WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:08.000 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Hello, everyone! Welcome. 2 00:00:08.140 --> 00:00:12.219 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: welcome! We will get started in just a moment. 3 00:00:12.870 --> 00:00:23.460 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Welcome back to another day of Science Fiction writers week. If you can see and hear me. Just drop your location in the chat so we can see where in the world you are joining us from. 4 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:29.450 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: and I have some links to drop for you. 5 00:00:31.450 --> 00:00:36.629 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Hello! Welcome back! I see New York, London, Kentucky. 6 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:42.290 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Cecily. I see a lot of returning names. Welcome back everyone. 7 00:00:42.680 --> 00:00:49.459 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Houston, Quebec, the Netherlands. We have folks from all over, as always. We love to see that 8 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:55.780 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: I'm going to drop some links in the chat for you now, and I will continue to drop them throughout the session today. 9 00:00:56.304 --> 00:01:02.700 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: We will go ahead and get into a couple of quick housekeeping items, and then we'll dive right into our session. 10 00:01:02.900 --> 00:01:28.930 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: So firstly, your webinar access. If you go to the Hub page, you will see all of the Webinar replays and session resources from yesterday up there. Now they're within the schedule. And we are working on today's you should be able to see all of those replays within a couple of hours from your session ending. It just depends on processing time. But if you 11 00:01:28.930 --> 00:01:40.380 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: refresh and check back, you should see everything there. We'll also be moving the replays to our community page in the event reporting space by next Friday, so you can watch them at your leisure there as well. 12 00:01:41.390 --> 00:02:05.949 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Premium day is this Friday. So Monday, through Thursday sessions are open for all to attend Friday. Our workshops are for premium and premium pro users, so those users will receive an email Friday morning to gain access and get your instructions. If you don't receive your email, please let us know at hello@prowritingaid.com. If you would like to upgrade your account 13 00:02:05.950 --> 00:02:30.920 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: to attend premium day, we do have a special offer for you. All science fiction writers. Week participants can use a special code until September 27th to get 15% off your 1st year of pro writing a premium or premium pro. There is a link on the hub that will automatically input that code for you. So it's less clicking around. And that offer is good till the 27.th So if you have any questions about that once again. 14 00:02:30.920 --> 00:02:36.899 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: you can ask today. In the QA. For me, you can email us at Hello, prowritingaidcom! 15 00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:49.610 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: If you would like to keep the Sci-fi writing conversation going, we would love to have you in our private online writers. Community, we have a lot of fun chats going on in the live event. 16 00:02:49.650 --> 00:03:01.800 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: chat space. And then all the event recordings for past writers. Weeks are, in the event, reporting space. You log in with your prowriting and account information. It's super simple, and we would love to have you there if you haven't checked it out yet. 17 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:22.480 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Reminders for our session today. Please use the Q. And A. Box. If you have specific questions for Dana or for me. If you want to use the chat to talk to fellow attendees. That is totally fine. You want to make sure that you are selecting everyone in the drop down, menu, because by default your messages will just come to the host and panelists. 18 00:03:22.480 --> 00:03:34.350 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: and then once again, links for today are being dropped in the chat. But you can also find them on the Hub page so definitely check out the hub for everything you need for today and for the rest of the week. 19 00:03:34.350 --> 00:03:58.940 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: So thank you so much for coming. We are so excited to introduce Dana Pittman. Dana Pittman is a U.S.A. Today, and Amazon bestselling romance and paranormal romance, author, certified developmental editor and chief storyteller with danger tales, a boutique romance, developmental editing company in Houston, Texas. She specializes in romances, contemporary steamy, billionaire etc. 20 00:03:58.940 --> 00:04:07.300 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: paranormal romance, fantasy suspense thrillers and plotting, and she'd love to chat with you about your novel. We're so glad to have you back again, Dana. 21 00:04:07.420 --> 00:04:08.570 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Welcome. 22 00:04:08.920 --> 00:04:14.920 Dana Pittman: Thank you. I always enjoy these weeks. This is like all the yummy richness, all in one place 23 00:04:15.540 --> 00:04:17.220 Dana Pittman: was always good. Good, good! 24 00:04:18.269 --> 00:04:43.107 Dana Pittman: Are we ready to get started? Let's see here. Okay, while I am bringing up my slide deck. I want everyone to go to the chat and let me know where you are in the process. Are you just starting out? Put a 0. If you are writing, put one. If you are editing, put 2. If you have no idea, just go ahead and put element OP or something. Go ahead. Let me see it 25 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:52.070 Dana Pittman: awesome, awesome. So as we listen, I got an element OP. In the chat. That's what I'm talking about. That is what I'm talking about. 26 00:04:52.130 --> 00:05:02.650 Dana Pittman: So we are going to get started. How many of you have ever struggled with balancing romance in action. In your stories. Let me know in the chat. 27 00:05:03.460 --> 00:05:06.609 Dana Pittman: and what do you find to be the toughest part 28 00:05:09.490 --> 00:05:11.190 Dana Pittman: I see, I see. 29 00:05:12.900 --> 00:05:16.470 Dana Pittman: and I'm going to share my screen, and we're going to get started. 30 00:05:16.670 --> 00:05:45.160 Dana Pittman: One of the things that I have tried my absolute best to do is that if you have attended any of these amazing writers, Week is to interconnect them. So if you do become a premium or pro member, I think that's what Michelle said. Then you can actually go back and look at my past presentations, and they will really go hand in hand, even when you go to the other niches because a lot of these tips and these questions that you can ask yourself, and the steps 31 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:58.509 Dana Pittman: and the assessments that you can make of your story are universal, especially if you are doing subplots. So today, what we're going to talk about is love and logic making sci-fi romance subplots addictive. 32 00:05:58.530 --> 00:05:59.790 Dana Pittman: and 33 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:13.980 Dana Pittman: and I hope that you are ready to take notes. Y'all, this is my style, so we are going to be kicked back and relax. I will. I will call y'all y'all, because I'm in Texas, and it's how we roll. So let's go ahead and get started. 34 00:06:14.110 --> 00:06:36.899 Dana Pittman: We have one goal as writers, and that is to write books that readers can't put down, and I call them addictive novels, that your readers cannot help but to gobble up and to tell their reading friends, so that not only do you get to tell stories that you want to tell, but you can also make a living doing it. And as we are doing that 35 00:06:37.180 --> 00:06:45.799 Dana Pittman: we are going to today talk about it's time to learn the core techniques for blending romance into your sci-fi plots. 