to know everything about their story beforehand and outlining in advance saves them a lot of time during the editing stage.

Plotters like to trace story arcs and character arcs, create detailed character sketches, plot detailed beat sheets with subplots and write down chapter-by-chapter summaries to guide them when they start writing their story. They can use character, beat sheet and worldbuilding templates they find online and they fill them with detailed information. 

Plotters like to know everything about their story before they start writing it because they can write the first draft of their story more quickly and have a clear picture of every aspect of their story.

Plotters avoid writer’s block because they know what will happen next in their story but they are more confined to their outline, meaning that if they want to make major changes halfway to their story, they might need to rewrite their entire outline.
​
Plantsers
A plantser is a combination of the pantser and the plotter’s styles. Plantsers can use characters, beat sheet or worldbuilding templates but they don’t fill them with detailed information. Instead, they briefly write down the most important information of their story in bullet points.
Planters like to have a sense of direction. They like to know where their story is going but they still want to discover new aspects about the characters and the story events.

What type of writer are you?
Are you a pantser, a plotter or a plantser? Knowing what a type of writer you are can tremendously help you during the writing and editing stage of your story.

If you are a seasoned writer, you might have already established a writing process and know exactly how much preparation you need to do before you start writing your story.

If you are a new author, experiment and see what is best for you. Try to write one chapter of your story as you go without any notes and another chapter with detailed notes. See what method you like the best.

Don’t worry if you don’t know what type of writer you are yet. It took me a few years to find mine. I started as a heavy plotter but I quickly realized that outlining the story in great detail takes out the fun and the creativity from my writing process. I also noticed that heavy outlining is a waste of time for me because a lot of things change in my story as I write it and I had to revise my outline several times. 

I am a plantser. I prefer to write some important information about my story’s genre, tropes, main character and the 15 beats in bullet points to help me guide my story. The whole process takes about 2-3 hours. Then, I create a separate beat sheet, character profile and timeline template which I fill in as I write my story. (I write my fiction stories using the 15 beats in Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody and  Campfire.)

Conclusion
This blog article explained the three types of writers and the different outlining process that each type of writer has.
What type of writer are you? Comment below and tell me about your writing process!

Further reading
 If you want to learn more information about how to outline your novel, check the following links:
Learn how to brainstorm your novel’s genre and main characters
Learn why authors need character profiles to write consistent and compelling characters (+ free character profile template)
Learn how to outline your novel using the 3-act structure

You wish to write a romance story. You have some ideas in your mind but you are not sure where each scene goes. In this blog article, you will learn how to structure your romance story based on the Save the Cat Writes a  Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody and Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes with the addition of my suggestions and examples.

​Save the Cat Writes a Young Adult Novel is a popular story-structure guide for fiction authors that analyses the 15 beats that make a successful story. It is originally intended for stories with young adult main characters but the same story structure can be used for romance stories. Romancing the Beat is a popular story-structure guide specifically for romance authors. 
​This blog article includes:
What is story structure?
A note about the main character
The beat sheet
Act 1
Act 2A
Act 2B
Act 3
FAQ
Conclusion

What is story structure?
Most storytelling structure is done in 3 acts that comprise the beginning, middle and end of the story. Act 1 is about 20% of the book. Act 2 is about 60% and Act 3 is about the remaining 20% of the book. Some authors prefer to divide Act 2 into two parts so that the whole story comprises four manageable chunks: 

• Act I (20%)
• Act 2 (A) (30%) 
• Act 2 (B) (30%) 
• Act 3 (20%)

A note about the main character
The main character of your story needs to have a goal, a flaw, and an internal transformation. The main characters in romance stories are the characters that the development of the romantic relationship is focused on.

Romance stories are told from the point of view of the main characters. For each pov character, you will need to create a separate beat sheet with the 15 beats. All pov characters need to have a goal, flaw, internal transformation and (usually) equal page time. For the purposes of this blog article, the main character will be referred to as MC.

If you want to learn more information about how to write your story’s genre, main characters and theme, read the article here. 

The beat sheet
Here is the storytelling structure of your romance book:
Act I

1) Opening Image (1%): This is the first scene or chapter of the story and shows a “before” picture of your MC and their world.

