How to Write a Swoon-Worthy Second Chance Romance Novel

by Victorine E. Lieske

Writing a second chance romance is fun, but it brings about its own challenges. The couple already knows each other, and they already have strong feelings about their past relationship. The intensity levels I teach in How to Write a Swoon-Worthy Sweet Romance Novel don't work as well for a second chance romance. Feelings run strong, from the moment they see each other. But there is a knack to getting the romance progression to work in a second chance romance. In this book I'll walk you through one of my own second chance romance novels, Her Big Fat Dreamy Billionaire Ex. I'll give you each scene and talk about what choices I made for the characters and for the plot and why I made those choices. I'll show you how I took a high-intensity beginning and still made the romance story progress from a low volume to a high volume. Also included in this book will be more tips on writing romance in general, how to progress the intimacy level without your characters jumping into bed, and how to get your characters to really open up to each other. If you loved How to Write a Swoon-Worthy Sweet Romance Novel, you'll love this second volume!

Genres: Writing, Crafts, Nonfiction

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 5, 2019

Reviews

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful! Lieske gives a great breakdown of what makes a compelling second chance romance. Her tips are straightforward and helped me to think about my own writing as I was reading this book. I really enjoyed how this book includes one of Lieske's own second-chance romance novels and she inserts tips & explanations throughout to show why she made a specific choice with a character's actions or with the plot. I would recommend this book to any romance writer.

[Marcy Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

This was disappointing. This wasn't a "how to" book. Almost the entire book was just one of her novels with her explaining a little of what she was thinking when she wrote it, much of which was either repetitive or had nothing to do with writing a second-chance romance specifically. I've already purchased her other writing book, and I regret that now because looking at it, it does the same thing. I don't understand why this is rated so highly. It took much too long to mine for the few useful tidbits. The story itself was good, but I didn't pick up this book to read a romance novel. I picked up this book the learn how to write a romance novel.

[Shani Greene-Dowdell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good information. As soon as you write more books like this, I'll be one-clicking.

[Jessica Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the format, giving commentary throughout an entire novel, even if I didn't particularly enjoy the novel itself.

[Sarah Hickner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the tips super helpful. I read via kindle and screenshot my favorite takeaways. This will definitely be helpful as I work on my second chance romance.

[Vida Sik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I needed

I'm drawn to second-chance romances. That's why I appreciate this how-to book so much.

The author unpacks the important elements of what a second chance romance should contain to keep the reader turning the pages. This includes character reaction, and a progression of touch.

What I found most useful, was to see this in practice as she uses one of her novels to point out these elements, and explain her thinking behind them. I used it as a guide as I wrote my latest second-chance romance, and it make the whole process so much easier. Thank you, Victorine, for so generously sharing your knowledge and experience.

This is a handy reference to use before you start writing your own second-chance romance story, or to comb through your story to make sure it ticks all the boxes. I highly recommend this book as a must-read that you can go back to again and again.