okay I think we are ready to start thank you so much for coming to my class today hitting the Beats of romance I absolutely love talking about romance and talking about making characters fall in love so we're g to just Dive Right In so first of all since we're talking about Beats of romance I wanted to describe to you what a beat is when I was first starting to write books I probably wrote three or four books before I ever heard anybody say anything about a story beat and I was so confused when I was listening to a speaker talk about story beats I had no idea what they were talking about so I'm just going to describe what that is a beat is an individual unit of plot think of it as a building block for example when Aladdin gets caught in the cave with the lamp this is a story beat this has to happen in order to progress the plot of the story so your story beats are something that have to happen in in order for your story to progress so if the dog barks and the neighbors the neighbors dog barks that's not necessarily a story beat if the neighbor's dog barks and then later on you find out that someone broke into the house and that was a signal of when that happened that can become a story beat so your story beats are essential to move your plot forward if you miss beats your story can either drag or it even even can change genre so it's important to know what those story beats are all of the Beats together make up your story if you outline you can plan your book your story beats in ahead of time if you're a pancer or a discovery writer like I am you can save yourself a lot of rewrites by making sure you're hitting those beats as you go this is how I write my books so knowing the Beats of romance can save you a lot of headache later on and it's good for either kind of writer so what are the Beats the romance beats determine what your book will be about now this is a news alert your romance novel is not about two people falling in love which is what I thought when I first started writing my very first book I I wrote this cute little um thing where these people met they fell in love they went on dates it was sappy and it was totally boring because nothing actually happened in the story so it's about two people overcoming what is keeping your characters apart and what is keeping them from falling in love that is what your romance novel is going to be about so whatever is keeping them apart is important it's going to color everything else all of your plot points all of your Beats will be looked through this lens of whatever is keeping the protagonists apart so let's look at not Never Been Kissed I know all of my movie examples are really old I'm so sorry I'm an old person so in this movie they can't go on dates during this movie because he thinks she's a student everything she does in her interactions with him is colored by the fact that she can't show him her true feelings he's a teacher she supposed to be a student she's not really but she's she's posing as a student so he can't like her even though he stars to like her he can't ask her out they can't go on dates they can't kiss they just can't so the whole movie would change if they tossed out the reason why they can't be together win a date with Tad Hamilton another great movie they can't be together because he is too afraid to tell her that he likes her they are is a friends to romance movie so this whole movie would be ruined if the main male character were to tell the female that he likes her before the ending or or the climax of the show the thing that makes this movie great there's is there's something stopping him from revealing his true feelings they can't go on dates but they do hang out as friends and this is a huge difference another one Kate and Leopold and this is the movie we're going to actually go through scene by scene so if you haven't seen this one sorry I'm going to spoil the entire movie for you but he is from another time and she thinks he's crazy so since she thinks he's nuts that she doesn't see him as a potential person to fall in love with they do go on a date but the entire time there's something holding these people back because he knows he has to return to his own time and she doesn't still fully trust him that he's from the past so after their weekend of fun she admits it was fun but they have lives to go back to and this is what's keeping them apart so I want you to think about what is keeping your characters apart what are their external goals can their goals be keeping them apart one example is her goal is to move to New York City and get a corporate job his goal is to build a family in their small town or his goal is to tear down a building and build a parking lot her goal is to save that historic building and because it has sentimental value to her or his goal is to buy a house for her kids for his kids to grow up in and her goal is to buy that exact same house for her her and her mother to live in so that creates opposition there what I try to do is layer what keeps my characters apart so not only is her goal to move out of the small town but he's her ex and she doesn't want to be hurt by him again also her mother hates him also the girl he dumped her for is still hanging around so all of these reasons together make up why they cannot be together now now remember these reasons as you come up with your story beats one of the problems that I have seen in some romances that just aren't working is they have the reasons but when they the characters meet they have this oh it's Twitter pained moment and they don't put in those reasons they don't color the scenes because of those reasons they can't be together they they have these sweet lovey-dovey moments and they go on dates and they're all happy and lovey and they forget to put