2) Theme Stated (5%): The theme is the lesson that your MC needs to learn by the end of the story. Around 5% of the story, a character states the theme of the story (the lesson that the MC needs to learn) and what is keeping your MC back from falling in love again (flaw).

3) Setup (1-10%): The first 10% of your story shows the status quo of your MC in all aspects of their life: home, work/school, and friends. Introduce your MC in a way that makes them interesting to the reader. Introduce your MC’s goal and flaw and their resistance to change (resistance to learn the theme of the story). Make sure that some kind of trouble is brewing or the MC is in the middle of something unexpected. Introduce other important supporting characters such as family, friends or coworkers.

4) Catalyst (10%): The inciting incident of the story happens to the MC and takes them into a “new world” or “new way of thinking”. The inciting incident should prevent the MC from returning to their status quo life. This is the first time that the MC meets their love interest on page (although some authors have the main characters meet earlier). This could be the first time they meet or they might already know each other e.g they could be classmates, coworkers, neighbors etc. The MC should describe the sparks and physical attractiveness between them,

5) Debate (10-20%): The MC thinks about what to do next in relation to the inciting incident. They might voice their concerns to a relative or a friend or internally think why they cannot fall in love, especially with the specific character. Provide the reason (the MC’s flaw) and add backstory to justify their beliefs. The MC should be “forced” to spend some time together with the love interest e.g they could be classmates forced to collaborate in a school project,  coworkers working on the same team/project, or best friend’s older brother.

Act 2A
In Act 2A, the MC is still unwilling to change but you start raising doubts about their flaw. The reader should be able to see that the main characters are made for each other, even if they can’t see it yet. Each scene should deepen the sexual tension between them and the MC should realize that they are a better person with their love interest. Think of scenes where you will bring the two of them together emotionally and physically. Throughout Act 2A, the MC should take two steps forward and one step back.

6) Break Into 2 (20%): The beginning of Act 2. The MC decides to leave the status quo and dive into a new world.

7) B story* (22%): Introduce new characters that will help the MC learn the theme of the story (e.g a friend, a coworker, a relative) at the beginning of Act 2 (20-25%). If you have already introduced them in Act 1, there is no point in introducing a new character just for the sake of religiously following the story structure.
*(The A story is an external plot and the B story is about the internal transformation of the MC).

8) Fun and Games (20-50%): The MC lives into the new world. The MC is after something they think they want and not what they need and they are trying to fix their life the wrong way.  Think about your MC and their Act 2 life. How is their life in Act 2? Is it better or worse? Do they love this new world do they hate it?

• During this beat, make sure your MC is still positive about not wanting to fall in love and the reason (related to their flaw) behind it. Show more backstory to justify your MC’s reason for not wanting to fall in love. The MC is stuck with the love interest because of the situation created in Act 1 and they want to avoid temptation, so tempt them. Put them in situations where they need to come closer to each other, physically and emotionally.
•  Escalate the attacks on your MC’s flaw to continue creating holes in their guarded hearts and include more moments where the MC and their love interest come closer emotionally and physically to each other.  
• Their desire for each other is deepening and they cannot longer deny each other. Add lingering gazes, sweet moments and almost kisses scenes. The main characters are not just physically attracted to each other, they are falling in love and they are showing their true selves to each other.
• Nearing the50% of your story, you may decide that the MC will act on their desire. Depending on the kind of your book, you will decide how far your characters will go, how much physical intimacy you will write and how to describe it. Show your MC give in to their desire and begin to wonder what it would look like if they let go of their flaw that is holding them back. The MC needs to be more emotionally vulnerable by the end of this beat.

9) Midpoint (50%): This is the middle of your story. This is the beat where your MC has opened their hearts in a way that they didn’t previously. They might tell their friends about the night they spend with the love interest or they might have some internal thoughts about how right it feels. This beat is a false victory. The Midpoint could also be the place where the MC and the love interest have their first kiss or declare their love to each other. The Midpoint should make your MC get further out of their comfort zone and put more pressure on them to internally change. The Midpoint could serve as a ticking clock where an upcoming test, performance or event will determine the MC’s future, it could be a celebration, a competition,  or a major plot twist. The Midpoint shifts the focus of the story and makes the MC rethink everything about their life and their goals. 

