5 Reasons to love ROSACon

Today's guest post is from Anthony Ehlers, who has not only attended every ROSA conference to date, but has been a guest speaker at almost all of them too.

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This year, we celebrated five years of our ROSA Conference and, as usual, it was a success. To mark this milestone event, here are five reaons you’ll love ROSACon if you’re a romance writer.

① You’ll network. Every writer at the conference is at a different stage of their journey – some are multi-published, others just starting out. Everyone has different skills, contacts and insights. It’s a great place to meet people who will support you – and where you can support others.

② You’ll stay ahead of trends. The conference is a great place to know what trends are coming up in English and Afrikaans publishing – discover what agents and editors are looking for and what self published and independent authors are doing to write, market and sell their books.

③ You’ll learn. From learning more about the craft of writing to the business side of being a writer, from the pyshcology of staying positive and motivated to the insights you gain from how other writers work and live, ROSACon has it all.

④ You’ll experience fellowship. It’s always good to go back and be part of one’s “tribe” – and ROSA is about meeting up with people who don’t share your interest but your passion for love stories.

⑤ You’ll be (very) inspired. Writing isn’t easy – it’s often lonely and hard work. But we do it because we absolutley love telling stories. It’s always inspiring to see other writers living their dreams – some of it is sweat, no doubt, but most of it is pure glow!

Don’t miss next year’s ROSA Conference – you’ll fall in love with the love of romance writing (for the first time, or all over again!)

The Tipping Point: Creating Sensual Tension in Scenes

Fellow ROSA member Anthony Ehlers shared some useful tips for creating sensual tension in scenes at ROSACon 2016. Here's what he had to say.

"In my workshop on writing scenes at ROSACon 2016, I spoke about the need to build sensual and emotional tension in each scene. This is probably the real reason readers come to romance novels – whether they’re erotic or sweet, modern or historical. That’s why it’s so important to keep the reader in mind when you’re writing a scene."

Top Tips for Creating Sensual Tension

• ·        Don’t bog the scene down in plot – give just enough to keep the story going.
• ·   Focus on the developing relationship between the characters – play on their fears, vulnerabilities, etc.
• ·        Use as many of the senses as possible – touch, taste, smell, sound, sight.
• ·       Sometimes you don’t need a lot of dialogue – wordless tension and a sense of mystery can work well.
• ·      And most of all, slow down: don’t hurry the scene and you’ll keep the tension drawn out.

 A lesson from the pro's

image credit: abebooks.co.uk

Anthony says, "One my favourite Mills & Boon titles, the classic 70s Leopard in the Snow by Anne Mather, makes imaginative use of the timeless Beauty & the Beast theme. Helen, our heroine, is trapped by a snow storm at the country retreat of Dominic, a racing car driver the world believes has died in a crash. And because she knows his identity, he forbids her to leave!

In one of the most memorable scenes, Helen sneaks down into the basement of the house where a naked Dominic lies prone in a sauna room. He is expecting his manservant, Bolt, to administer his afternoon massage to his damaged body – instead Helen creeps in and starts to touch him. The tension here is off the charts. Will he discover it’s not Bolt? How will react to Helen seeing his vulnerable body? 

image credit: goodreads.com

In Jane Porter’s awesome Modern/Presents title, Christos’s Promise, Alysia has been secluded in a convent and is rescued by wealthy Greek magnate, Christos. Theirs will not be a marriage of convenience, he declares, and while he will never force her into intimacy, they will share a bed.

On their honeymoon yacht, Alysia lies awake while her new husband slips into bed beside her. As he falls asleep, he cradles her and becomes aroused. The tension between the natural state of sleep of Christos and the hyper-awareness of his bride make this one of the most breath-stealing scenes in romance fiction – even 15 years after reading it!"

What are some of the amazingly sensual tension scenes you’ve read or written?

image credit: bookslive.com

Anthony Ehlers is a writer, scriptwriter and creative writing teacher. In 2014, his scripts were shortlisted for the Jameson First Shot competition, as well as the European Independent Film Festival. In 2010, his story “Limerence” was a runner-up in the annual Woman & Home short story competition. He is one of only two authors to appear in the first two Short.Sharp.Stories collections. His story Breaking the Rules was published in the Adults Only collection in 2014.

Conference Report: Anthony Ehlers' talk on Erotica

Anthony Ehlers' talk, which closed the Saturday program of the conference, was titled From Taboo to Mainstream: The evolution of erotica.