36 00:06:46.170 --> 00:06:47.590 Dana Pittman: Noun. 37 00:06:47.860 --> 00:07:15.170 Dana Pittman: I I'm gonna tell y'all right now, up in advance that my examples are movies. But I'm gonna give you some great examples. And I'm going to also, at the end of this presentation give you some questions to ask yourself to assess your romance subplots. So, as Kevin Hart likes to say, it's about to go down. So do you struggle with stories that feel cold or emotionally distant, or characters that lack depth or 38 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:32.140 Dana Pittman: of real relationships, or you lack getting that attention that makes you you essentially like you have all the like elements, but you don't have the feels. We like to have the feels. And so if any of this applies to you, then you're in the right place. 39 00:07:32.950 --> 00:07:44.549 Dana Pittman: So when we end this presentation, you'll know how to balance science fiction story elements with depth, emotional romance that captivates readers with deep. I'm sorry 40 00:07:44.550 --> 00:08:09.259 Dana Pittman: and essentially one of the things that I wanted to. I kind of. And look, I love this like that's what's up. I'm about to tell you about myself. But I want you to think about this. I want you to think about stories in your niche whether they're movies, whether they are nowadays, Youtube, shorts, or even books, of course, that have had a romance 41 00:08:09.260 --> 00:08:16.030 Dana Pittman: subplot that has captured captured your attention, or that you have found that stayed with you? 42 00:08:16.924 --> 00:08:21.389 Dana Pittman: Equally so as the main plot. 43 00:08:21.450 --> 00:08:32.460 Dana Pittman: And so that's what we're going to be talking about like we want people to identify and relate what our protagonist so that they want to go on that journey with them. And so we'll dig into that today. 44 00:08:32.530 --> 00:08:58.799 Dana Pittman: So my name is Dana Pittman Michelle already said it. But I'm a u.S.A. Today, bestselling author. I'm a developmental editor, and I am the chief storyteller at danger tales. You will see a bunch of other things here about me, but I am a mother, and I'm married, and even after we finish this presentation. I am working on a book because I have a book that's launching later this week. So I am like you when it comes to writing stories and loving 45 00:08:58.800 --> 00:09:23.919 Dana Pittman: to tell stories. I'm also a coach at danger tells writers, and we also have an inner circle. Essentially, I love helping people to tell the stories that they have always wanted to tell, because I believe that your voice in your story matters. So here here are some examples of some of my books and clients books. I've helped people to plot and write and 46 00:09:24.500 --> 00:09:29.540 Dana Pittman: I'm a story nerd. I'm a story nerd, and it shows and everything that I do. 47 00:09:29.790 --> 00:09:38.269 Dana Pittman: So let's get started. Now. When this all began, I was struggling with 48 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:58.539 Dana Pittman: honestly, with watching different stories and movies, but also reading different stories and finding that people sort of just tack on a love story, or they just tack on romantic tension between characters, but always feeling like they just did not take 49 00:09:58.540 --> 00:10:23.460 Dana Pittman: the time to fully develop the romance in a way that would make it impactful for the story. I realized that something was missing and that something missing made it so that it lacked the connection between me and the story. And what I realized is like when you lack that connection. It's almost as if you miss the opportunity 50 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:38.440 Dana Pittman: to humanize your protagonist and the story. And so my big discovery, even though y'all might not think it's big. But I'm gonna say, my big discovery is that romance isn't just a side story, even if it's a subplot. 51 00:10:38.530 --> 00:10:47.120 Dana Pittman: right? Because it's about that emotional core, whether it is in a romantic sense, whether it's in a 52 00:10:47.420 --> 00:10:50.503 Dana Pittman: familiar sense, if it's in 53 00:10:51.500 --> 00:10:54.820 Dana Pittman: Sometimes we talk the buddy sense like in friendships. 54 00:10:54.950 --> 00:11:07.719 Dana Pittman: Love is at the heart of everything, even your Science fiction story. And so adding a romance subplot is key to unlocking that emotional depth that we want to have in our stories. 55 00:11:08.090 --> 00:11:31.440 Dana Pittman: A romantic subplot gives your characters personal stakes beyond survival or victory. Now, what this means is like we really can relate, and I used to hate to hear people say that like, make your characters likable. You want to relate to them, and you want to have some meaning behind that right, some of behind that. 56 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:39.929 Dana Pittman: And essentially, what I want you to think about is you want it so that your readers can envision themselves in your character shoes. 57 00:11:40.230 --> 00:11:48.649 Dana Pittman: If we start filling the fields and go along on that journey with your character. You're going to have us to the end of your story, and that's what we want. 58 00:11:50.300 --> 00:11:58.279 Dana Pittman: A romantic subplot also enhances your story's themes. Whether they are about identity, freedom, or survival. 59 00:11:58.800 --> 00:12:07.119 Dana Pittman: It can go hand in hand. It's not one or the other. You can use your romantic subplot to amplify those themes 60 00:12:07.230 --> 00:12:20.369 Dana Pittman: and and it also can help you to see those themes from a different perspective, so that you sort of double down and sort of drive it into that story. 61 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:34.329 Dana Pittman: And lastly, a romantic subplot creates tension, forcing your characters to make hard choices between love and duty. Listen, if they are having a dilemma. 62 00:12:34.330 --> 00:12:57.440 Dana Pittman: or they are going back and forth and having this conflict, and we relate to them, and there is tension and stakes, and we are all in. We are there, and we are in that dilemma with them, and that is what you want. You want us talking to your story? Yes, I am the reader that talks to her stories. So yes, because it creates that tension, and that 63 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.870 Dana Pittman: locks us in as readers. 64 00:13:00.020 --> 00:13:23.560 Dana Pittman: And so we're going to focus on 3 steps to blend romance without losing the sci-fi edge step one will be ground. The romance in human emotion. Step 2 will be balancing your action with your intimacy and step 3 will be raising the stakes, and we're going to walk through each one of those steps. 65 00:13:25.030 --> 00:13:39.809 Dana Pittman: So go ahead and tell us in the chat. Have you struggled with having this balance between your sci-fi story and your romantic subplot? Let us know in the chat, and also don't be afraid to put questions in the QA. Box. 66 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:48.389 Dana Pittman: so step one ground the romance in human emotion. Love is universal 67 00:13:49.010 --> 00:14:15.680 Dana Pittman: as someone who writes romance, and I do speak and go to different conferences and different genres. Love is universal. We all want it. We all do silly things to have it, and we're willing to go to links to ensure that the that our loved ones are safe and secure, or that we have the love that we desire. So my recommendation is to use that 68 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:44.610 Dana Pittman: romance bridges the gap between the futuristic concepts and a timeless human experience, which means it doesn't matter what you're writing about, whether it is in space or some of the examples that I will share here with passing between timelines. Also futuristic battles. Love is still love, and we really can use that because it's a universal experience for everyone who is reading your stories. 69 00:14:44.610 --> 00:15:01.899 Dana Pittman: So you want to use romance to connect your readers to your characters on a personal level. That's when we're talking about them, relating them, connecting them, identifying it makes it personal for the reader, because it is personal for your protagonist. 70 00:15:02.330 --> 00:15:07.770 Dana Pittman: So here we go with my examples. Now y'all don't laugh just rock with your girl. 71 00:15:07.870 --> 00:15:22.390 Dana Pittman: So my 1st example is the Adjustment bureau. And I love this story. Anytime this movie comes on. I almost always stop or record it as if I don't already have it on DVD. And digitally, and all that stuff. 