Act 2B
Act 2A finishes on a false victory. The MC is starting to admit their feelings and they realize that they can fall in love but they haven’t overcome the flaw that is holding them back yet. In Act 2B, you have to push your MC and begin targeting their flaw. For example, if your MC doesn’t want to fall in love again because they believe that all men or women cheat, then you are going to hit them with that. You can include scenes where the MC misunderstands and believes that their love interest has cheated on them. 

10) Bad guys Close In (50-75%): This is the part of the story where things are getting worse and worse for your MC both externally and internally. Externally, the MC needs to fight the bad guys of the story e.g parents, teachers, coworkers, witches, or vampires. Internally, the MC needs to fight with their own internal beliefs and flaws. Your Midpoint was a false victory, so this beat should have a downward path. 

• Things are going pretty well for your MC right now with their relationship arc since Act 2A ended in a false victory and they start to believe that they can fall in love with someone else. Now, it’s the time to start getting hard on them and start raising their doubts based on their flaw.
• The (physical) intimacy between them is continuing but the doubt you raised catches on and the MC feels that something is wrong and they need to guard their hearts again.
• The doubts are getting worse and worse. If your MC believes that all men or women cheat, then show them that they are watching signs of them cheating. Maybe the MC sees them with another person and they misunderstand. Or maybe the MC has a secret that keeps them apart. The MC sees signs that are not there and they build walls to protect their heart and prepare themselves for the eventual breakup. They don’t understand that their actions pull the other person away. The MC internally thinks or shares their thoughts with a friend and they are prepared to emotionally protect themselves.

11) All is Lost (75%): In this beat, a major event happens to your MC that brings them to their lowest point of the story e.g a breakup. The breakup scene needs to be tied with the flaw of the MC who chooses fear instead of love. The MC loses someone or something that is usually related to their flaw. 

• Whatever the MC believes in the Bad Guys Close In, they think it becomes true. If they believe that they were cheated on, then the MC has “proven” that their love interest has cheated on them and they break up. The MC doesn’t believe in love again because they have let their guard down and they were emotionally hurt by the love interest’s (supposed) cheating.

12) Dark Night of the Soul (75-80%): The MC reacts to the events of the All is Lost beat. Show the MC’s emotions. The MC should feel worse and any progress they made towards overcoming their flaw feels lost. The MC tries to return to their old, familiar world of Act 1, but they are not the same person they were in Act 1 since the events of the story have already internally changed them. The MC realizes that the breakup is their fault. 

Act 3
In Act 3, the MC learns the theme of the story (overcomes their flaw) and fixes things the right way. The MC could have realized that they should continue pursuing the same goal they had since the beginning of the story or they might have a new goal for Act 3. The goal should be related to the story’s theme. 

13) Break Into 3 (80%): The aha moment. The scene where the MC figures out what they need to do to fix things the right way and decides to take the first step on that action. The MC realizes that the breakup was their fault. They have had some advice from friends or family in the previous scene and they realize that they have to let go of their flaw and choose love this time. The MC realizes that they have the power to be happy and they decide to try to win back the love interest they have lost even if they believe it might be too late.

14) Finale (80-95%): The MC executes the plan about the decision they made on Break Into 3 and they prove that they have learned the theme of the story and that they have been internally transformed. The MC has an epiphany and is ready to be courageous to win their love back. In order to do that, they need to perform a grand gesture, an action that shows how serious and how much in love they are. The grand gesture can be related to overcoming a specific fear: e.g the MC is afraid of airplanes but they get into a plane to confess their love. Other common grand gestures can include a public confession of love with the risk of being rejected and humiliated or sacrificing their goal to see the other character’s dream come true. 

15) Final Image (99-100%): This is the final scene of your story and it shows an “after”  picture of your MC’s life and how much they have changed.
Show their whole-hearted selves. The Final Image can be a mirror image of their first encounter, their first date, their first kiss or any other important moment for them. You might choose to write an epilogue so that might be the final scene of your novel. An epilogue can show a glimpse of the future with a wedding or babies. The Final Image doesn't need to be “perfect.” You just have to show the MC living a happy life together with their lover.

