Girl meets boy, girl wants boy, girl can’t have boy, girl gets boy… that’s the basic plot of a romance novel, right? If only it were so easy!
In a romance novel, the romance is not the same as the plot. Two people who are simply exploring their growing attraction for each other just aren’t very interesting. What keeps readers reading is the reasons why girl can’t have boy – how the conflict between the characters grows and worsens and is ultimately solved. That’s the plot – it’s all the other things that are going on while our characters are falling in love.

Course Instructor
An Overview of Conflict
Taking a look at conflict
What is (and isn’t) conflict [Public Assignment]
All About Problems
Short-term problems
Long-term problems [Private Assignment]
Plotting Techniques
Common plot failures
What if…. and backwards plotting
Using the techniques [Private Assignment]
Building a Plot
Asking the pertinent questions
Plot building [Private Assignment]
Plot building part 2 [Private Assignment]
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