72 00:15:23.140 --> 00:15:31.119 Dana Pittman: But in the Adjustment Bureau David's love for Elise keeps him grounded in a world controlled by fate, and 73 00:15:31.330 --> 00:15:34.790 Dana Pittman: in this story you have 74 00:15:35.428 --> 00:15:42.949 Dana Pittman: the protagonist is slipping in and out of time, searching for a lease. 75 00:15:42.960 --> 00:16:01.679 Dana Pittman: searching for the woman that he doesn't even know, but he feels connected to her, and it drives him to continue to expose himself to the elements that he cannot define. And I just love the story. So in the story. The the 76 00:16:01.810 --> 00:16:18.699 Dana Pittman: the writers and the director here have your protagonist, whose name is David Norris. He's driven. He's a driven politician who is passionate about his career, but it has him doing anything and everything to find the love that he's always wanted, and 77 00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:39.759 Dana Pittman: if you've never seen it, I totally suggest you watch it. It's a little bit on the weird side, but it's a great movie, and it gives the viewers an emotional connection that it's this man who's balancing his career and having to choose between a dream that he's always wanted, or potentially the thing that he never knew he needed. 78 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:44.790 Dana Pittman: And I believe it's totally woven together with 79 00:16:45.290 --> 00:16:56.203 Dana Pittman: beauty, and it makes a lasting impression. I remember the 1st time I saw it, too, like it has such an impression that I kept trying to find what was the title. What was the title? And I only knew that. 80 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:17.310 Dana Pittman: I believe his name is Matthew Damon. I I don't remember their names well, but I just knew he was in it. And once I found the title I had to buy the movie because it's just an amazing, and it's a high concept science fiction story. But at the same time there's this balance between fate and control and personal agency, and also love. 81 00:17:19.990 --> 00:17:24.470 Dana Pittman: Step 2. Balance action and intimacy. 82 00:17:24.780 --> 00:17:37.611 Dana Pittman: Romance and action aren't muse mutually exclusive. And I think this is such an important part. Right now you have that a lot of your major genres will 83 00:17:38.170 --> 00:17:52.819 Dana Pittman: intentionally weave romance subplots or romance plots into their stories. But they sort of have this. It's almost separated, instead of making it so that there are integrated. 84 00:17:52.820 --> 00:18:17.499 Dana Pittman: And you also can utilize that relationship to control your pacing, to help, to amplify or to relieve some of the tension in your plot line. And so it really does have this ability to not just merge the concepts. But that gives you sort of like the tools that you need to balance the energy and the emotions 85 00:18:17.500 --> 00:18:22.780 Dana Pittman: in your story, so intimacy can be broken. It can be broken up by action. 86 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:36.630 Dana Pittman: and allows your readers to sort of catch your breath while deepening your character relationships. Have you ever watched a movie or read a book that it was so intense that you had to stop reading just to relieve the tension in your chest. 87 00:18:37.410 --> 00:18:58.070 Dana Pittman: I and maybe it's just me. But playing with this subplot will allow you to sort of put your foot on the gas or take it off when it comes to the pacing of your story, so don't be afraid to slow down the pace for a heartfelt moment, and it really does up the stakes for your reader, which we will talk about in a moment. 88 00:18:58.520 --> 00:19:07.349 Dana Pittman: My example here is battleship. Now, this is another movie that I absolutely love for so many reasons. But in this movie 89 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:14.469 Dana Pittman: Alex, his relationship with the Samantha adds personal stakes and motivates his character arc. 90 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:40.090 Dana Pittman: and I don't add it here. But this story also does a great job of sort of having the concentrate circle of the stakes. Not only does he have that relational love stake when it comes to Samantha, which is a romantic love, but he also has it in a sense of his, a familiar love which is with his brother, and you could, even if you wanted to, do a stretch 91 00:19:40.090 --> 00:19:46.649 Dana Pittman: extended to his love of country because he's in the navy. 92 00:19:47.010 --> 00:20:08.590 Dana Pittman: Now I I add that last one, even though I really don't believe that that applies to Hopper. In the story. However, it could be said. And so, even though it's this high concept action packed Sci-fi film Hopper really is operating from a space of getting back to the woman that he loves, and also defending 93 00:20:08.610 --> 00:20:24.529 Dana Pittman: the honor of like his brother. And I don't want to give away or have a lot of spoilers. But in this example, you have multiple levels of a love story and a romance that are baked into this story. 94 00:20:25.370 --> 00:20:51.449 Dana Pittman: And I really believe that one of the notes that I put here is that they really take an opportunity to layer that conflict, intertwine both the romance and the the sci-fi action, and then it takes it up a notch when you add the aliens and all of that, and it is a, you know. Boom, bang! PAL! Action everywhere. And I love Hopper. He's just so raw, and it thrusts 95 00:20:51.450 --> 00:21:04.920 Dana Pittman: him into a journey where it requires him to man up. And it's not just because of the threat, but because he wants to protect life 96 00:21:05.060 --> 00:21:08.570 Dana Pittman: and the relationships that he have, and he values. 97 00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:22.889 Dana Pittman: Step 3. Raise the stakes. Now, here is where all of it sort of comes together. Romance makes every conflict personal. 98 00:21:23.130 --> 00:21:25.749 Dana Pittman: It makes every conflict personal 99 00:21:25.910 --> 00:21:27.500 Dana Pittman: personal stakes make. 100 00:21:27.530 --> 00:21:44.410 Dana Pittman: Take the make, the larger conflict more impactful, and what you want to do is have it so. It's not isolated that it really is integrated, so that when that story has attention and those stakes increase, it increases the stakes of the 101 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:46.350 Dana Pittman: entire story. 102 00:21:46.900 --> 00:22:04.120 Dana Pittman: your characters must choose between their heart and their mission. And this adds tension. Now, the example that I put here is something that I changed actually, recently because of my husband. And it's a story, a movie that's called War a world. 103 00:22:04.600 --> 00:22:13.279 Dana Pittman: not World War, World War Z. And in this story. The reason why I wanted to add this 104 00:22:13.280 --> 00:22:27.970 Dana Pittman: was because everything that Jerry did was for his family everything the world could end. Everybody could die. I just want to ensure that my wife and my children are okay. 105 00:22:27.970 --> 00:22:52.060 Dana Pittman: And I had no intentions of watching this movie, because having zombies that move way too fast. Oh, I'm gonna go back to that zombies that move way too fast for my liking just scares me. But I could not stop watching this movie, and I feel like when you have this sort of stakes where it is personal that we all turn into Denzel Washington 106 00:22:52.430 --> 00:23:04.359 Dana Pittman: from Training Day. Did you see it when he's like King Kong and got nothing on me. That is how Jerry was in this movie. He was Denzel Washington, even though he was Brad Pitt. But you know what I mean. 107 00:23:05.260 --> 00:23:12.920 Dana Pittman: You get to a point where the stakes are so high and intense that everything is personal. 108 00:23:13.330 --> 00:23:23.719 Dana Pittman: and that will require your protagonist to become and embody a version of themselves that they really did not know that they could be 109 00:23:23.880 --> 00:23:42.860 Dana Pittman: because of those stakes. And at 1 point in this story. Jerry even injects himself with a fatal virus or something. We don't even know what it is. He doesn't know what it is, but he does it, because that means he is that much closer to getting back to his family. 