One piece of advice that writers–especially romance authors–often hear is “Kill your darlings!” Now that doesn’t mean to actually off them in your book. Well, unless you are writing horor novel. Or a tragedy. Literary. Some women’s fiction. Okay. So some writers gleefully kill off characters with reckless abandon in order to further the plot. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about the conflict–both internal and external. Killing off a character can ramp up both the emotion and the action. But, you can “torture” your characters too much. The hard part is finding the right balance and the Universe has thoughts.

For every setback, disappointment, and heartbreak, Silver, ask yourself:

“What does this create the opportunity for?”

And therein you will find its gift.

Everything has a reason,

The Universe

©www.tut.com 

P.S. And if you look close enough, Silver, that reason will always be love, healing, or happy dancing, if not all three.

Setbacks, disappointments, and yes, even heartbreaks can add depth to a story and to a character’s arc. How they react, how they adapt, how they pick up the pieces and move forward makes for compelling reading.

True story. I read like crazy. I mean sometimes 300 books a year (at least back in the day, not so much now but still over 100). I’m alsways looking for new and different. I found a paranormal romance series that was fresh and different. I liked the main character and her sisters were cool primary characters. There was something of a love triangle but not really. Psst I hate triangles. I was fully invested in the book. The MC and Romantic Male Lead had their ups and downs but I hung in there. Until I didn’t. Everyone got their HEA or HFN, EXCEPT the main couple. They were torn apart at the end of every book. Just like that, I was done. The Big U is right. There must always be a reason for the troubles we cause our characters and in the end, those troubles MUST lead to love, healing, or happy dancing. Preferably, all three.