“You Can’t Base Your Life On Other People’s Expectations.”

In Romania, we have a drawer full of shopping bags, to use later, or just a bag filled with hundreds of bags.

That's our way to recicle 😂

True

Writing Tip #222

Use action verbs. Avoid passive voice whenever possible. I say whenever possible and not never because sometimes passive voice can be a good literary technique. If you purposely want to make it ambiguous how something happened or if you want it to be unclear whether a character did something on accident or on purpose, passive voice can be a great tool. However, 99% of the time you want to use action verbs. If you have a lot of passive voice in your story you will slow down the momentum of your story and lose readers. See if you can reword sentences with action verbs instead.

HOW TO WRITE A SLOW BURN ROMANCE

//@writerthreads on Instagram

(Because these things get me slapping my pillow at 3 AM)

Slow burns are romance stories with a slower pace. They’re more realistic, because you need to build the relationship between the two people. This can either be a subplot or the main plot, and usually takes place through the whole book because time is a big factor in slow burn.

You’re showing the reader how their relationship changes from a friendship to a romantic couple, therefore you need to show the chemistry between the two people. Build the relationship stage by stage. Plan down “breakthroughs” that acsends them up the relationship ladder. Think of scenarios and reasons for them to become more close. (Ex. mutual friends, common interests) Reference real romantic relationships that you might’ve experienced for help!

Like any other relationship, consider how they met in the first place. With the method of “show, not tell”, show their initial, intermediate, and final feelings (at the end of the book) through actions or thoughts, instead of making them say it out loud all the time. If you need help with affectionate actions, scroll down on our feed!

If they’re already friends, you’re a step ahead— you don’t have to deal with formalities in introductions and such, but still, you might want to talk about initial feelings. A first person POV is much more intimate than a third person POV, which can be more casual, so it depends on what tone you want to build with the story.

Also, like any other plot, they’ll encounter difficulties. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a life-or-death scenario, but think about what makes it slow burn, what’s preventing from from making it official. A common problem is because both parties are afraid to make the first move either due to embarrassment, or inexperience. They might be scared to be rejected because they’re not sure whether or not the other person is causually flirting with them, or because the feelings are actually reciprocated. You’ll then have to find a solution to it.

Show the reader how they become more comfortable around each other and how they enjoy the other’s company. Simple ways could be long, easy conversations between them, or simply showing how they’re happy when they’re with the other person. Romantic feelings don’t just occur in two days, people don’t (usually) go saying “I love you” in a week.

In a way, you’re teasing readers with the question “will they, or will they not?”. They’ll be on the edge of their seats, waiting for the moment they finally become official. Therefore, even though slow burns are paced, you don’t want to make them too slow. Not baby steps, toddler steps. Throughout the story, you’re giving out romantic hints. If you want to speed things up, include more obvious ones where character go, “oh my god, they definitely like you!”, and if you want to slow them down, include less subtle ones, and create a small distance between the two people.

In the “talking” stage, there’ll be loads of flirting. This is basically the honeymoon phase. Other characters are going to tease them about it, but the two people will still be unsure. They’ll be texting on phones or sending letters, or talking loads in person. If you’re writing in first person, describe the character’s current feelings. If you’ve got bold characters, use pickup lines, with or without humourous intention. It’s all up to you, and as I always say, do what’s best for your story and the way you want it to go.

As an author writing a slow burn romance, you’d likely want readers to like the couple, and here’s the main way:

- show that they’re “perfect” for each other...

At least for the time being. You’re writing about the present, not the future (that’s for the end of the book where you decide whether or not they end up together). Make them “couple goals”, even though they’re not official yet, where their love is being shown, but not said (yet). This could be through heart-to-heart conversations where they deeply understand each other, or as simple as waiting for each other while the other person is tying their shoelace. All in all, make them happy together. Show that they’re happy with each other— big smiles, laughing at each other’s jokes because they have the same humour, etc.

I’m conflicted about whether or not on-and-off relationships are considered to be slow burn. If the process of it is rapid, I personally think it isn’t, but if it’s a series and there’s a long gap between each breakup and you properly build on it, it could be a slow burn.

Just remember, it’s like any other romantic relationship, except it’s being dragged out. Don’t forget about supporting/ other characters and the subplot/ main plot. You’re still writing a story, and all those aspects make your story ten times more interesting!

Writing Tip #218

Tightening your sentences and getting rid of unnecessary adverbs and adjectives does not mean writing short sentences. You can have a long sentence without any adverbs or adjectives and you can have a short sentence with too many. Tightening your sentences just means that every word has to matter.

Writing Tip #167

Having the way a character organizes their home mirror how they organize their life can be a really helpful literary tool and a subtle way to flesh out your character.

“Do you think the universe fights for souls to be together? Some things are too strange and strong to be coincidences.”

— Emery Allen