Before I go into tips on writing a realistic romantic plot, let me start by telling my readers… and fellow writers… that life is much more interesting than fiction. Realism in fiction is relative to the characters in the book.
If
an author is writing a vampire novel, the readers go into the book
with the knowledge that the vampire is going to have to drink blood
to survive. Obviously, in ‘real’ life this isn’t realistic. Is
drinking blood to survive a real event? No…but for a vampire
character in fiction…it’s expected.
Now
let’s jump to contemporary novels. If I tell my readers that a
woman is willing to marry a man for a year for a couple of million
dollars, my reader will ask ‘why?’ What happened to my heroine
that makes her sell herself out like that? They might even ask if
this happens in real life. Notice that the same reader will often
take the blood-drinking vampire as ‘realistic’ without a bat of
the eye.
In
contemporary romance, the author has to work five times harder to
convince the readers that the situation in the pages is possible.
What some of my readers are very aware of, while other aren’t, I’m
a retired ER RN. I have honestly seen things in life that I NEVER
thought were possible. I often laugh when a reader will write me and
tell me that the situation in my book isn’t possible. Ah, yeah…dear
reader, it is…
As
a writer, I make it a goal to make every decision my characters
make…every twist and turn in a book, probable. Certainly there are
going to be times in a story where a reader might have to look the
other way… but again, Bybee being honest here… I’ve seen much
stranger things in life than I put in my books.
Like
I said in the beginning of this blog, it starts with the characters.
In order for any plot to be believable the reader has to have a firm
grip on the characters in the pages. Who are they, what make them
tick. A rich man won’t think twice about giving a twenty dollar tip
to a taxi driver, while a struggling student will pinch the dollar
bills before giving them away.
It’s
when your character acts out of character that the reader will toss
the book aside and deem it unrealistic.
So
when you’re plotting, or writing by the seat of your pants, make
sure your characters stay in character and the plot will follow.
For
me, the key to a believable romance is in my characters.
About the Author:
New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned novels Wife by Wednesday, Married by Monday, and Not Quite Dating. Bybee lives with her husband and two teenage sons in Southern California. Visit Catherine on her webiste WWW.CATHERINEBYBEE.COM, on her blog, CATHERINEBYBEE.BLOGSPOT.COM, or follow her on twitter at TWITTER.COM/CATHERINEBYBEE
Thank you for having me on your blog today.
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