in that conflict and the reasons why they can't be together so every decision your character makes needs to take these things into consideration you s should see the mounting internal conflict as your character doesn't want to fall in love but manages to do it anyway the key here is they don't want to fall in love remember all of the things motivating them to get out they can't want this but they do fall in love despite this so I will say one caveat you can have characters that are already in love with each other but they're too afraid to say their feelings so I'm reading a book right now where the both characters are in love with each other secretly but they have this friendship they don't want to ruin and so that is why they can't come out and say let's date let's have fun let's be together so something needs to force your characters together if you do a good job keeping your characters apart they won't want to spend a lot of time together this is not what you want in a romance novel they have to spend time together so think of something that will force them together and Never Been Kissed they are forced together because she's posing as a student she has his class so they go at school functions together they interact they have conversations this is where they start to like each other even though they can't like each other in win a date with Tad Hamilton they are friends and they work together plus plus he's in love with her and so one-sided love can be a way to stick your characters together he tries to find ways to spend time with her even though he can't tell her that he's in love with her so they spend time together under the ruse of friendship in Kate and leapold they are forced together because of her ex Leupold follows her ex through the time portal he's now stuck in the same apartment building as Kate and Kate's brother invites him to dinner all of these things create this interaction and then Leopold starts to get a crush on Kate which causes more interactions between the two of them so as you plan your Beats remember that romance is a dance it's two steps forward and one step back and you have to have both of those things in order for the romance to work so what I like to how I like to structure mine is I use the threea structure actually for so it's split up into act one act two with two sections and then act three as the resolution and then there's a midpoint in there just for fun so in the introduction part which is act one this is where you introduce your characters their goals and their problems your opening scenes should set up what your character's problems are they should show the reader what the misconceptions are that your characters have the LIE this is the lie that they believe and show the reader what your characters are lacking because of that lie that they believe make the reader feel sympathetic toward your characters and of course you want to hook the reader in these opening paragraphs so the opening to Kate and Leupold we have an introduction to Stuart he is the reason for the inciting incident and he has gone back in time we have an introduction to Leopold and his problem he must get married but he does not want to so the inciting incident should happen in act one this is the thing that causes the situation for your characters or what sets off the romance story plot your inciting incident should set the whole story in motion now it can put your characters in a tight position it can set up what will eventually help them grow and it can be the thing that forces your characters together but it not not doesn't necessarily have to be it also can be your meat cute um a lot of times in Romance the inciting incident is that meat cute incident but it not necessarily has to be right so in this movie it is not the meat cute that is the inciting incident Leopold finds Stuart taking pictures which kicks off what is going to be the inciting incident the inciting incident is when Leopold follows Stuart and falls into the time port portal with him so finishing up your act one before you can move on to the middle act what you need to do is make sure you've set up the conflict between your two main characters whatever it is is keeping them apart set up the multip you can set up multiple things that keep them apart make the repelling part really strong set and then you need to set up what's binding them together the adhesion make it sticky they have to spend a lot of time together in order to fall in love any subplots that you want you're probably going to start in act one so you're going to at least introduce some subplots into that um world that you're building the more subplots you introduce the longer your word count will be you want to also hint at that attraction that is going to build throughout the story now I like to talk about attraction and things with as a volume knob you want to keep that volume knob low in the beginning act because you want some place to build to throughout the story so that attraction is going to build for your characters so I'd like to keep that volume at a one or a two in the very beginning so this is the chart for my three act structure actually four so act one which is the setup you want to introduce your characters introduce the problem introduce the inciting incident set up the subplots set up your character flaw set up the adhesive and the repelling and they introduce the attraction and usually in act one you have that meet cute which is probably going to be your inciting incident in the movie it's not though so now we are introduced to Kate she lives below Stewart and we learn that he's her ex we are introduced to the kind of relationship they have Kate's spunky nature how she's peering in the window at that them we are introduced to steuart's Crazy