This week, we wanted to bring out one of our former colleagues Grace Thiele’s posts, one which gives you some excellent advice on how to intensify conflict! Perfect especially for those who are contemplating submitting to our #RomanceIncludesYou blitz! Good afternoon, turtle doves! Today I am feeling decidedly conflicted about London weather – relieved that it is…
If the clothes make the man, then characters make the story. If you don’t have fleshed-out, fully-realized, believable characters, you don’t have much of a book, no matter how earth-shatteringly great the prose may be. Just think of your favorite book from childhood or adolescence. Perhaps you were (still are) a great devourer of anything written by Jane…
To encourage your participation in our #RomanceIncludesYou blitz, we have a helpful, fun post by one of our former colleagues, Grace Thiele, who discusses the art of developing your characters! In her own words… Hello possums! There will be an eensy-weensy deviation from what I promised to write about a few weeks ago (I know, I should’ve…
A few years ago Harlequin editors created a little checklist about effective first chapters. We don’t literally fill them out these days, but most of us keep them in mind. Here are some of the points we raised… Is the characterization strong and vivid? Do the characters make decisions? Are the characters appealing? Is the motivation established…
Turns out, you can judge a book by its cover. In August, Harlequin Desire has a new cover look, and the stories are getting bolder, too. SYTYCW will be checking in with Desire all month, starting today with a Desire editor roundtable. Watch our video introduction, and read the full transcript of the discussion that…
This post is republished from the So You Think You Can Write archives from 2016, written by former Presents Editorial Assistant, Grace Thiele. Hello! Before we embark on this adventure of romantic writing advice, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Grace Thiele (pronounced Tea-Luh, thank you kindly), and I am the new Editorial…
You might have seen Connolly’s name on the SYTYCW blog before since she is one of our contributors. Today, we are asking her a few questions so that you can get to know her a little better. How did you get started at Harlequin? Did you always know you wanted to be an editor? As…
Not the in-the-office stuff, of course, but how to spot a great one for a novel. Here are three tips… The Lowdown on Emotional Conflicts During our combined time at Harlequin, there’s one term we might have heard more than any other when we’ve assessed manuscripts, and that is “Emotional Conflict.” Besides searching for those fresh…
Many years ago Harlequin’s UK office–aka Mills & Boon headquarters–ran the fabulous “New Voices” competition. The editors gave a lot of tips, and good advice never goes bad! We’ve repurposed some of it for you… Don’t let the Plot Get In the Way of the Story…. Have you ever wondered why you can’t get your…
Welcome to our #DAREblitz! From April 9th – 20th, our editors will be sharing information about Harlequin DARE here on the So You Think You Can Write blog, as well as Twitter and Facebook. That includes what we’re looking for in new submissions! Most exciting—you can skip the slush pile and submit your proposal to us…