FAQ
Where do I start outlining my story?
Start outlining your story using the five Foundation Beats. The Foundation beats are single-scene beats and the most important beats of your story structure. 
The five foundation beats are:

• Catalyst (10%)
• Break Into 2 (20%)
• Midpoint (50%)
• All is Lost (75%)
• Break Into 3 (80%)

The five foundation beats will help you create an outline for your story either before or while writing your story.If you are a plotter, you can start creating the outline of your story by filling first the five foundation beats and then writing as much information as you can in the other beats.If you are a pantser, you can write 1-2 sentences for each foundation beat and then complete your beat sheet as you write the story.

If you are a new author and you haven’t established a writing routine yet, I would recommend writing 2-3 sentences in each foundation beat to have a general sense of your story and then start writing your story. As you write, observe with how much preparation you feel comfortable as an author. Some authors want to have complete character profiles and detailed story-structure outlines before they start writing their story. Others prefer to have a general idea of how their story starts and they immediately start writing with little or no notes at all. Start by taking a few notes and experiment until you find  what is comfortable for you.

Conclusion
This blog article explains the story structure for romance stories. The beat sheet and the 15 beat points analyzed in this article are only meant to guide you in creating successful romance stories. Don’t think of them as obligatory plot points but rather as suggestions that can inspire you and show a way to create a successful plot structure for your story. If you want to learn more about plot and story structure, I highly recommend reading the Save the Cat Writes a  Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody and Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes. 
Happy writing!

Further reading
How to brainstorm your novel’s genre and main characters
How character profiles can help you write consistent and compelling characters
How to create a consistent writing routine

You want to write a romance story. You might already have an idea, a character description or a plot point in your mind. Before you start writing the first chapter of your story, you need to brainstorm and decide on some of the most important elements of your story: genre and main character(s).

​In this blog article, you will learn how to brainstorm and decide your story’s genre (and tropes) and the 3 most important elements of your main character(s).
​
​
This blog article includes:
Definition of genre 
Questions to ask yourself about genre
Definition of tropes
Main characters 
Conclusion

Definition of genre
Genre is the category that your story belongs to and it defines the tone, content, length and conventions of your story. One of the most popular genres is romance. All you need to remember about romance is that the romantic relationship between the main characters should be the centrer of the story and that romance stories have a happy ending. If your story, doesn’t have a happy ending, then it is not a romance.

Romance is a very broad category and can be divided into many genres. Some of the most popular genres are contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and YA (Young Adult) romance.

Contemporary romance is set from the 1950s to the present.

Historical romance stories are set before the 1950s and highlight the issues of the culture and society of the story’s historical period. 

Paranormal romance contains supernatural elements such as vampires, wolves, witches, dragons etc.

Romantic suspense contains thriller, mystery and suspense elements.

YA (Young Adult) romance focuses on teenage characters and it can be combined with any of the genres mentioned above.

Questions to ask yourself about genre
The first thing you have to decide about your story is the genre. It is important to remember that you don’t have to choose only one genre, but rather that you can combine elements from different genres to create your story.

 Ask yourself and write down the answers to the following questions:

•  Is my story set to the modern world or in a historical period?
• Does my story include supernatural or paranormal elements?
• Does my story include thriller, suspense or crime elements?
• Are the main characters of my story teenagers or adults?
• Does my story include elements from different genres?
• Is the development of the romantic relationship at the center of the story?
• Does my story have a happy ending? 

​Definition of tropes
Trope is a plot device that is used to create stories familiar to readers but authors should be able to combine familiar tropes in unexpected and fresh ways to keep the story interesting to the readers.

 Some of the most popular tropes for romance stories are:

•  the marriage of convenience, 
• sports romance,
• best friend’s older brother,
•  billionaires, 
• boss and employee, 
• enemies to lovers, 
• friends to lovers,
•  coworkers, 
• pretend relationship/marriage, 
• forbidden love, 
• forced proximity, 
• secret or mistaken identity. 

This is by no means a completed list of tropes. I am sure you can think of many more tropes that you can include in your story. The list above is intended to make you start thinking about possible tropes that you can include in your story.