apartment in his chaotic mind we're also introduced to the dog who plays an important role in the beginning of the movie it's really funny because the dog sort of disappears within the last out of movie he's not even there but he's really important to the beginning so we introduced to him the next day Leopold wakes up and is disoriented causing Stuart um accusing Stuart of kidnapping him and then we have the cute meet cute where Kate comes to the window she's looking for um her Palm Pilot stylus and if you don't know what a Palm Pilot is you're much younger than I am so she comes to the window which I think is so cute um she doesn't go around and go down the floor and um knock on his door she goes out the window and comes to his window which his apartment is right under her so I think it's really a cute characteristic if you can find some cute little thing to add to your character's nature makes them really fun and then we get the first glimpse of Kate and Leopold together Stewart gets hurt which takes him out of the movie forcing Kate and Leupold to interact this is an important plot point of the movie because Stuart gets hurt the dog pees in the hallway and Kate talks with Leopold and says dude you got to walk this dog and he is forced to walk the dock which convinces him he is actually in the future he he didn't really quite believe he was in the future until this time where he goes walking the streets of New York and he can see things that he knew were in the past and how everything has changed we are also introduced to Kate's goal she get she wants a promotion at work and then this is the end of act one so act two first half this is the buildup to the midpoint it is now time to turn up the tension and the conf conflict things happen to move the plot forward the things that that that need to happen are you need to force your characters to spend time together forcing the interaction and the conversation increase the attraction create that dance with the characters start to like each other but they have that pullback you build on those subplots that move that romance story forward and you slowly increase the volume of Attraction through physical and emotional intimacy so sticking those things into the into to the um chart you have the increase of conflict and tension force your characters together forced interaction increased attraction you start that dance you build those subplots you increase the volume and emotional intimacy and the physical intimacy so these are all the things we're going to do right here Stuart is taken away the subplot of the elevators not working is only there to bring Kate and Leopold together so the more subplots that you can add in that Force those two characters together the better we meet Kate's boss who is a jerk the boss and the issues at work are a subplot that highlights how great Leopold is and how great a life with him would be we meet Kate's brother another subplot the brother is only there to bring Kate and Leupold together the brother invites Leopold to dinner and things do not go well between them she does not believe he he is who he says he is and she just completely shuts down from him Stuart can't get out of the hospital he can't talk to Leopold we're just kind of setting him aside for now and he needs to be set aside in order to have Kate and Leopold interact Leupold has issues with the toaster the next morning which brings Kate to him he gets an idea oh she gets an idea about using him as a spokesperson so here he is being filmed Med as the perfect spokesperson for whatever product she has some fake butter thing so then a thief steals Kate's bag which gives us the perfect moment for Leopold to come in and act as that hero that we all know he is and here he is being heroic Leopold is kind and a true gentleman to Kate which is part of that romantic dance that is another emotional connection like I talked about this morning so let's talk about the midpoint we're not quite there yet but we we're we're going to have that next so your midpoint should change your character's relationship in some way you do this by adding a major plot point that shifts the way they see each other or the way they communicate you can have your characters open up more have your characters show more of their true self have your characters make a commitment of some kind but of course it's not going to work have your characters show jealousy have your characters realize growing attraction but they are too flawed to go after what they want those are just some examples of what you can do there are many things you can do at the midpoint that can change that relationship in some way this is what happens in Kate and Leupold Kate goes on a work date with her boss and Leopold shows up and totally shows up the boss and it's an awesome moment but it makes Kate really embarrassed and really upset with him so here she is embarrassed and mad and upset and her hand is out and she's like get away from me so there's a massive pullback in their relationship as she gets angry at him so that was the midpoint now we have the Act 2 second half where you are increasing everything so in your third quarter you need to create plot points that increase that tension and conflict you increase that volume of Attraction until it is maximum you increase your physical intimacy you increase your emotional intimacy you give your characters fear of a relationship they are not ready yet to give up that lie that they hold on to they're not ready for a change yet but they show signs of the change that will come and then you increase your character's internal Agony over this relationship that can't work they now are going to start to want to be together but think they cannot so in the chart we have increased conflict tens turn up