Report by Annemarie Gaertner
TBA


Report by Erich Viedge

'Why should literature with the sex left in be outside the mainstream?' asked Anthony Ehlers as he started his entertaining and informative talk on the mainstreaming of erotica.

The thing about Ehlers is that he’s very well prepared, and he gives action steps mixed in with his academic understanding of the topic.

He took us through the evolution of erotica in five stages: social context; author’s gender; platforms; genre trends; and finally, pornography. There was plenty in his talk even for people well-informed about erotica and its evolution.

He took us from the earliest written erotica, recovered in Roman ruins over 2,000 years ago and discussed how erotica interacted with the time period in which it found itself.

After the first Gulf war, American Erotica series editor Susie Bright found suddenly there was a lot of homo-erotic writing about soldiers. Ehlers took us from the Marquis de Sade (whose name gave us the word Sadism) and John Clelland, through to Fifty Shades of Grey.

He helped the Romance writing audience understand how to approach erotic writing — and gave us a frame for it.
With Fifty Shades of Grey, erotica really has gone mainstream: one erotic author in the audience said her gynae asked where to find her erotic writing so that the gynae could recommend it to other patients.

As Ehlers points out, the 16m sales of 50 Shades helped keep bookshops open. By writing erotica, we’re helping all authors — especially in South Africa where a bestseller is considered a book that sells 500 copies!

And there’s a market for good erotic writing. Ehlers says in 2012, eight of the top 10 sellers in the UK were erotica titles.

His talk was full of facts like that, casually tossed in, like olives in a salad. Here’s another one: in the 1700s, there would be public readings of erotica to the poor, so that everybody could enjoy the stories.

Ehlers’ style is laid back which is just as well. If he were more formal his talks would be impossibly dense. But his easygoing attitude and his mastery of his subject make him pleasure to listen to — and learn from!

Great opening lines

Anthony Ehlers recently did a blog post on opening lines. It's an excellent post, so if you haven't yet read it, you should.

Taking Anthony's post a step further, I'm going to give examples today of great opening lines. Notice how each opening line conveys not only a sense of the author's writing style, but also what the book is about.

The first example is from one of my favourite authors, Georgette Heyer:

“A fox got in amongst the hens last night, and ravished our best layer,” remarked Miss Lanyon. 

- Georgette Heyer, Venetia (1958)

This sentence introduces the main character, the style of the dialogue gives an indication that this is a period piece, and best of all, hidden in these seemingly innocent words, lies the entire story: this book is about a rake's seduction of an innocent young woman.

If Uncle Lazarro hadn't left the mob, I probably wouldn't have a story to tell. 

 - Janice Thompson, Fools Rush In (2009) 

In one sentence you get that this book is going to be fun, probably a little tongue-in-cheek, and that it'll have something to do with both the mob and family. If this opening line piqued your interest, Fools Rush In is free on Amazon Kindle today.

There was a lot to be said for fictional fiancés, decided Charlotte Greenstone as she settled into the saggy vinyl hospital chair for yet another night-time vigil by her dying godmother’s side.

- Kelly Hunter, With This Fling (2011)

In just one sentence, we meet the heroine, set the scene, and receive a vital clue to what this book is about: this is a romance in which a fictional fiance becomes very real.

It is freezing, an extraordinary -18⁰C, and it’s snowing, and in the language which is no longer mine, the snow is qanik - big, almost weightless crystals falling in stacks and covering the ground with a layer of pulverised white frost. - Peter Hoeg, Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow (1995) 

In an instant you not only know that snow and ice are going to feature heavily in this story, but that the storyteller is struggling with identity and her place in the world.
And isn't that language just beautiful? I've re-read this book twice and this opening makes me want to dig it out again.

And finally:

This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.” 

- The Princess Bride, William Goldman (1973)

Intriguing. How does a book become a favourite without the narrator having read it?
The reader is guaranteed to keep going to find the answer. This opening line also carries clues that this book is going to be all about stories and story-telling.

Re-read the opening lines of some of your favourite novels and try to spot the clues the author has given the reader of what is to come. Does that opening line convey what the author's voice sounds like in the rest of the novel? Can you guess the book's genre just from that opening line?

Now go back and read your own. Can you rewrite your opening sentence so that it works really hard to not only give as much detail as possible, but also to convey a sense of your style, and also to intrigue the reader to keep on reading?

Do you have a favourite line you'd like to share with us?

There are just twelve days left to the closing date of the ROSA Opening Scene contest. Click on the contest icon in the left sidebar for more information.