110 00:23:43.290 --> 00:23:44.810 Dana Pittman: And let me tell you. 111 00:23:45.060 --> 00:23:56.839 Dana Pittman: we may not know what it's like to run down and take down super fast. They're super fast zombies. I've never seen zombies this fast before in any movie ever. 112 00:23:57.260 --> 00:24:04.860 Dana Pittman: but we do know what it means to do everything in our power to protect the ones that we love. 113 00:24:05.990 --> 00:24:10.119 Dana Pittman: and you see him go through great lengths to do that. 114 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:20.420 Dana Pittman: and that the love of his wife, the love of his children, it su. It supersedes everything, even the fate of the world. 115 00:24:21.110 --> 00:24:24.229 Dana Pittman: If you haven't seen it, watch it, but be warned. 116 00:24:24.300 --> 00:24:28.279 Dana Pittman: The zombies are fast, so the recap 117 00:24:28.340 --> 00:24:32.299 Dana Pittman: step one is to ground the romance in human emotion. 118 00:24:32.320 --> 00:24:37.539 Dana Pittman: make the love story relatable, no matter how futuristic. The world is. 119 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:56.940 Dana Pittman: step 2, balance action and intimacy. Again, think about having your foot on and off of that gas pedal that you really can work with and control your pacing. You want to use a romance as a breather between the high octaneous scenes, to deepen your emotional engagement. 120 00:24:56.940 --> 00:25:14.200 Dana Pittman: and then step 3. Raise the stakes. Love adds personal risk, forcing your characters to face dilemmas that make them human, that make them do anything and everything to protect the ones that they love and the things that they love as well. 121 00:25:14.430 --> 00:25:16.880 Dana Pittman: But I would say you really want it to be like 122 00:25:16.890 --> 00:25:20.390 Dana Pittman: family and and love, and you know. 123 00:25:21.130 --> 00:25:23.370 Dana Pittman: So, houseway. 124 00:25:23.650 --> 00:25:27.749 Dana Pittman: Is that what you're asking yourself? Are you asking yourself, Dana? How do we do this? 125 00:25:28.230 --> 00:25:31.820 Dana Pittman: Let us know in the chat, for are you? Are you still with me? 126 00:25:32.090 --> 00:25:37.968 Dana Pittman: I didn't lose you with my examples. I love this this little gift like houseway. 127 00:25:38.800 --> 00:25:42.739 Dana Pittman: So here is how this is the practical side for you. 128 00:25:43.270 --> 00:25:49.330 Dana Pittman: you want to consider. Does the romance enhance the main character's arc 129 00:25:50.010 --> 00:26:17.510 Dana Pittman: here I like to think about what personal experiences or fears could realistically cause these vulnerabilities in your character, and that helps you to not just see your protagonist as this you know, as the the main character in your story, but it begins to make them feel 3D. That they feel like someone you know, or something that you've experienced. 130 00:26:17.770 --> 00:26:22.140 Dana Pittman: So think, how does the romantic subplot influence 131 00:26:22.150 --> 00:26:25.850 Dana Pittman: or complement the protagonist's development? 132 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:33.379 Dana Pittman: Does the romance challenge the protagonist to grow, change, or confront their internal struggles? 133 00:26:34.280 --> 00:27:03.299 Dana Pittman: And when you are thinking about this, I always say you can create a vulnerability profile, or you really can just sit and blow out that the your protagonist's experience, and don't be afraid that all of the information that you learn about them does not go into your story. It really will help to enhance your perspective, and how you write that character, because you know that information and those details about him or her. 134 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:12.020 Dana Pittman: something else that you want to think about is what conflict or tension does the romance create 135 00:27:12.470 --> 00:27:22.109 Dana Pittman: here. I like to think about, how does the romantic conflict mirror or complicate the protagonist's primary goal? 136 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:35.239 Dana Pittman: How can the romance subplot add emotional stakes forcing the character to make difficult choices. Listen! We are all here for the drama. 137 00:27:35.510 --> 00:27:52.380 Dana Pittman: We want all of the feels, all of the action. We want our hearts racing. So you want to have to use every opportunity that you can to engage that emotion. But we don't want it to be just for giggles and grins. 138 00:27:52.390 --> 00:28:04.109 Dana Pittman: If you connect it to something like your romantic subplot, it will make it attached to something that is real and that is relatable, and that is logical to your reader 139 00:28:05.260 --> 00:28:12.019 Dana Pittman: what internal or external obstacles stand in the way of the character's romantic relationship? 140 00:28:12.690 --> 00:28:37.820 Dana Pittman: I really do love when I think about battleship that it is. It's not just him being in the military. It's not just his brother thinking he's insane. It's not just his girlfriend's father really disliking him, but it's also aliens like Can Hopper get in any more. Have any more stakes in his life? Apparently not. And it keeps us glued to that story. 141 00:28:38.950 --> 00:28:42.959 Dana Pittman: How does the romantic tension affect the main plot? 142 00:28:42.980 --> 00:28:51.940 Dana Pittman: Does it complicate the protagonist's primary goals? Again? Do not be afraid to list out these key obstacles. 143 00:28:51.990 --> 00:28:54.190 Dana Pittman: even if they don't all 144 00:28:54.640 --> 00:29:04.709 Dana Pittman: come to the page. And I wanted to stress that that you're going to have details that you just know innately, that does not have to touch the page, to be impactful to your story. 145 00:29:07.210 --> 00:29:21.929 Dana Pittman: and also is the romance subplot integral to the main plot or tacked on. Now this is a big pet peeve of mine I really don't like when it's just tacked on. The reality is that romance is 146 00:29:21.940 --> 00:29:29.550 Dana Pittman: probably the biggest genre, and I want to say the but I don't have the real statistics, but just take my word for it. 147 00:29:29.830 --> 00:29:49.259 Dana Pittman: And now you have a number of genres and subgenres that bring on the romantic subplot, because it does give you the opportunity to extend your audience and extend your market. But you don't want to just tack it on. You want to make sure that that subplot 148 00:29:49.260 --> 00:30:03.500 Dana Pittman: is in is integrated in a vital part of your storyline. And so you really want to think about. If this romantic subplot were removed with the story, lose emotional depth 149 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:11.330 Dana Pittman: or important plot points. If you say no, you got a problem, as they say in Houston, Houston, you got a problem. Okay? 150 00:30:11.670 --> 00:30:16.349 Dana Pittman: You should not be able to remove that and still have your story stand. 151 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:41.099 Dana Pittman: How can you ensure that the romance subplot is intertwined with the main plots, stakes, and outcomes. And you want to think about this, and I like to always envision this like a cake. If it's a layered cake. You want to be able to slice into that cake and see the layers, but that you have it as a whole, and that it really does encompass the characters. Entire journey? 152 00:30:42.380 --> 00:30:59.479 Dana Pittman: Would the story remain largely the same if the romance subplot were removed? If so, how can it be more integrated? And I do find that sometimes people have this issue because they maybe don't read a lot of romance, and they think it's because they always 153 00:30:59.890 --> 00:31:22.860 Dana Pittman: associate romance with the steamy part. But I really do believe that if you find that you want to include a romantic subplot, you want to find other stories that are like your stories. You want to find authors or books that have a same sort of subplot as yours, so that you can see 154 00:31:22.860 --> 00:31:26.210 Dana Pittman: how it works out on the page. 155 00:31:26.580 --> 00:31:27.710 Dana Pittman: Okay. 156 00:31:30.770 --> 00:31:37.600 Dana Pittman: the most powerful stories are those where the heart and the stakes are intertwined. 157 00:31:37.770 --> 00:31:45.910 Dana Pittman: where the romance fuels the tension and drives the characters to fight for more than just survival. 