Book Review: Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance

BOOK REVIEW

Kate Walker's Guide to Writing Romance

I'm not very good at writing romance.



There, I've admitted it, even though I'm not happy it. This is seriously frustrating for me because I am quite an avid romance reader. In amongst the crime, sci fi, fantasy and historical novels on my bookshelves are chick lit, rom coms, and a fair few catergory romances. I have a lot of respect for people who write romance, because it is a lot harder than the authors are usually given credit for.



So in a lot of ways that makes me a good person to review Kate Walker's 12 point guide to writing romance. I mean, if anyone needs help in this area, it is me. When I finally sat down and read the 12 Point Guide, I was very much impressed. I read it from cover to cover without attempting any of the exercises to get a feel for the book, then went back and started it again, this time using it as a text book.


The key components of writing a fantastic romance novel are split – as the title suggests – into 12 sections, and cover areas like Emotion, Conflict, Passion, Heroes & Heroines, The Intense Black Moment and The Believable Happy Ending, amongst others. The book is tailored towards people hoping to write for Harlequin Mills & Boon (sensible, since this is who has published the vast majority of Kate Walker's books), although it is worthwhile reading for anyone wanting to write category romance. A word of warning, though; if you are the type of person who regards M&B as trashy, or roll your eyes at the mention of Sheikhs, Billionaire Playboys, Secret Babies, Heroines with Amnesia or any combination of the above, then this book is probably not for you. In fact, category romance is probably not for you as a writer either, but that's a whole other blog post.



I'm not always the biggest fan of the exercise section of writing books, but I found Kate's to be logical extensions of the chapters and well thought out. I particularly liked the "12 Questions" asked at the end of each chapter (I have honestly never stopped to think about whether I am using "male imagery" for the hero before reading this book) as they can be applied both to something you have already drafted, or kept in mind as you are writing something new.



One of the main strengths of Kate's book lies in the fact that a lot of the advice is simple, honest and... well, obvious, but I don't mean that in a bad way. Too many books use jargon that confuses the newbie writer, or make sweeping generalisations about the publishing industry that may not apply to every genre. I liked the fact that this book stayed on focus, and left me with a better understanding not just of where I have been going wrong with my writing, but also feeling like I understood the Romance market better than I had before.



The only fault I could find with the book – and I really was nitpicking by this stage – was the fact that the odd typo and formatting error had slipped through the publisher's net. Although these don't detract from the quality of Kate's advice, it is a bugbear of mine and disappointing to see in a third edition. I devoutly hope that the editors at Aber Publishing correct them for the next release of this book.



So, to conclude: if you want to write category romance, or are looking to improve the romance stories that you currently write, then buy this book. It is without a doubt, the best "how to write" genre book I have come across to date. Well done Kate; and thank you for helping me see where I have been going wrong.