If you are not sure what tropes to include in your story:

• Think of the tropes of your 3 most favourite stories. 
• Observe how the authors use the tropes in these stories. 
• Note down your favourite tropes from these romance stories and any other tropes you want to include in your story.
• Write down how you will use these tropes in your own story. 
• Combine three or more tropes in unexpected and new ways to make the story more compelling to the readers.

Main characters
The most important element of your story is your main character (s). In a romance story, you will need two main characters that will be the love interests of the story. Remember that the development of their romantic relationship will be the central part of the story.

You can brainstorm and write down as much or as little information as you want about your main characters’ in their character profiles. You can include your main character’s physical appearance, personality, backstory, home and work life. 

If you want more information about what is a character profile and why you need one to write consistent and meaningful characters (+download a free character profile template), click here to read the article. 

The 3 most important elements of your story: the main character(s) goal, the main character’s flaw and the story’s theme.

1) Think about your character’s goal (and motivation).  Your character’s goal must be tangible, important for your character and big enough to sustain the whole story. The main character (s) should have a goal beyond the romantic relationship. For example, the main character (s) might want to get a job promotion that comes with a higher salary so that they can rent a bigger apartment. Think about what will happen if your character achieves their goal. Think about the consequences if your character fails their goal.

Keep in mind that the main characters (love interests) need to have equal and opposite goals to create the central conflict of the story and to prevent them from easily achieving their respective goals.

For example, two coworkers might be competing for the same job position that comes with a significant salary raise. One might want a higher salary to pay for their student loans and the other one to financially help a sick relative. Wanting the same job position creates the central conflict of the story. The two characters might even sabotage each other or they might be forced to work together until their boss decides who will eventually get the job. Things become more complicated when they realize they start having feelings for each other.

2) Think about your character’s flaw. 
A  flaw is a  misbelief that your character falsely believes about themselves or the world around them and prevents them from achieving their goal. Both of your main characters need to have their own internal and external flaw that takes over all aspects of their life (home, friends, work). The external flaw is the literal bad guys that prevent the main character from achieving their goal e.g family, friends, coworkers. The internal flaw is the internal beliefs and goals that the main characters need to fight.

3) Think about the story’s theme. 
​The theme is the message of your story. It is the lesson that the main character(s) learns at the end of the story that changes their perspective about themselves or the world around them. The theme must be universal, so that people regardless of age, gender, location and culture can relate to it. 

​The main theme of romance stories is “love conquers all” where the main characters must overcome many obstacles and complications to be happily together by the end of the story but your story can have a more specific theme as well.

​The “love conquers all” theme can be combined with other themes to show the internal obstacles and flaws the main characters need to overcome. For example, the main character (s) might need to forgive themselves for the death of a relative in a car accident that wasn’t their fault (but they feel guilty about it).

Conclusion
Brainstorming your story before you start writing down your first chapter is an important step of the writing process. Brainstorming your story can help you clarify the genre and tropes, strengthen the theme and create compelling and consistent characters. Take a notebook or open your writing software and write down as much information as you need about the genre and the main character(s) of your romance story. Happy writing!

Further reading
Learn why authors need character profiles to write consistent and compelling characters (+ free character profile template)
Learn how to outline your novel using the 3-act structure
​How to create a consistent writing routine

Writing compelling characters that will captivate and hook your readers consists one of the main challenges that you will face while writing your story.
How can you write reliable, consistent and compelling characters? How can you include all your characters’ information in an organised and practical way where you can instantly find and modify any information you may need about them? By creating character profiles for every character!

This blog article includes:
Definition of a character profile
The reasons you need a character profile
When do you need a character profile? 
What to include in a character profile?
Questions to ask about your characters
Conclusion (+free character profile template)

Definition of a character profile
A character profile is a description of your character’s life. A character profile can help you brainstorm all the information you need to know about your character. It can be a one-page document in a bullet-point format or a twenty-page essay with detailed information about every aspect of your character’s life and pivotal backstory events.

The reasons you need a character profile
Character profiles are important because they can help you

• write consistent characters (e.g a character’s blue eye doesn’t turn brown throughout the story without any further explanation).
• write faster stories because you have all the information you need about your characters in one place instead of going back and forth through your manuscript to find details you wrote weeks ago. 
•  create meaningful characters with depth and build stronger emotional relationships between your characters. 