Start with a bang!

How to get your story off to a great start

If you’re struggling to find a great beginning to your story or novel for the Rosa writing contest, you know how important those opening lines and paragraphs are to your story. Right from the start of the story, you have to capture the reader’s attention and imagination. From the first few words, you know you have to give them an idea of what the story is going to be about, or create a scene or situation that’s so intriguing they will carry on reading. 

One way to help you along is to study just the first few paragraphs of the novels on your bookshelf or Kindle. You’ll notice that there are only so many ways to start a book. Below are some tips and examples of the most popular starting points in a story. Maybe they will help you get your entry off to a winning start.

Start with character’s goal

Kayla De Beer had less than twenty four-hours to find a husband and time was running out. If she didn’t find someone to marry her fast, she thought, she’d be out of her uncle’s inheritance and a chance to save her mother’s company.

Start with physical action

Tamara bolted between the brushed chrome doors just before they slid closed, clutching her portfolio to her chest, ignoring the loud beating of her heart and the curious stares of the middle-aged executives in the plush elevator. She couldn’t be late for this interview....

I slide down into the soapy bubbles of the bath, sighing as I lean my head against the warm enamel. It’s been a long, long day...

Start with the theme of the story

He didn’t believe in jealousy, Jack Sheldon told himself, but he was determined no woman would make a fool of him either.

Sometimes finding the heart to forgive someone who’s hurt you means finding the heart that allowed you to love them in the first place. Of course, I didn’t know this when I got Jack’s email that Monday morning...

Start with the setting

Hamilton Hall stood proud and intimidating on the hill, its wrought iron gates warding off interlopers, its stone walls protecting its secrets. I guess I was part of its secrets...

The table was set with fine bone china plates and expensive crystal glasses. Each name setting was elegantly written in calligraphy. It was going to be the perfect dinner party...

Start with the weather

The sun cast is brilliance across Summer Bay, turning it the ocean into a broken blue mirror...

Start with dialogue

‘I’ll agree to your proposal on one condition,’ she said. ‘You arrange for my sister’s release immediately and make sure all charges are dropped against her.’

Start with a summary of story and characters

The last thing Kelly Smith needed in her life was another difficult client. Months ago, she’d walked away from a successful career as public relations consultant in Sandton for that very reason. So when her friend, Megan Riley, suggested she apply for job as fundraiser for a non-profit children’s home, she’d jumped at the chance. That was until she realised rugby star, Luke Whitcomb, was its patron.

Start with a historical fact or a ‘factual’ document

In 1886, thousands of fortune hunters rushed to the Witwatersrand to find gold, fame, riches and their dreams.  James Walker Stewart was one of the first to arrive at the dusty settlement.

‘Heiress Elopes with Bad Boy of Rock!’ the headline shrieked. ‘Jenna Kruger, Daughter of billionaire businessman Jack Kruger, tied the knot with her rocker boyfriend, Matt McKenzie, in a hush-hush ceremony in Cape Town.’

Start with a physical description of character

Steven Meyer was not handsome in any conventional sense, but his aura of power and his reputation as ruthless lawyer made him irresistible to most women. Except Andrea Morrell, she was immune to his type.

Start with an inanimate object or symbolism

The cracked crystal vase held a dozen dead red roses, now the colour of old bruises.

‘Members Only’ read the discreet plaque outside the club, but the brass obviously needed a good polish.

Hopefully, these examples will help you see that starting your story is not as difficult as you thought. Experiment with the above suggestions – see which one best serves your story.

Essentially, you need to know what your basic plot is, who your main characters are, and get them into the narrative as soon as possible. The quicker you can get to the conflict in the story, the better. So make sure your first sentence is strong, that your character is interesting and is facing a problem of some sort!

Cappuccinos and Goodbyes

That was the title of Anthony Ehlers' entry in the Voice of Africa romance writing competition run by Essentials magazine and Mills & Boon earlier this year. He was a top 5 finalist and his story is in the September issue of Essentials.

Ant is also one of our Romance Writers contributors and he's been gracious enough to give us a behind the scenes look at how he wrote his entry. You may recognise him as Megan Andrews. As usual he has lots of advice for us so head on over to the On Writing page for some more inspiration.

I'm sure we could all do with the inspiration as the deadline for the Mills & Boon New Voices Romance is Not Dead competition looms ever closer! Remember to get your entries in before 22nd September 2010.

Good luck to all who are entering!