158 00:31:46.050 --> 00:32:03.199 Dana Pittman: And this is where we can relate to your protagonist that we really do lean in to the experience and what we can learn or glean from your story, even if it's just for entertainment. Okay? 159 00:32:04.440 --> 00:32:08.840 Dana Pittman: And so now it is time for Q. And A. 160 00:32:11.840 --> 00:32:13.619 Dana Pittman: I'm going to stop my share. 161 00:32:17.070 --> 00:32:18.710 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Alright. 162 00:32:19.270 --> 00:32:27.720 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: if you have any QA. That you would like to submit that you have not yet go ahead and enter it, and we will start going through it. Now 163 00:32:28.120 --> 00:32:29.619 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: we can get that up. 164 00:32:30.610 --> 00:32:31.800 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Okay? 165 00:32:33.360 --> 00:32:35.529 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: So to start us off. 166 00:32:35.600 --> 00:32:43.490 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Carla says paranormal tends to be classified as fantasy by some, and sci-fi as others. Where do you draw the line. 167 00:32:44.510 --> 00:33:11.659 Dana Pittman: Oh, that is a great question. I would draw the line based on what elements you are using to classify your story as a paranormal or sci-fi. Usually, when it comes to paranormal, especially in the realm of romance, it it seems a little bit odd, but it usually does align with things like werewolves vampires shifters of in that lane. 168 00:33:11.660 --> 00:33:35.809 Dana Pittman: But I would say that where it sort of bleeds over is if you make it so that your story line if there is some sort of scientific basis, or there was some sort of happening. That caused those shifters to be, and it's a part of your either world building or your story. And so that's kind of where I would say that that gray line is. 169 00:33:36.660 --> 00:33:43.319 Dana Pittman: And I would think the other part is about what you identify as your main 170 00:33:43.560 --> 00:34:07.350 Dana Pittman: plot in your main conflict. If you find that it is the romance, and then you're adding on the other elements sort of tacking, not tacking it on, but you know, as a subplot, then you're gonna probably find that it may be paranormal if you have shifters and such. But if it's again, if it's a if it's, I usually say, attached to some sort of scientific theory like, I'll give an example. 171 00:34:07.684 --> 00:34:27.080 Dana Pittman: One of the the worlds that that I'm working in right now and in my stories has a sort of ugly world out of this world sort of experience where it can be other planets, and I can say that that has some sort of sci sci-fi elements to it. But as a person who primarily 172 00:34:27.080 --> 00:34:38.960 Dana Pittman: deals with the area of paranormal romance. I lean into that and that sci-fi element is just like extra extra reasoning of my sort. My origin, story for my world. 173 00:34:41.510 --> 00:34:50.690 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Carla also asks also how much time to describe the paranormal shifter, etc. versus the story. How do you weave them together? 174 00:34:51.929 --> 00:34:55.739 Dana Pittman: I think honestly, that is a personal choice. I think it's it's about. 175 00:34:56.059 --> 00:35:11.739 Dana Pittman: Sometimes people are going literal, sometimes you're going more categorical, like genre fiction, and I would say, number one, you don't want to brain dump like, dump it all on the page. But you do have to think about what type of experience do you want your readers to have with your stories? 176 00:35:11.739 --> 00:35:41.269 Dana Pittman: And if you want it so that you are building a world that you plan to play in for a while that you plan to bring in additional stories. Then you will want to bring in a little bit more of those details, not just to give them context, but I think also to give them a sense of wonder that they're curious about what else is taking place in your world, and I think of that as sort of like future pacing your marketing efforts because you really can start selling the future books now. 177 00:35:41.269 --> 00:35:57.229 Dana Pittman: But you don't want to like dump it all. You want it to be relevant. You want it to incite questions in your reader about what is going on that makes them curious, and you want it to help them to lean into the story without slowing down your pacing 178 00:35:58.689 --> 00:36:00.109 Dana Pittman: great questions. 179 00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:15.410 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Stacy asks romance readers tend to expect a happily ever after. It's a huge debate on social media about whether an Hea is necessary. If you have a love story as a subplot, how can you build that into marketing without being misleading. 180 00:36:16.329 --> 00:36:29.980 Dana Pittman: Great question. So I personally, and I really am going to be talking about this more in my upcoming like a blog, and then, my newsletter. But I personally differentiate between romance and a love story. 181 00:36:30.220 --> 00:36:51.120 Dana Pittman: A love story to me can have like a ha! Sometimes it's not happy, for now. And sometimes it's just that, you know, at the end of the movie they kiss. And you don't know like are they gonna be together forever? Do they get married, do they walk off in the sunset? They'd be like, All right, cool, nice meeting you, and then they're out. And so I think the part of the expectation is 182 00:36:51.130 --> 00:37:16.570 Dana Pittman: is being clear about that. I think also, being clear about what the driving force is behind your story. Like, you can have a subplot that does not end in a happily ever after. I mean, think about if you think about any of your this is not sci-fi, or anything about your James Bond, or people that have a series that have just one protagonist that moves from book to book. They usually have different love interests. And so you want to just be intentional about that. 183 00:37:16.600 --> 00:37:24.970 Dana Pittman: The final thing that I would say is, if you are working on your book and you haven't released anything yet, or you're starting new. 184 00:37:25.170 --> 00:37:32.669 Dana Pittman: I would say, think about how you want your readers to relate to that sort of subplot in your body of work. 185 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:37.169 Dana Pittman: so that when you move forward once they realize oh. 186 00:37:37.670 --> 00:37:56.590 Dana Pittman: this is how she approaches, or he approaches a subplot. Oh, this is how I can expect the romantic love to show up in a story, and I think it. It goes back to reader expectations, and you setting the appropriate expectation. 187 00:37:57.340 --> 00:38:08.139 Dana Pittman: and it helps if you do it across multiple stories, too. So that if people know that this is what I'm going to get from you, they know, and it helps them to move forward with that expectation. 188 00:38:09.790 --> 00:38:16.760 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Tracy asks, should you hit the same beats in the romantic subplot as you would in a traditional romantic story? 189 00:38:17.320 --> 00:38:20.889 Dana Pittman: Yes, absolutely, if you don't, that's a tack on. 190 00:38:22.430 --> 00:38:27.809 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Michaela asks, What framework do do you use to plan your romantic plots? 191 00:38:28.800 --> 00:38:52.280 Dana Pittman: Oh, Kayla, that is a hard question. So number one. I don't believe that there is just one way, but you do want to have sort of those core elements or those essential beats. But going back to the last question, you want to ensure that you are familiar with the beats that are associated with a romance story. Now, the a love story can be a little bit different 192 00:38:52.280 --> 00:38:59.729 Dana Pittman: primarily, in that, happily ever after. But you do want to hit all of them. Which ones do I do? I don't do any one. 193 00:38:59.730 --> 00:39:02.389 Dana Pittman: I let the individual story dictate. 