How to Develop a Romance Heroine

"In my opinion, the heroine can be more difficult to develop than the hero. Choose someone who will complement yet conflict with the hero - and I don't mean physically. I mean her motivations, dreams, sorrows, etc.," says Sheri McGregor, author of "Dream Catcher."

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Writing Classes
• Movie Rentals
• Movie Videos

1. Imagine your heroine's life before she entered your story, perhaps constructing her by combining bits and pieces of women you know and admire.

2. Write a brief biography - a life history, including her physical and psychological traits. Use it for reference as you write her story.

3. Make certain your heroine has proper motivation for her actions in your novel.

4. Give your heroine qualities that allow your readers to identify with her.

5. Allow plot and conflict to bring romance to the heroine rather than writing her as a romantic figure.

6. Write and rewrite. Invest your creative energy into making the character study that is your heroine the central figure in your novel.

Tips & Warnings

• "Choose a heroine that readers can relate to. If she's perfect - well, how many real women are? That doesn't necessarily mean to give her flaws. But if she's a famous actress with a perfect past, can a reader put herself in this model woman's shoes and experience her emotions during the course of the story? Perhaps, but a divorcee with two kids and a cheating ex is a little easier to sympathize with," says Sheri McGregor.
• "You must have conflict to sustain the novel, but don't polarize your heroine and hero so much that the reader can't ever imagine them getting together. That's where the complement comes in. If you can tie traits to an ex-lover's opposite ones, that can sometimes get the reader in the hero's head to be attracted to her," McGregor says.