Snow Men

by P.S. Murray from the January 29, 2024 issue

Tagline: When Selina called a number on a flyer tucked under her windshield wiper, she never imagined that it would lead to a winter romance.

Observations: This story had a lot of things I like to see in a Woman's World story, but it really focused hard on the hero. During the course of the story, we see Dane and all his good qualities.

He's shown to be a good uncle, helping his nephew out with his side gig. We see him complimenting the kid. We see his playfulness and humor in the snowball fight. At last, we see his unwillingness to do a good deed when he cuts down the dangerous branch on her tree. He's also a "tall good-looking man."

All of this gives us a chance to develop a crush on him along with the heroine, Selina, because Woman's World stories --indeed all romances--focus on escapism. Readers wnat to live vicariously through the story, experiencing the giddy feeling of falling in love or, in the case of Woman's World first meet stories, finding someone who just could be The One. Never lose sight of that when you're writing.

Photo credit: Via Flickr CC License, Nomadic Lana

As Sweet as a Macaron

by Audrey Wick from the 1/22/24 issue=

Tagline: When Rayna takes a French cooking class, she never expects to whip up romance...until she meets the handsome chef and sparks fly.

Observations: This was a charming story. I love cooking and am a genuine foodie. I love watching cooking shows. The Great British Baking Show is a fave of mine. I imagine Ms. Wick likes macarons and perhaps even makes them. Or, if she's like me, she wants to try her hand at them one day. To be honest, I've even had daydreams of starting a macaron making side gig, selling at farmer's markets and online. Probably never gonna happen, but it's fun to daydream.

The thing is, you can take one of your daydreams, and turn it into a Woman's World story. I talk about this at length in my book, Story Sparking: How to Generate Ideas for Woman's World Magazine 5-Minute Romances. (If you're interested in buying the book, the link is down below.)

For instance, let's say you thought it might be fun to be a blackjack dealer. Maybe your heroine's friend owns a catering company or is a party planner. She needs someone to help her with a casino night and your heroine has played blackjack in the past with her late husband, so she knows the game. Her friend is desperate, so she volunteers to help. One of the guests has never played before so she teaches him some tips and tricks her late husband taught her. One thing leads to another and they make plans to see each other the next weekend.

Now, I have to tell you, I also used another story sparking idea in that story outline, above. Look at your own life. What is going on at this moment? At this moment, I'm at the Red Rock Resort outside of Las Vegas, so when I asked myself, what kind of kooky, out of the norm daydream/interest could I use as an example for this blog post? Blackjack dealer!

Try it yourself. Try either method--current events in your own life or a hobby or interest--and see if you can come up with a story plot. Do this often and it will get easier. The more you brainstorm story ideas, the better you'll get at them. 

To buy Story Sparking: How to Generate Ideas for Woman's World Magazine 5-Minute Romances, click here.

Photo credit: Takeshi Kuboki via Flickr Creative Commons License