Hi word nerds! Lori here. Our longtime columnist Tammy Lough is in need of a break, so I am stepping in and serving up a round-up of some of her best columns for DIY MFA.
In case you are not familiar, Tammy Lough is our romance writing columnist, so most of these columns will help you write better romance, especially romantic comedies, but there are some great words of wisdom in here for writers of any genre.
Here are six articles (with a couple of bonus links thrown in) that represent the best of Tammy Lough…
Six Tasks for Pre-Writing Success
This article has advice that would serve writers of any genre. To me, this feels like a happy medium between being a plotter and a pantser. I, too, have plotted a novel to death and no longer seemed worth writing and I, too, have charged into a story with no plan whatsoever with equally disastrous results. Tammy’s six tips totally seem worth trying for my next project and I think you’ll find them useful too.
Why Consider a Romance Series?
Often, when we see a romance novel, it’s a part of a series. And this is great because it allows us to get to know characters or even places and follow them over the course of several stories. In this post, Tammy walks you through why you might consider turning a stand-alone romance into a series instead.
Let’s Create a Series Bible
So, Tammy’s last post persuaded you to write a romance series. Perfect. Now what? How do you keep all of the moving parts together? How do you organize a story, a setting, and characters across more than one book? Never fear! Tammy has your back. Bonus tip: this article is useful regardless of what genre you write. Organization knows no bounds.
Creating a Dynamic Romantic Hero
Every story—regardless of genre—needs strong characters because that’s one of the ways you get readers to become invested in your story. (The other is a good plot, of course.) In this article, Tammy offers advice on how to create a dynamic hero. Again, the focus is on romance, but the advice could be translated to any genre.
Ten Rules for Writing Killer Romance
This is actually a three-part series. For your convenience, here are the links to part 2 and part 3 (told you there were bonus links!). This series walks you from A-Z for writing a romance novel. It helps you create great characters and craft a unique plot that will keep your readers begging for more! The best part is you can work through these steps multiple times as you write multiple romance books. Gotta love a blueprint!
How to Write a Romantic Comedy Novel
Romantic comedies are Tammy Lough’s jam! This is a two-parter, so here’s the link for part 2. Romantic comedies are definitely fun to read and, from the looks of it, fun to write as well! You know how it’s going to end, but the best part is seeing how the author gets the main characters there. Part 1 is all about the setup and part 2 goes into the nitty-gritty of the genre. Enjoy!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this round-up of the best of Tammy. She’ll be back in a couple of months with her next article and I cannot wait to see what she has to say!
Tell us in the comments: What is your favorite thing about romance novels?
Lori Walker is the Operations Maven at DIY MFA. Though she’s fallen off the wagon as a writer, she’s hoping to return to writing essays (perhaps even a novel!) through her involvement with DIY MFA. She is also Launch Manager, Web Editor, and Podcast Producer for DIY MFA and a Book Coach. She resides in Smalltown, Oklahoma, with her husband and their cat, Joan Didion. You can follow her on Instagram at @LoriTheWriter.