194 00:39:02.390 --> 00:39:06.480 Dana Pittman: but you can look at books like romancing the beat. 195 00:39:07.300 --> 00:39:24.200 Dana Pittman: if you will be talking about that more also, if you come to a workshop that we have at danger tells us this coming up weekend, but I would say more than anything, be in your niche, and really be intentional about finding cops in your niche 196 00:39:24.500 --> 00:39:37.729 Dana Pittman: that align with the kind of stories that you want to tell, so that you get an understanding of what your readers in your niche expect for that sort of subplot and those sort of tropes playing out on the page. 197 00:39:38.068 --> 00:39:48.150 Dana Pittman: And so something like romancing. The beat would be a beginning and a start. But that wouldn't be the end all be all. Another book that I think does a great job of sort of 198 00:39:48.360 --> 00:39:50.530 Dana Pittman: it doesn't go like super deep. 199 00:39:50.540 --> 00:40:17.650 Dana Pittman: but it's enough to get you started is the original story grid book. Michelle did say that I'm I'm I think she'd say it. But I'm a story grid editor. So I do help with story grid. But I find that it is. It is basic enough that you hit the point. But it's not overwhelming, and it's a big book. So you just gotta look at the table of contents and just go to that section. You also can probably go to their web, their blog or something. 200 00:40:18.340 --> 00:40:37.969 Dana Pittman: The final thing that I would say about that is, don't be afraid to go to either like writing a romance writing workshops, or go to a romance conference, or do some sort of online class, so that you can begin to sort of put together those base elements for yourself. 201 00:40:38.070 --> 00:40:43.679 Dana Pittman: and it will help you to integrate that with any of your stories going into the future. 202 00:40:45.690 --> 00:40:53.650 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Joe says you mentioned you were a week away from launch, but still working hard on it. What do you still have to do that close to launch. 203 00:40:55.020 --> 00:41:09.079 Dana Pittman: Well, that's not a doubt this presentation. But you gotta do ads. You gotta do marketing copy. I got pre order ads. I got emails, I gotta go out to readers like this is just the beginning writing. The book is just the 1st step. 204 00:41:10.080 --> 00:41:10.860 Dana Pittman: Yeah. 205 00:41:11.090 --> 00:41:12.140 Dana Pittman: definitely. 206 00:41:12.140 --> 00:41:17.559 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Urena says I'm always shy about adding sex to a romance scene. What are your thoughts. 207 00:41:18.660 --> 00:41:19.846 Dana Pittman: Well, I 208 00:41:20.590 --> 00:41:29.340 Dana Pittman: you you shouldn't ask me that question. I like my people swinging from the chandeliers. But 209 00:41:29.580 --> 00:41:52.239 Dana Pittman: I would say someone say, yes, yes, so I will say this, make sure that your heat level is in alignment with the expectations that you set in your story, and I would say, other than laughing and being like you know, somebody put 3 plus I'm talking about higher than I'm talking about. I'm coming for the eyebrows and the edges. So 210 00:41:52.561 --> 00:42:11.210 Dana Pittman: I would say, know what your expectations are, so that you set them appropriately, and I would also say that sometimes I think people get a little bit shy about it, because it's almost as if you are sharing something that happens behind closed doors publicly, which you are. But I like to think about it like this 211 00:42:11.510 --> 00:42:26.489 Dana Pittman: is that that is a normal human experience, and in not making it about the physical intimacy. But what does that physical intimacy bring to the story. That's exactly what this presentation is about 212 00:42:26.580 --> 00:42:27.849 Dana Pittman: is that the 213 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:53.390 Dana Pittman: people do things all kind of crazy shenanigans, and if you don't know, go to tick, tock, and just search a little bit. People do all kinds of shenanigans to to to be in an intimate situation with other people, and so, therefore, you can use that to help people with getting whether it's your themes, the connection in that relationship people use it to also avoid things in relationships. 214 00:42:53.390 --> 00:42:58.059 Dana Pittman: And so I would say, to not necessarily focus on the actual physical act. 215 00:42:58.380 --> 00:43:06.460 Dana Pittman: but ensuring that it it ties to something greater, and that you set the appropriate expectations for your readers. 216 00:43:08.080 --> 00:43:17.750 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Mark asks, is all relationship intimacy relevant to romance? If not, how do other intimate relationships differ? For example, mentor to Mentee. 217 00:43:20.230 --> 00:43:21.760 Dana Pittman: Ask that question one more time. 218 00:43:22.050 --> 00:43:25.939 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Is all relationship, intimacy relevant to romance? 219 00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:32.079 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: If not, how do other intimate relationships differ? For example, a mentor and a mentee. 220 00:43:32.726 --> 00:43:35.230 Dana Pittman: I would say no. 221 00:43:35.320 --> 00:43:47.460 Dana Pittman: And that would. But that's 1 of those questions, I really would want to look at. But I would say no, because I would say romance is usually an an intimate, like a romantic love, right to fall in love with. 222 00:43:47.460 --> 00:44:07.410 Dana Pittman: If you are talking about mentor to Mentee. There is a love there. But it's not the same type of falling in love, but it can like whenever you have stories that are like a buddy story mentor. You can have love of country, you can have love of a group. You can have love of family. Each one of those have different stakes, though. 223 00:44:07.410 --> 00:44:29.660 Dana Pittman: and they have different expectations and obligations, and if you have any questions or doubts about about that, stop and look at your life. Look at the the way that you will interact and engage with a spouse or a partner versus how you would act and interact and engage with your best friend. 224 00:44:29.660 --> 00:44:42.540 Dana Pittman: or a coworker, or a boss, or a mentor, and each one of them, if there is a threat to any one of those relationships. Your reaction is different. 225 00:44:42.940 --> 00:44:53.709 Dana Pittman: right? If somebody is somebody is in a street and that you see a car coming, you may yell and be like, Oh, no, don't hit them, but you wouldn't stand in front of that car if that was your baby. 226 00:44:54.420 --> 00:45:20.120 Dana Pittman: If that was your spouse, you will probably die, and right, like the way you act and you respond is different. And so whenever you think about this, I always think about it in a sense of the concentric circles of like. The closer in that you get to the protagonist, the more that is at stake. The closest to them is going to be a probably a spouse, a loved one. Then it's probably gonna be children. 227 00:45:20.120 --> 00:45:32.904 Dana Pittman: There's gonna probably be family. And the further out you get the more that you're gonna have to increase those stakes for them to care as much as they will with that that spouse and 228 00:45:33.780 --> 00:45:42.680 Dana Pittman: I think the story the one the the World War. Z. Is a really great example of that, because his entire 229 00:45:43.160 --> 00:45:45.800 Dana Pittman: drive was that inner circle. 230 00:45:45.820 --> 00:46:05.809 Dana Pittman: his wife, his kids. They wanted him to be all the way out here and care about the world. That man was not worried about it. He didn't like it, but he did not have the same sort of stakes towards the world that he had for his family. And so that's the lens that I will look at that in, and I would be very clear about what that means to your protagonist. And why? 231 00:46:06.290 --> 00:46:24.670 Dana Pittman: Right? Because you may have some people that have friend groups that they will do more for and have a a tighter connection than their blood family. But there's be. It's because of something, and that something is important, and it should be woven into the experience of the story. 232 00:46:25.090 --> 00:46:30.959 Dana Pittman: And so I I think, I answered, that we could go really a long time with that. That's a good one. 233 00:46:31.490 --> 00:46:37.320 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Michael asks, can the romance be the main plot, while the sci-fi element is the subplot. 234 00:46:38.140 --> 00:46:57.120 Dana Pittman: Yes, but I would say that that's not a which is not a science, a sci-fi story with the romantic subplot. It would be a romantic science fiction so, or sci-fi romance. Usually in those cases you'll either have it that the romance is the primary, or it could even be that they're like 50 50, if you want to say but yes. 235 00:46:57.490 --> 00:47:02.139 Dana Pittman: and I would say, when you have that distinction in your storytelling. 