The main characters (protagonist and antagonist) of your story should have a detailed character profile with as much information as possible. Secondary or minor characters don’t need to be fully-fledged. Their character profiles only need to have some basic information necessary for the story.

When do you need a character profile? 
A character profile can be useful while planning, writing and revising your story.  Some authors prefer finishing their characters’ profiles before start writing their stories. Others prefer only writing down some basic information before they start writing and others dive directly into the story and complete their characters’ profiles as they go. 

There is no right or wrong way to create a character profile. I advise you to brainstorm and write down as much information as possible about your main character(s) before you start writing your story. Hoverer, the choice is yours. If you have thoroughly developed your character in your mind, you can start writing your story right away. Just make sure to include all the information about your characters (at least the main ones) in a separate document from your manuscript and in an organised way.
  
What to include in a character profile?
You can start your character profile by writing down some basic information about your character. Note down their name, age, occupation, nationality, location (country, city) and social class and write about their physical appearance, personality, important backstory events, personal relationships, home life and work life.Then, decide the 3 most important elements of your story: the main character(s) goal, the main character’s flaw and the story’s theme.
​
1) Think about your character’s goal. What is your character’s desire? What does your character want?  Your character’s goal must be tangible, important for your character and big enough to sustain the whole story. Think about what will happen if your character achieves their goal. Think what will happen if your character fails their goal. Keep in mind that the main characters (protagonist and antagonist) need to have equal and opposite goals to create the central conflict of the story and to prevent them from easily achieving their respective goals.

2) Think about your character’s flaw.  A  flaw is a  misbelief that your character falsely believes about themselves or the world around them and prevents them from achieving their goal. It is best if your character has a lot of internal and external flaws (or one big flaw) that take over all aspects of their life (home, friends, work). 

3) Think about the story’s theme. The theme is the universal message that the story contains and the “truth” that the character discovers about themselves and/or the world around them. The theme is the opposite of the main character’s flaw/misbelief. The main character(s) learn the theme, overcome their flaws, and become better and improved people by the end of the story. The main characters usually learn the theme at the beginning of Act 3 of the story (or the Break Into 3 beat in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody).

Questions to ask about your character
Here are some questions that you can ask about your characters. Brainstorm and write possible answers in the respective character profiles.

• What is your character’s basic information (name, age, occupation, location)?
• Can you briefly describe the main character’s goal?
• What will happen if the character achieves their goal?
• What are the consequences if the character fails their goals?
• What is your character’s flaw that prevents them from achieving their goal?
• What is the theme of the story?

Conclusion (+free character profile template)
 Character profiles are an essential tool for all the stages of your story and they can help you create fully developed and consistent characters.
​
​You can open a blank document and start creating your own character profile from scratch or you can download the free character profile template and start planning your character right away. The character profile template is meant to make your writing life easier and inspire you to write compelling characters. You can copy/paste the character profile template and use it as many times as you want to create character profiles for all your characters. Happy writing!

​Completing the first or fifth draft of your story is already a significant achievement that you should celebrate! The next step is to have your manuscript professionally edited but you are not sure what kind of editor you need. This article analyses what developmental editing is and explains the difference between developmental editing and other kinds of editing.

​
​This article analyses:
Developmental editing
Developmental editing vs coaching
Developmental editing vs line/copy editing
Developmental editing/ proofreading
Summary
Advice about editing

Developmental editing
Developmental editing (also known as structural, substantive or content editing) is the first step in the editing process and it solves the big-picture storytelling issues in your manuscript. It is the first kind of editing authors should look for after they have completed their first draft of their manuscript. 
​
The developmental editor addresses the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses and can provide comprehensive feedback on the following issues:

• theme: The message that the story conveys. The lesson that the main character(s) learns at the end of the story changes their perspective about themselves or the world around them.  The theme must be universal, so that people regardless of age, gender, location and culture can relate to it. For example, the main theme of romance stories often is “love conquers all” where the main characters must overcome many obstacles and be happily together by the end of the story.

 

• plot and structure: One of the most popular story structures in fiction is the 3 act structure.  Save the Cat! Writes a Novel and Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel by Jessica Brody are two of the most popular structure guides for fiction authors. The books analyse the 3 act story structure through 15 “beats”  that make up a complete and effective story.

