HAVE YOU EVER had your romance manuscript rejected by a publisher because it lacked romantic tension?
Those days are over. I just devoured a book called "The Romance Writers' Phrase Book" (Perigee Books, 1984), written by Jean Kent, a romance novelist, and Candace Shelton, a romance writing teacher.They show how you can add life and breath to any novel by providing three thousand descriptive phrases organized into 50 categories, including physical descriptions, body movements, facial expressions, eyes, voices, emotions, sex and more!
Don't laugh. The difference is astounding.
If you write in your novel that "He reached out and touched her arm," it will go nowhere. But if you write, "A tingling of excitement raced through her as his fingers trailed sensuously down her arm," you have a winner.
Let your imagination run wild as I illustrate how a romantic description can be created purely from the categories of this book:
It was exciting to see her again. Her hose felt like sheaths of clammy cloth on her exceptionally pretty legs. Her features were dainty, her wrists small. Her throat looked warm and shapely above a low-cut bodice.
Carefully, he stretched his arm across the back of her chair. He felt his hand brush the hair from her neck. She paused, looked at his hand, then shook it. Nervously, she ran her hands through her hair. He offered her a sudden, arresting smile.
They looked into each other's eyes. He threw back his head and let out a great peal of laughter. She brought her hand up to stifle her giggles.
Suddenly, they were silent. His dark snappy eyes looked out from his sun-toughened face. Her eyes held a gleam that no makeup could improve.
Finally, he spoke. The underlying sensuality of his words captivated her. She spoke in a weak and tremulous whisper. Tonight there were no shadows across her heart. She felt a warm glow flow through her. He pressed her with relentless enjoyment.
When it was time to go, she clenched her jaw to kill the sob in her throat. She stared, wordlessly. His luminous eyes widened in astonishment.
A flicker of apprehension coursed through her. Biting her lip, she looked away. It was true. He aroused old fears and uncertainties. She closed her eyes, feeling utterly miserable.
Then the mood changed. He looked at her as if he were photographing her with his eyes. Slowly and seductively, his gaze slid downward. His gaze roved and lazily appraised her. Her curiosity as well as her vanity was aroused. She dreamed of being crushed within his embrace.
She found herself extremely conscious of his virile appeal. She was powerless to resist. With a giddy sense of pleasure she let her happiness show. His closeness was so male, so bracing. It sent shivers of delight through her.
First, he kissed her with his eyes. Then he brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead. Next, his lips pressed against hers then gently covered her mouth. Her mouth was burning with fire.
Afterward, her mind relived the velvet warmth of his kiss. His lips left hers to nibble at her earlobe. Passion pounded the blood through her heart, chest and head.
Whew! I've got to stop. It's exciting to see the impact of a few pat phrases, or as the experts call them, tags, thoroughly tried and tested on the romance market.
Take it seriously. A sense of fulfillment is almost within your breathless grasp.