236 00:47:02.320 --> 00:47:07.919 Dana Pittman: if you are moving forward with the process. Know that there's also a distinction in that. In the marketing. 237 00:47:10.850 --> 00:47:20.589 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Philip asks, when my protagonist and his lady friend have a date, how do I include the main plot line without ruining the time together by the way, they work for the same company. 238 00:47:20.790 --> 00:47:21.859 Dana Pittman: Okay, say that again. 239 00:47:22.440 --> 00:47:31.500 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: When my protagonist and his lady friend have a date, how do I include the main plot line without ruining their time? Together they work for the same company. 240 00:47:32.250 --> 00:47:34.050 Dana Pittman: Well, you don't have to like 241 00:47:34.110 --> 00:47:39.069 Dana Pittman: to include the main plot line. You don't have to just be like in your face 242 00:47:39.220 --> 00:47:42.630 Dana Pittman: again. Let's go back to that. Cake, analogy. 243 00:47:43.084 --> 00:47:54.100 Dana Pittman: I always like to think about. Actually, I won't do the cake. I'm gonna do like you as a person when I sit here right now I am a mother. I am a wife. 244 00:47:54.100 --> 00:48:19.439 Dana Pittman: I am a puppy, mom. I am a quilter like I'm all these things at once. I don't have to say I'm only a wife, I'm only a presenter, I'm only a coach, and so the same would be true in that scenario when it comes to your characters. They're not just in a romantic setting, they are who they are, in a 3D. Approach, so it can be whether they are thinking about it or something is mentioned about working internally. They react to it. 245 00:48:19.440 --> 00:48:24.209 Dana Pittman: But you want to make sure that it connects to something bigger and not just. Oh, he's on a date. 246 00:48:24.610 --> 00:48:32.000 Dana Pittman: because that is still, even if you try to like sandwich it in via chapters that could be still a tacked on situation. 247 00:48:32.060 --> 00:48:39.000 Dana Pittman: You want the development of that story to be integral interval integral, but you don't want it to feel like 248 00:48:39.320 --> 00:48:52.210 Dana Pittman: one or the other. It's sort of like woven in together. So I would say, if if that relationship in that scene 1st of all, what is the reason that it's there, what's the purpose? 249 00:48:52.530 --> 00:49:04.288 Dana Pittman: And how does that affect something that's going to happen, either now or in the future of the story, and use it as an opportunity to sprinkle in some things that could even be foreshadowing it could even be 250 00:49:05.310 --> 00:49:17.559 Dana Pittman: Getting a clear understanding about what your protagonist is is how he or she is feeling or experiencing the other part of the plot line. So there's many ways that you can do that. 251 00:49:19.420 --> 00:49:25.080 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Leah asks, Do you start the story with the romance right away, or slowly reveal it throughout. 252 00:49:27.410 --> 00:49:31.740 Dana Pittman: Then it depends on your story, and whether it is a true subplot. 253 00:49:31.830 --> 00:49:41.443 Dana Pittman: So if it's a subplot, one of the books, if you haven't read. I really think it's helpful to sort of get a visual of this is 254 00:49:41.810 --> 00:49:44.100 Dana Pittman: save the cat, writes a novel 255 00:49:44.830 --> 00:49:53.859 Dana Pittman: and disable cut cat. Not writes a novel, there is a section that talks about fun and games, or something like that. 256 00:49:53.960 --> 00:49:58.610 Dana Pittman: or in the introduction introduction of the B plot. 257 00:49:58.770 --> 00:50:17.619 Dana Pittman: And that's what this serves. If it's a subplot, the love, the romantic will be a subplot. Now you may want to have hints of where there's sort of discontentment, or there's division, or there's a loneliness, or there's a desire to be in a relationship. And normally, people don't say it like that 258 00:50:17.810 --> 00:50:18.920 Dana Pittman: flat out. 259 00:50:19.150 --> 00:50:29.729 Dana Pittman: Sometimes they do in romances, but that's so. You would want to treat it like a subplot. If that's what it is. So, then that means you may not get the full scope of it until the second act. 260 00:50:29.990 --> 00:50:35.309 Dana Pittman: But if you can introduce hints of it earlier, it just feels a little more seamless. 261 00:50:36.400 --> 00:50:40.539 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: She has a follow-up question. Would you market it as a romance? 262 00:50:40.830 --> 00:50:45.210 Dana Pittman: That goes back. If you market it as a romance, it has to be at up at the top. 263 00:50:45.490 --> 00:50:50.940 Dana Pittman: we have to know, like you should have some sort of hint of it within the 1st chapter. 264 00:50:51.100 --> 00:51:11.959 Dana Pittman: some even if it's a distant one. So if you're using as a subplot, then it can be a little it can be later, but the sooner that you introduce the subplot the better right it may end up being in a person or relationship that they don't consider a romantic relationship at the beginning, but that character does find its way to the page 265 00:51:12.040 --> 00:51:15.440 Dana Pittman: early on. And all of this really is 266 00:51:16.090 --> 00:51:17.970 Dana Pittman: story dependent? 267 00:51:19.500 --> 00:51:46.410 Dana Pittman: always think about the fact that it depends on like what tropes you're doing. What other plot lines do you have going on. How long is the book? How important is that romantic subplot to your story, and all of that will dictate where things fall in your story. This will be a great time to either be in a critique group or have a beta reader, or work with the coach or a developmental editor. If you at all question that as well. 268 00:51:47.400 --> 00:51:58.979 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Leah also asks, How can I avoid cliches? Love being the motivation for a character like revenge stories, or never having time to say, I love you before the love interest dies, etc. 269 00:52:00.890 --> 00:52:03.630 Dana Pittman: Well, if you want to avoid it, just don't do it, but I don't. 270 00:52:03.730 --> 00:52:21.310 Dana Pittman: I, personally am the wrong one to ask that cause. I don't think all cliches are bad. I think it's just about how you do them. The reality is a lot of that is what we relate to, so I think it just depends on how you personally tell your stories. The way to avoid it is just, don't do it. And if there's ones that you 271 00:52:21.310 --> 00:52:46.210 Dana Pittman: find that you historically go towards, then maybe start having a running list and and include that in your editorial process so that you can be able to catch it, or even having your 3rd party, like your editor, look out for those if you don't trust yourself to do them. But, I don't think all cliches are bad. I just think over use of them are, and I think that what some people deem as a cliche really 272 00:52:46.210 --> 00:52:53.289 Dana Pittman: could be the presence of very popular tropes that we're just aware of. And so it just depends on the story. 273 00:52:54.990 --> 00:53:12.430 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Mckayden says, honest question, is there a sense of time in which my female co-protagonist sleeps with the male co-protagonist? I honestly want the reader to endear, but I don't want her to come across as prudish. She will later emerge as the hero of the story. By the end. 274 00:53:16.520 --> 00:53:30.640 Dana Pittman: I was, well, okay, here's the thing. This is so subjective, because here's like, if you, it depends on whether it's your tropes. What your storyline is, if you have characters that meet and they have a 1 night stand, they getting it on in Chapter one or 2 275 00:53:30.690 --> 00:53:49.340 Dana Pittman: right? So what you have to do is think about what would be logical and realistic for this story. I'll give another example of one of my recent stories was about a father who was a single father and had a very bad divorce. And 276 00:53:49.340 --> 00:54:14.340 Dana Pittman: so, thinking that he was gonna be try, wanna fall in love immediately. It's out of the question. It doesn't even make sense, and it doesn't align with his character. So what you want to do is ensure that what you do on the page is in alignment with the character that you've created. And listen if she's approved, she's just approved. Now, if you don't want her to be approved. Listen. I don't know how. 277 00:54:14.340 --> 00:54:29.469 Dana Pittman: I don't know if people still say prude, but if you don't want that, then I would look at the bases of your character, how they've progressed, and whether you've done the other things to ensure that the intimacy makes sense. 