 

• characters: Basic information about the main characters’ goals, motivations, and internal vs external (emotional vs logical) conflict. Information about their physical appearance, occupation, education, background and relationship with other characters in the story. 

 

• setting and timeline: Where does the story take place (e.g. in which country, city), the historical and seasonal time of the story as well as the history, culture and politics of the setting. The setting of the story needs to be believable and consistent. The author should avoid overly descriptive details of settings without context (info-dumping) and show why a particular setting matters to the story. 

 

• point of view: The number of viewpoint characters and their importance to the story. For example, romance stories have one or two POV characters, the main characters and the love interests of the story.

 

•  pacing: Slow pacing that causes the reader to lose interest in the story, unrelated, unnecessary or repetitive information that does nothing much to progress the story.

 

• scene and narrative summary (show vs tell): Balance between summarised scenes (unimportant events) and the most important scenes where the author shows in greater detail the events of the story.

 

• voice, tone and imagery: the characters of the story have consistent, effective and distinct voices, the word choices are appropriate to the genre and the time period of the story.

 

• genre expectations: For romance stories (e.g contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance), the development of the love relationship must be the center of the story. The main characters display physical attraction that creates physical and emotional reactions that evolve into romantic feelings by the end of the story.

​You can always ask for the professional services of a developmental editor but you can benefit most from the services​ of a developmental editor when:

• you are a new author and you are currently editing your first manuscript
• you have been revising your manuscript for so long  and you are too close to your story and don't know how to further improve it
• you're getting conflicting advice from beta readers
• you are getting rejections from publishers or agents and you sure how to fix the issues discussed in their rejections

If one of the above describes you, then you need a professional developmental editor to read your manuscript and help you unlock its full potential!

Developmental editing vs coaching
While developmental editors help authors refine their completed manuscripts, book coaches help authors from the first idea to the completed first draft.

Book coaches can have weekly or monthly sessions with the author to check on writing goals and provide them with commentary or notes about their next moves. 

The book coach can be an assistant to the author but they don’t ghostwrite or rewrite part of the story. Book coaches can work with an author for about 6 months to help them finish the first draft of their story. 
​
Book coaches can help authors:

•  develop their characters and expand plot ideas

• develop consistent writing habits
• answer questions about the story and overcome writer’s block
• improve their skills and knowledge about the writing craft

Developmental editing vs line/copy editing
Line editing/copyediting is the second step in the editorial process. While developmental editing focuses on the big-picture issues of the manuscript, line editing/copyediting focuses on the finer details of a manuscript. 

 Line editors/copyeditors focus on improving sentence-level errors and go through your manuscript line by line.
Line editing/copyediting focuses on:

• grammar, spelling, syntax and punctuation
• sentence structure and flow
• word choice (consistent style, redundancies, confusing or unnecessary words)
• sentence coherence, clarity and tone
• inconsistent formatting
• readability

Developmental editing/ proofreading
Proofreading is the third and final step of the editorial process.

Proofreaders read the manuscript to catch grammatical, spelling, punctuation and formatting errors that previous editors missed during the editing process and ensure consistency in formatting and style throughout the story.

Summary
Developmental editing: It solves the big-picture storytelling issues of a manuscript (theme, plot and structure, characters, setting and timeline, point of view, pacing, voice, tone and imagery, and genre expectations). Authors should be looking for this service after they have completed the first draft of their manuscript.

Coaching: Book coaches help authors during the writing process, from the first idea to a completed first draft.

Line editing/copyediting: Editors go through the manuscript line by line and improve sentence-level errors.

Proofreading: Proofreaders check the manuscript one last time for minor typos and errors before the manuscript goes to publication!
​
Advice about editing
Be open-minded about the process of editing. You are paying a professional editor to improve your manuscript. Listen to their feedback and be open-minded to their ideas.

​Prepare to rewrite certain scenes of your manuscript, rearrange scenes or sentences and make the necessary changes to improve your story and make it the best it can be.

But remember, at the end of the day, you are the only one who has the final word about your manuscript and you should only make the changes you feel comfortable!

Further reading
How to brainstorm your novel’s genre and main characters
How to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure
How to create a consistent writing routine