Fall in Love with Romance Writing (Meg Geiger and Kristie Smeltzer)

This class will meet online for 8 sessions on Tuesdays (Sept. 15 to Nov. 3) from 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM. 

Description

Romance and romantasy novels are the bestselling fiction genres, and romantic subplots are the most common type of subplot across genres. Join this class to develop your skills writing about characters falling in love (and lust) and to gain confidence writing romantic tension and authentically intimate scenes with pride.

First, we’ll cover the basics: happily-ever-after endings, beloved romantic tropes, different steam levels with sexual content, and character development of romantic leads. Next, we’ll cover things to avoid when writing romance, including norm-breaking choices that make it hard to successfully publish in the genre and other common pitfalls. Taking everything they’ve learned, participants will write or revise a romance scene/chapter of their own to share with classmates. We’ll workshop submissions, providing gentle feedback about what’s working well and a few opportunities for revision. 

About the Instructors

Kristie Smeltzer's fiction has been published by Scribes*MICRO*Fiction, MonkeyBicycle, Atticus Review, and others. She is currently working on several novels. She earned her MFA in creative writing at the University of Central Florida. Kristie has taught at WriterHouse since 2016, and her students have gone on to publish their work in literary magazines, with small presses, and through large publishing houses. She also helps others tell their stories as a developmental editor and writing coach. Learn more at www.kristiesmeltzer.com. 

Meg Geiger is an indie romance author who loves to write challenging characters brought to their knees by the people they love. She's a fan of using tropes, tropes, and more tropes, especially if it's only-one-bed. The promise of love conquering all energizes her, even when readers don't know how the story's gonna get there. Meg recently published her debut novel Showstopper, an enemies-to-lovers rock star romance that’s the first book in a planned series.