Randall Toye is asking - and answering - the question
over on Isabel Swift's blog -And if you don;t know who Randall Toye is - he's Director Global Series at Harlequin, so he should know!
For him "it's all about engaging the reader. Connecting with her—whether it is with her fantasies or her realities, it's all about touching her, telling stories that make her laugh, make her cry, sweep her away. Stories that have her closing her book feeling good, refreshed, revitalized, reaffirmed.
The key focus is a good story, well told. The basic building blocks? Character, Structure, Pacing, Payoff. Easy to list. Not so easy to deliver. As one author beautifully articulated: "Just because they're easy to read doesn't mean they're easy to write!" Quite the opposite. The series romance, like a sonnet, is a beautiful, disciplined, elegant, and demanding creative form."
You can find the rest of the article on the blog here
4 comments:
Kate - I mentioned this on Liz's blogs...the line launch dates are confusing and out of date, but that's only because the blog is actually from 2006. For example, everlasting is no more.
But the important part is that every word written about what makes a great series book is still true. :-)
Donna, strictly as a reader your comments so true.
Gosh I love that about category romance being like a sonnet. It IS very demanding and you do need to be disciplined, but it can be beautiful when all works as it should. Thanks for that.
That was really interesting to read, thanks.
I have one question though - what was meant by 'payoff'?
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