the volume to max more emotional intimacy more physical intimacy unwilling to change unable to see the lie or the flaw and an increased in internal conflict and they show this in the movie by Leopold writing Kate a letter but it's not just any letter it is an amazing apology letter and he says it in his great accent and it is wonderful so in contrast the boss is a jerk and it just showcas cases how great Leopold is and poor Stuart's still stuck in the hospital he can't get out Leopold and Kate have a wonderful bonding dinner together so they dance and Kate seems happy but while we know she looks happy she is still holding back they're having this intimate moment but Kate admits she cannot be brave she cannot take that leap she admits that she doesn't know how to take that leap which is a direct symbol of what she has to do at the end in order to get back in time she has to physically leap off a bridge so they kiss anyway the next morning Leupold is all in Kate is still holding back even though Kate is still holding back they spend the day together they bond and they share details of their lives she sees proof that maybe he is telling the truth when he finds that ring hidden in that thing in the building that used to be his but she still doesn't believe they have a deep they have deep conversation and they become more physically intimate with each other the viewers see this ring that he's thinking about giving Kate but she does not see it and then when he starts to ask if she would ever consider a relationship with him she is now asleep and does not hear it but they have an intimacy anyway this is part of that back and forth of that romance and the next thing we need is a dark moment this is going to be in act three the buildup of the the dark moment happens in the act three and whatever happens your characters decide to call it quits so either their relationship can't work for whatever reason they split up they go separate ways if they're not physically separated they are emotionally separated the entire time they are not together is the black moment the characters must change during that black moment or at least realize the change that has been happening this entire time so the buildup to the dark moment starts when Leupold tastes the product and it's disgusting he confronts Kate and asks her why she is doing this and this conversation has tons of subtext so if you want to know more about subtext watch this movie and pay attention to the subtext in this conversation because even though it sounds like he's talking about butter he is not really talking about butter is he he's talking about their relationship so Kate gets upset and realizes things can't work between them they are too different and she leaves we see them part apart and hurting because neither of them thinks they can have what they want which is that happiness together so she's depressed Leopold is depressed and finally Stuart gets out of the hospital just in time to be a plot device to get Kate and leopole back together Kate gets the promotion the thing that she has always wanted yet what she does when she hears about it is she wants to call Leopold because that is the person that is now her person and her person she wants to share this great news with him but he's not there Kate's brother sees something in these photos that um Stuart was taking in the in the past but the viewers don't get to see it Kate is getting ready for her promotional speech but she is not happy and Stuart and um the brother tried to get into the building where Kate is they finally get in and they finally give her those photographs right before she has to get up and give her speech she starts her acceptance speech and then she looks down at the photographs and realizes what the viewers didn't get to see which is she is actually in those photographs she realizes that she needs to take that leap of faith she has to go back in time because she already made that choice previously that's time travel for you that's how it works so now we get to the climax this is where your character races to tell the other one they now are ready for Love sometimes there's a ticking clock during the climax a lot of times in movies that's what it is a lot of times in our books it's not that ticking clock it's just that big question of will I be accepted will this will this love be accepted from the other person how will they react to this Revelation and do I have the courage to tell them this so Kate races to the bridge where she has to jump off to time travel she races down the street and Leopold is about to announce who he will marry Kate arrives in time and leapold sees her and then he knows this is who I am going to pick of course and then kiss we have to get the kiss at the end and this is their happily ever after now in a book what I would suggest that you do is not end with the happily ever after I would put an epilogue on the end because a lot of readers want to see your characters in their happy space after they have either married or even just later on in their relationship where they're happy so show your characters in their new happy place tie up all Loose Ends any subplots that you started that you didn't tie up tie up in the epilogue and give a satisfying ending to your readers so this is how the chart ends with act three the resolution you have the dark moment you have the character split you have that realization and change or the realization of the change because they should be changing throughout the entire book but that dark moment is where they realize that change the climax and the characters come together the confession of love and the resolution and then resolve all the subplots and the epilogue this is my email address I do have a free um one month for the writing gals