278 00:54:29.600 --> 00:54:32.519 Dana Pittman: So here, let me give y'all this one for free. 279 00:54:32.650 --> 00:54:46.559 Dana Pittman: If you think about the progression that people have when it comes to romantic relationships very few times you have that people meet, and then they jump into bed. Right? So what you start thinking about is, what is that? Progression. 280 00:54:46.710 --> 00:54:53.040 Dana Pittman: eye, contact, smile, attraction, touch, hug, safety. 281 00:54:53.438 --> 00:55:02.380 Dana Pittman: Maybe some dibble dabble. Then they may land in bed you, that's what you think about. So when you go back to your story, I just said Dibble Dabble. 282 00:55:04.680 --> 00:55:06.090 Dana Pittman: I'm sorry. 283 00:55:06.410 --> 00:55:17.419 Dana Pittman: So when you think about your characters, think about the progression, and whether them having physical intimacy makes sense for the story that you've created. 284 00:55:17.960 --> 00:55:38.920 Dana Pittman: And that's that's how you really do, and that's why you can have slow burns. You can have super steamy you can have if you have like a trilogy where it's a slow burn. They may not have intimacy till the end of the 1st book, but it really does depend on how you lay out your stories, somebody, said Dibble. Dabble. I love it, too. We gotta say it that way because this is not a romance 285 00:55:38.940 --> 00:55:43.570 Dana Pittman: discussion. Put look, put that in your notes. 286 00:55:44.609 --> 00:55:45.389 Dana Pittman: Okay. 287 00:55:45.390 --> 00:56:00.809 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Cameron asks if I was to make a sci-fi romance story about a girl who time travels as she meets an antihero who isn't into romantic relationships. How do I make a surprising combat of those 2 ending up together. 288 00:56:03.200 --> 00:56:06.509 Dana Pittman: Okay, we can't plot this. But I think that sounds interesting. 289 00:56:06.740 --> 00:56:22.929 Dana Pittman: I would say, my question to you is, why can they not? Just because you have an antihero, and that person may be the antagonist in the story does not mean that they cannot end up together and have a happily ever after. It just means that they have different stakes. 290 00:56:22.930 --> 00:56:45.630 Dana Pittman: And let me give you case in point. If you read romance, think about dark romance. Almost every single one of the protagonists are morally gray, morally gray, ie. Anti hero, right. They have no desire to leave the mob. That is what they want to do. But she still falls in love with that big, bad guy, right? And I would say, use that, use it and play with it. 291 00:56:45.950 --> 00:57:03.820 Dana Pittman: One of my earlier novels was due to my readers wanting it, and they wanted to find out more about my villain from my 1st novel. So I end up writing a second novel that I didn't plan to write where the villain was the protagonist. 292 00:57:04.330 --> 00:57:26.130 Dana Pittman: And that's because readers wanted to know. And you can find all types of ways to get inspiration. You just want to ensure that it. It makes sense. That's why we say love and logic, and that there is a progression to it. If he is antagonist and he is the villain, she is not. Gonna be checking for him if you don't know what checking me. She she's not gonna like him. 293 00:57:26.320 --> 00:57:45.760 Dana Pittman: and there's got to be some other things that fall into place. And there's got to be some things about that relationship. That sort of sort of shines a light on redeeming aspects of him. Or there is some things that may be safety, protection that she finds in the relationship with him. 294 00:57:46.060 --> 00:57:50.000 Dana Pittman: So there are so many different themes that you can explore in a story like that. 295 00:57:52.592 --> 00:58:08.120 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Muriel says, what a generous person you are, and what a great webinar! Thanks a lot! What! Which pieces of advice would you give for an adaptation of a romance sci-fi book into a screenplay for films in terms of priority and romance, storyline. 296 00:58:09.180 --> 00:58:15.522 Dana Pittman: 1st of all, I'm I you wrong for giving me that old complicated question at the end of this workshop. 297 00:58:18.750 --> 00:58:34.670 Dana Pittman: I I honestly can't tell you that I don't. I, personally don't do screen plays. But I would say, just look at here! At the end of the day, almost every single question that you all are asking. My! If you were in one of my coaching sessions, I would say, where are your comps? 298 00:58:35.890 --> 00:58:48.659 Dana Pittman: We, as writers, get it twisted. Now, if you just are doing this for giggles and grins, and you don't care about like eventually selling books, and you just do it for the love of writing, then plug your fingers in your ears. 299 00:58:49.030 --> 00:59:08.989 Dana Pittman: But if you eventually want to have your stories out in the world, so that it will help and benefit more people other than yourself. Then you want to ensure that there are some comps or some comps, as in books that are comparable to yours out in the marketplace. 300 00:59:08.990 --> 00:59:20.679 Dana Pittman: and that is how you begin to align with what works and what doesn't. And if you can't find a story that's nothing like. What you're thinking about is probably not a good idea 301 00:59:20.800 --> 00:59:24.279 Dana Pittman: now, unless you got a big audience, and we could talk about that another time. 302 00:59:24.350 --> 00:59:32.189 Dana Pittman: So for the thing that you're saying, I would say, if you are looking to transferring or or taking your manuscript and turning it into 303 00:59:32.510 --> 01:00:01.469 Dana Pittman: a script, I would look for books that have been in your same area that have been successful at going from being a book to a movie adaptation of it, and still resonate with their original audience, or it expanded. Their audience is what I would look for, and if you can get your hands on that which 9 times out of 10. You probably can or have a wonderful, you know, session with like Chat gpt, or something, and sort of you know. Unpack. 304 01:00:01.470 --> 01:00:19.829 Dana Pittman: What were the elements that people loved. What were some of the things that they left out? What are some of the things that they included in the movie or in the script that wasn't in the manuscript, and then starting to analyze, why, why did they do that? And that could be a lot of fun. 305 01:00:20.620 --> 01:00:27.969 Dana Pittman: But in general. Don't come, don't come with a loaded question like that. 306 01:00:27.970 --> 01:00:32.439 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Go through a ton of questions. We'll end it with. 307 01:00:32.650 --> 01:00:38.620 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: So an anonymous attendee says, where can we see your blogs or podcasts? So you want to give us just a little plug. 308 01:00:38.820 --> 01:00:54.600 Dana Pittman: Yes, you can find me@dangertails.com. That's DANJ, a, TALE s.com. We have workshops. We have a community where you can come and and write alone, but not on your own. We have Q. A's. 309 01:00:54.600 --> 01:01:17.350 Dana Pittman: and we're really about helping you to write addictive novels that your readers are going to love. Most of the writers are romance, but not all of them, because, as you can hear and see. These elements are universal, and then I can help you with defining what those are for you specifically versus generally. And I love doing this. So you can also see replays 310 01:01:17.350 --> 01:01:25.179 Dana Pittman: and past pro writing. Aids writers, week and yeah, I'm on podcast but mostly my blog 311 01:01:25.470 --> 01:01:26.910 Dana Pittman: in my website. 312 01:01:26.910 --> 01:01:53.239 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: The link is in the chat for you. It's also on the Hub. And yes, in the event recording space in our community, anybody can go back and look at all of Dana's past events that she's done with us. She's a frequent flyer of our pro writing 8 events, and we we always love having her. Thank you so much, Dana, as always. This was a fantastic session. Thank you. To everybody who came. We have another session coming up in just under an hour, so we will see you. Then. 313 01:01:53.520 --> 01:01:55.210 Dana Pittman: Awesome. Have a great day. 314 01:01:55.210 --> 01:01:56.540 Michelle @ ProWritingAid: Bye, everyone.