West Houston RWA

Chemistry: How to create the sizzle that will keep your readers glued to the page

Chemistry is one of the most important ingredients in a dynamic, can’t-put-down romance.  And yet it is also one of the most elusive qualities to define and pin down.

The first half of the workshop aims to present a cohesive definition of chemistry: that combustible combination of sexual attraction and intellectual common ground spiced by both emotional connection and emotional conflict.  It is my goal to illustrate chemistry in the context of both story development and character arc.  I will also make clear what chemistry isn’t and highlight mistakes that writers commonly make when trying to generate chemistry.

The second half of the workshop focuses on the specifics of creating and deepening chemistry, from

big-scope tools—what kind of character pairing leads to greater chemistry—to paragraph-level detailing for enhancing the hero and heroine’s awareness of each other.

Sherry Thomas is a Rita-nominated, award-winning author of historical romances.  Her debut book, Private Arrangements, is a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2008.  Her sophomore book, Delicious, is a Library Journal Best Romance of 2008.  Lisa Kleypas calls her “the most powerfully original historical romance author working today.”

Her story is all the more interesting given that English is Sherry’s second language–she has come a long way from the days when she made her laborious way through Rosemary Roger’s Sweet Savage Love with an English-Chinese dictionary.  She enjoys creating stories.  And when she is not writing, she thinks about the zen and zaniness of her profession, plays computer games with her sons, and reads as many fabulous books as she can find.

Her latest release, His at Night, arrives on shelves May 25, 2010.

Schedule for June 12th

8:30-9:00 Doors open/coffee
9:00-10:15 Business meeting/PAL reviews
10:15-10:45 Break
10:45-11:45 Sherry Thomas on "Chemistry"
11:45-12:15 Book signing

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Meetings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.