Academy if you email me I will send you a link so you can get that for free it has videos it has this class on it and the one I taught this morning about emotional connection on there plus a bunch of other videos um just business videos and um marketing videos and things like that and it's only 995 a month after the F first free month but you can email me if you want a free month of that and thank you so much for coming to my class we do have a few minutes for questions if anybody has any questions our online viewers have a few questions so the first one is are these plot beats also hard and fast rules for Indie publishing as well as Trad publishing do you think um I would say in the the writing world I would say nothing is hard and and set for rules everything is what I would call tools or guidelines and so I wouldn't say this is absolutely a hard and fast rule but I would try to follow these beats if you're going to either Trad Pub or Indie Pub because that is what the audience is expecting in a romance and that is what they are going to want to get from that romance and so That's my kind of mushy answer a second question is in my book the timeline from page one to the end of the second act is only three weeks then they're forced apart after one intimate night how do I get my emotionally damaged alpha male to open his heart in such a truncated timeline while still sticking to the Beats Ah that's that's a great question because you can have a whole whole book lasts an hour if you are just putting in that every breath every conversation everything like that so it it really doesn't matter how long of a time period you're going for as long as you're putting in those beats and as long as you have that emotional connection and as long as your hero is having things happen to show him that he needs to change to show him that lie that he believes is actually a lie and he can change over that time period then it doesn't matter if it's a day or a week or a month is that helpful in books that you read which part of this which beats do you frequently see authors not hit hard enough like you think ah you should have hit that harder I think for the most part the biggest problem I see in romances that aren't working is lack of conflict and that lack of pullback and and I have read other like agents and um people who work with romance all the time and they say the same thing that the biggest problem in romances that aren't working is that conflict that isn't there between the two characters maybe they're using too much external conflict and not enough conflict just between the two characters so they're happy and in love but other things are happening around them and the focus isn't on the romance anymore and that's I think one of the biggest problems I see thank you yes another online question beats for romantic erotica do you feel like they follow the same beats oh good question um I do not read erotica so I am a terrible person to ask that question um but from what I know you're you're you are following that same formula of two people who can't be together even though they're sexually involved with each other they have to fall in love still so from what I know yes I would still follow those beats hi hi um I have a question about third act Breakout and I've noticed uh I write romcom and I've noticed quite a few authors now are advertising the book saying no third act breakup um and obviously that was in your Beats today I write it myself um how do you like what's your opinion on that and how do you ensure you're keeping the conflict going keeping the story going if you don't lead to that and then have the grand gesture and everything that's a really good question and I do not right romances without that um breakup or at least a dark moment somewhere in there right because I don't know how to write a really good um climax without that and so I don't I haven't read a book that was saying hey no third out breakup so I I can't tell you how they're doing it and making it work but for me I need that in my stories in order to keep the readers on the edge of their seats okay thank you yes um um I'm just curious um a long time ago actually not a whole long time ago but there used to be like the the romances like the series you know and like the first book like ends on on a cliffhanger and and they break up or something at the very end of the book is that still a thing I would I would advise against that that if you're going to do a series what I would do is make a complete story where they end on a happily ever after and then start the next book with another couple is how I would recommend doing it yeah because I think it just makes people angry to to end it without them having a happily ever after that's kind of an essential part of writing a romance so thank you do you think the three or four has you as you define them acts need to be like like the same length I'm assuming not so like like should act one be 30% of the book should act four or 3 pointb or whatever be 10% Like if you had to give it a percentage of of just word count what would you break it down as Ah that's a great question so in movies it really is very strict and you can you can count those um by the first quarter you can see that First Act is moving into the second act and by that midpoint you can totally see that shift and it's very regimented um with a book I would say you don't have to be so strict um because usually my um breakup and all of that angst doesn't last a full fourth quarter of my book usually that's less than that and so for me me it doesn't usually equate exactly at that time but the midpoint definitely is at the mid middle of the book if that helps at all all right if we don't have any more questions thank you so much for [Applause] coming