Writing Books I Recommend: Romancing the Beat
Cover of ROMANCING THE BEAT by Gwen Hayes
This is not a book that’s going to appear on any MFA syllabus. But if you’re writing romance, it’s one of the most succinct discussions of managing the conflict of a romance novel: will the couple get together or not?
WHO IT’S FOR:
This book is for writers who want to work with the beats of a romance novel, whether as the central conflict or as a subplot. Are you struggling with when to keep the couple apart and when to bring them together, particularly in the middle of your book? Then this book is for you.
Here’s who Hayes says her book is for (from the “What is What” chapter):
Romance writers who have been told their books focus too much on the external plot.
Romance writers who know something is missing from their book, but are not sure where to look to find it.
Non-romance writers looking to strengthen the romantic elements of a different genre book.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
This short book (85 pages) will walk you through the beats of a romance arc.
In the intro, Hayes says that she reads a lot of craft books (a useful thing to do as a writer ahem), but that all the books she read seemed to be missing something. “These structure books don’t exactly nail the romance arc,” she says, naming the gap her book aims to fill. And boy does she — this book starts with a discussion of theme, where she posits that all romance novels argue that “Love conquers all.” She then discusses external conflicts in a romance, and the importance of connecting these to internal conflict. Most of the book is a description of a beat sheet, one that she breaks down into four distinct phases of a romance:
Set up
Falling in love
Retreating from love
Fighting for love
WHAT’S USEFUL:
Her “hole-hearted to whole-hearted” idea. Hayes walks you through the idea that these two people need each other, even when they fight against that need. Each character has a void inside of them that needs to be addressed. In a way, the two main characters of a romance save each other.
The beat sheet: Seriously. This is a fantastic, quick overview of the expected beats of a romance novel, something you’re not going to get from Save the Cat!. In addition, these beats are easily woven into another beat sheet. For example, if you’re following Blake Snyder’s or Jennie Nash’s beats, you can easily add the character dynamics of Hayes’s romance arc into an existing story. Do you want to add romance to a novel in another genre? Do you want to see why your romance arc feels like it’s falling short? Overlay Hayes’s beat sheet on your synopsis — can you see where the major romantic plot points are supposed to fall? Can you add these into the scene you’ve already written or envisioned? (Romantasy, anyone? I’m also seeing romance mixed with horror as a publishing trend.)
PS — I love Hayes’s definition of a story beat: “Beats, in this case, are ways to measure movement of a story for pacing and content.”
WHAT THE BOOK DOESN’T DO:
This book has two main functions: to get you to connect internal and external arc, and to outline the beats of a romance arc.
It doesn’t discuss tropes (enemies to lovers, for example, or one bed) in detail. (If anybody can recommend a good book on romantic tropes, I’d love to read it! The screenwriting book WRITING THE ROMANTIC COMEDY by Billy Mernit has a great discussion of tropes, as well.)
It doesn’t discuss marketing/querying/selling your book. That’s not what this book is for. (I recommend Jane Friedman’s THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER and Courtney Maum’s BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL for a rich discussion here.)
WHAT TO READ FIRST:
I always recommend Jessica Brody’s SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL for a quick primer on story beats.
A few (at least!) romance novels: it’s important to read in the genre in which you’re creating. As writers, we learn so much by osmosis. Some favorites for me: MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE, by Taylor Jenkins Reid, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen, THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger, old Jude Deveraux. Another writer will have a completely different list — there’s so much out there!
I’m also always going to recommend Lisa Cron’s STORY GENIUS to deepen that hole-hearted to whole-hearted dynamic. What’s your character’s misbelief, and how is that misbelief interfering in their life?
WHAT TO READ NEXT:
WRITING THE ROMANTIC COMEDY by Billy Mernit. This book is a screenwriting book, true, but I always find screenwriting books so helpful for novel writing. Mernit does discuss tropes, but he also discusses being funny, writing dialogue, and writing in a cinematic way with images first.
Do you have recommendations for craft books for romance? Have you used ROMANCING THE BEAT’S beat sheet? If so, please share!