Weekly Roundup 12-5-18 Reference Material for Romance Writers

Weekly Roundup is an update on what’s going on in my world. Welcome!

I prefer to get my news online and like to save articles which might help my writing, be it general information or new story ideas. Back in June I was intrigued by this one: “Sixteen Hot Spots on a Man’s Body You Should Know About” by Carina Hsieh. Naturally, as an M/M romance writer, I was intrigued and wanted to know more. It never hurts to introduce some new ideas into a hot bedroom scene, and I certainly can’t claim to know it all.

While the list contained the usual suspects (lips, penis, nipples, perineum), there were a few odd places mentioned:

  • Adam’s Apple
  • Lower back
  • The dip under the ankle

I am uncertain how much serious research is represented, but the author claims the advice comes from “experts”. I can think of at least two hot spots which were left off the list, though most gay men are not shy about taking advantage of them. You’ll have to read the article for yourself and decide if the information is helpful!

###

Traitor’s Moon – I’ve made some great progress this week and am deep into chapter twelve! Word count stands at 96,300+. This part of the book is both winding down towards the end and building up to the final conflict. During a short break in the action, I’m having fun with one of the sub-plots, fleshing out a newer character. Too many new people tend to distract from the primary pair in each story, so I have to be careful. It remains to be seen if he will be featured, or only mentioned, in future books.

Since I’m near the end, I occasionally have trouble remembering details from the early chapters. Research is often required to make certain I am being consistent with important details (thank goodness for the “search” feature in MS Word!). I suppose it could be said that many readers would not notice minor errors, since they have most probably forgotten the details by the end of the book anyway. Perhaps, but I simply can’t let things like that slide. As an author, I feel obligated to give readers my very best, and I hope it shows.

My goal is to complete Traitor’s Moon by the end of the calendar year and publish it early next year. Stay tuned for the cover reveal!


Posted

in

,

by

Comments

5 responses to “Weekly Roundup 12-5-18 Reference Material for Romance Writers”

  1. H.R.R. Gorman Avatar

    I’ve always wondered – as a romance writer, do you find it easier to write the steamy scenes or the ‘everything else’?

    1. Alexander Elliott Avatar
      Alexander Elliott

      Great question! I would have to say the “everything else”. My primary goal is the story, not the sex, but those scenes are actually more difficult because word usage is critical, the action has to match the characters, and I have to avoid being repetitive. Not always easy!

      1. H.R.R. Gorman Avatar

        Interesting! You already know I’m more of a sci-fi person than romance, but whenever I even *try* to write something steamy, I get so frustrated and give up! Because the first half of your post indicated you do research to keep it fresh, I was like, “Do professionals find it hard too!?”

      2. Alexander Elliott Avatar
        Alexander Elliott

        I’m sure you could do it. Think of it as your next writing challenge! Send it to me and I’ll tell you what I think. (Better yet, show it to your spouse!)

      3. H.R.R. Gorman Avatar

        Lol – I’ll give you a summary that I once tried to write a steamy short about a witch who raised sex zombies. Apparently it was chuckle-worthy more than it was sexy!

I'd love to hear from you!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Powered by WordPress.com.

%d bloggers like this: