Kate Walker's 12-point Guide to Writing Romance

The bible of writing romance

Being an aspiring writer, in the last three years I've read all kinds of "how to" manuals and seen lots of advice about writing in my chosen genre, romance. I collect those tips, and pay attention to every word shared by published successful writers. Having all the essential information together in a single book is a wonderful tool for me. Especially when this book is more than theory, it's a workbook as well.

Kate Walker's 12-point Guide to Writing Romance is perfect for writers who are targeting Harlequin Mills and Boon. However, its teachings are great for any romance writer, regardless of which publisher they are planning to submit their work to. The topics covered in it could be applied to any romance novel and sub-genre.

The author has a unique way of conveying her experiences and translating them into tools we can actually use and understand. Some of the themes she explains so well, I realized I'd read about them before without having really understood them.

The whole book is awesome, and these are my favorite parts: 'Emotional punch' - I love how the author explains what it isn't before describing how to achieve it, and why it's so important. 'Conflict' (my favorite theme in writing, I'm a conflict junkie!) - Kate Walker explains everything about it intelligibly. 'Characters' point of view' - which is a great problem for most new writers, the evil head hopping gets dissected here! I also enjoyed 'Types of heroes and what makes a hero' and how to write a love scene.

At the end of every chapter there are questions and exercises. I think some of these could be used again and again, if we ever get stuck with a manuscript.

Kate Walker dedicates a chapter to the business part of our trade, giving us great directions on how to submit our writing and inside details on how the publishing industry works. I like and share her opinion on agents.

The final part of the book is a contribution from more than twenty generous and successful romance writers, who took the time to share with us their experiences and give us useful advice. I highly recommend this book to any romance writer.