It's all about the ROMANCE!

Sorry for the late posting, but my internet has been out.
Caution: Long Post.

Historical, comtemporary, suspense, erotica, or inspirational, our genre is multifaceted, but underneath it’s all about the romance.
Girl meet guy. Sparks fly. My oh my. LOVE.
That’s what we adore about a romance novels. So let’s talk a little about how we make that spark ignite. I like to use the Five Stages of Love in my plot grid because I know both characters will move through all these stages sometime in my story, but they rarely happen for both of them at the same time.

Stage 1. ATTRACTION - a positive response to a person beyond friendship. This can further be broken down into two areas: (a) physical attraction & (b) emotional attraction.a.

Physical Attraction – the first stage of attraction, when something about a person’s physical appearance elicits a physical response in the observer. You notice that he or she has a great body, a pretty face, or a sweet tush. A spike in endorphin levels results in a heightened awareness of that person. How they smell, how they smile, how they walk.

b. Emotional Attraction - develops next if circumstances are right. After being drawn to a person physically, you find you have things in common -- hobbies, ideologies, career, education, or some other common ground – this is when the emotional attraction starts to form.Emotional attraction can also occur before a physical attraction does not. (Friends become Lovers) In this case, the bond may even be stronger between the two since no preconceived notions based on physical appearance has occurred.

Stage 2. ROMANCE - essentially an act of trying to influence or gain favor of another by lavishing attention or gifts upon them. There are two type of romance: (a) selfish romance & (b) selfless romance.
(a) Selfish Romance - occurs when you do romantic acts solely for the purpose of gaining something for yourself -- like to get gifts, to gain sexual favors, or to impress someone else.
(b) Selfless Romance - occurs when you do romantic acts for the enjoyment and pleasure of your partner. You receive your enjoyment and pleasure through their happiness.Selfish romance will quickly die out. Selfless romance will endure. Our characters always find that out.

Stage 3. PASSION - a burning desire for another person, which has grown to an intensity that can't be ignored. This is often where an emotional relationship turns into a physical relationship. The passion stage is very important. It's a plateau. From here, the relationship will fork into two roads. The couple must decide which path to take. The relationship will either burn itself out or will move onto the next stage.

Stage 4. INTIMACY - a close association with another person of the deepest nature. You share you thoughts, your feelings, your dreams. In true intimacy, there is nothing that you cannot tell this person (though our characters often hesitate because of their own deep seated fears). Intimacy can be expressed as physical or as emotional, but there must always be an emotional component. Since I write inspirational novels, there is no physical intimacy in my books therefore the emotional intimacy must be heightened. Intimacy is not a finite place. It’s a developing process that never ends. Your reader has to believe these people will stay in love for the long haul.

Stage 5. COMMITMENT - a pledge to remain true to your mate throughout good and bad times. Commitment is easy when times are good. Commitment can be extremely difficult when times are bad. It doesn’t have to be marriage, but most (not all) romance readers want to see that on the horizon.

So how do you add romance to your work?I love to learn new things.
Pat