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Romance Writer Toolkit: #1 The Stages of Seduction


Introduction:

This is the first of a new series I’m super excited about sharing with you. It will be ongoing as I am constantly learning and growing as a writer, and of course I want to share that with you! 

What sparked this series is that when I first started writing I didn’t have a clue about about the structure of a story, characters, motivations, goals…and you get the picture. I knew nothing. And now I know that you really need to know the rules before you break them. 

 I would get an initial scene idea and start writing. I wrote my first two manuscripts this way by pantsing with no plan at all and no thought. Of course this ended in two books that were a pile of disconnected chapters that had no point and didn’t make sense. Because even pantsing requires knowing where you end, or at least the main conflict or what a characters goal and motivation is. Just something that will drive the story forward, and I had zilch! 

Now, after struggling for years, I found myself wanting to do the research, read some writing craft books, and actually learn the basics of writing a story. And while not all of it was life changing, I found the gems that were game changers for my writing. And you will find tools you can apply to your writing even if you don’t fit in a box. 

Toolkit Tip:

I’m currently reading Passionate Ink: A Guide to Writing Erotic Romance by Angela Knight and as I’m finishing it up, I can honestly say this book belongs in every romance writers toolkit. It is gold! It’s something I wish I read before I attempted my first book as it has everything I needed to write a book. 

*NOTE: This book is currently out of print so do yourself a favor and hunt down a used copy. I did reach out to the author recently and asked if it could be sold as an ebook and she said she could make that happen! Yay! So I will update this post as soon as an ebook is available. 

*UPDATE: New edition is now available on Ebook and paperback. CLICK HERE. 

I will do a full post on this book later, or maybe multiple posts as it has so many nuggets I could pull out. But today I wanted to share with you what I found so helpful from chapter eleven! 

The 12 Steps of Intimacy

HERE is the PDF to read the steps. 

*Pages 141-145 in Passionate Ink.* 

*Note: These steps and this book are written mostly with a male/female relationship dynamic in mind, but I feel like the steps and book can be applied to whatever relationship dynamic you are writing. 

The steps explain the stages of seduction. These are romance writer gold! The steps can help you to build the sexual attraction and tension. You can use this as a guide when you’re writing, and for help when the romance just isn’t sizzling and the passion isn’t there!

 It’s just a way my brain never broke down the romance before and the steps are a great way at helping see what is happening between my characters and be able to fix things. 

I’ll leave you with some quotes from Angela’s book on the steps of intimacy! I hope this helps you! 

Happy Writing xoxo 

“The reader should feel the sexual tension start to build between the hero and heroine from their first glance. What’s more, you should feel it too, or you’re in trouble.” -Angela Knight, Pg. 141

“If you’re having trouble getting your characters into bed, make sure you’ve laid the groundwork with these earlier steps. Once you build the attraction and passion between your couple, love scenes come much more easily.” -Angela Knight, Pg.145

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