Meeting Mr. Right by Dani Collins

This was one of the Harlequin stories. I thought it was well done and perfectly in line with what we're used to seeing.

Test-drive For Love by Jill Weatherholt

from the December 4, 2017 issue

Tagline: Nell was anxious about replacing her old car...until she met the car salesman!

Observations: This story was a good example of showing a heroine with a mindset that changes over the course of the story. She starts out thinking used car salesmen are shady and ends up realizing that's not true at all. The trick with writing these types of stories, is that you can't just abracadabra have the attitude change. You have to show it happening, while pushing the romance at the same time, and Weatherhold did this very well.

This would be a good starting point if you're stuck finding a story idea. Just think of different beliefs and then brainstorm ways a character could change his/her mind about that belief. Like "the best Christmases have snow," or "health food tastes bad," or "cats are snooty," or what have you. It can also be a belief about the character himself/herself. "I have a brown thumb." "I'm too tall." "I can't tell a joke." This is actually very much in line with the vibe of the magazine--to be positive and optimistic.

Thankful Hearts! by Amy Michaels

From the November 20, 2017 issue

Tagline: Kate and her daughter expected a lonely Thanksgiving...but a winter storm changed everything!

Observations: I got warm fuzzies from this story. It was like a super short Hallmark movie on paper. I loved this idea of an entire neighborhood coming together. It's worth noting that when the hero and heroine work on something together--in this case, it was a blackout neighborhood Thanksgiving potluck (say that 10 times fast!)--it can forward their relationship.

Like, remember that movie, Speed, with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves? Remember how after the ordeal with the bus and the mad bomber, they ended up kissing? Just think of a Woman's World story like that, but way way way way way way way toned down. LOL Here in "Thankful Hearts," the crisis isn't nearly as intense or dangerous, but they get past it together. So that's one way to get an idea for a story. Think of a minor crisis and come up with a way for a hero and heroine to solve the problem by working together.

Photo credit: Patricia (Brownies for Dinner) (Flickr CC license)

A Thanksgiving Surprise! by Kay Layton Sisk

From the November 13, 2017 issue

Tagline: Her kids' matchmaking may give Chrissy something extra to be thankful for this Thanksgiving...

Observations: What a great story. I have to admit, Chrissy is a better woman than I. I would have been a little perturbed at the thought of five extra guests. Then again, I normally have fifteenish people and the thought of twenty gives me hives.

I loved how the kids acted once Henry got there, making themselves scarce. That was hilarious. This story was full of wit, which I love.

I just wanted to point out the story structure here.

Scene 1 - Chrissy's kids approach her with the idea of having guests for Thanksgiving. This is the set-up where we find out the situation and some of Chrissy's backstory.

Scene 2 - It's Thanksgiving and the guests arrive. Here is where the hero and heroine meet and connect. It's always good to show them having something in common and in this case, it's that they both have matchmaking kids. LOL

Scene 3 - The couple have coffee on the patio while the kids clean up. First of all, I applaud this idea of the kids doing the clean-up. Aside from that, this is the wrap-up where we find out things have gone according to plan and that the hero and heroine like each other enough to set up a "second date."

As is often the case, there is no black moment, or even a gray one. At no time do we worry that things won't end up happily, which is fine. You've only got 800 words and sometimes you just can't fit it in.

Photo credit: Kimberly Vardeman (Flickr CC license)

A Halloween Surprise by Rosemary Hayes

from the October 30, 2017 issue

Tagline: Could Sandie's fond childhood memories of Aaron turn into real fondness as adults?

Observations: What do you get if you take an old flame plot, add some nostalgia for childhood memories, and a pumpkin patch setting? This story! The Old Flame plot is a tried and true storyline. I think part of the appeal is that there's a glimmer of destiny involved. Two people know each other and are separated by whatever reason. Then, years later, they reconnect, almost as if they were meant to. In fact, if you look at the old saying, "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl," and change it up to say "Boy and girl meet, boy and girl part, boy and girl reunite," that's what we have here.

In the second of my "advanced" classes, I talk about how to structure an Old Flame or Second-Chance plot. There's even a handy dandy flow chart to help you brainstorm and/or organize your thoughts. Old Flame stories are among my favorites. You will see them a lot in the pages of Woman's World magazine.

Photo Credit: Personal Creations (Flickr CC license)

Enchanted! by Elizabeth Palmer

From the October 23, 2017 issue

Tagline: Eric's dating skills were as creaky as the door to a crypt. Would Ella want to go out with him?

Observations: This was a cute story. I thought it was interesting how we are sailing along with the hero and heroine and then we got a flashback. I don't see many flashbacks in Woman's World stories, so it surprised me. But it worked well, giving us a nice little peek into Eric's relationship with his daughter and some backstory (that daughter urged him to start dating.)

I was a little confused why she would of course be dressing as Cinderella and had to go back and reread the entire story to find out why. (Answer: Her name is Ella.) That is probably my mistake, not the author's.

I also liked that it was from Eric's POV. I always like getting into the heads of the men.

Photo credit: Liz West (via Flickr CC license)

Meant To Be! by Rosemary Hayes

from the October 16, 2017 issue

Tagline: Justine thought she had lost herself...until her amazing journey with Dale!

Observations: I haven't done a stream-of-consciousness analysis in awhile, so here goes.

Right off the bat, I love how Hayes gave the heroine a problem that many of us could identify with--empty nest syndrome. Granted, usually we think about this happening when the kids have grown up and flown, but this heroine has joint custody, so it's something she feels on a regular basis.

We get a backstory paragraph early on, which is normal. As I've said before, with only 800 words, we often don't have the time to layer in the backstory.

I wonder who are Katie and Joe? His grown kids?

Ah. I see a possible plot twist. I think Justine is the person Dale wanted to ask but was too nervous because Justine jumps to a conclusion. We'll see if I'm right.

Ah, Katie and Joe are neighbors. I wonder if they're matchmaking... Maybe they know Justine and Dale would be good together.

We get a paragraph of telling, not showing. Contrary to common belief, this is okay in a Woman's World story. You must keep the pacing quick and in 800 words, sometimes you have to summarize events in a transitional paragraph to move the timeline forward. Here, we see Justine and Dale connecting. We see her noticing how handsome he is.

Justine and Dale both agree that "slow and steady wins the race." This shows them connecting. So, my advice is to have a balance of showing and telling.

Another tell/transition paragraph and then a very short scene where they connect more deeply, which is fantastic. She shares something personal and he empathizes. This signals to the reader that they might be really good for each other.

Aha! I was right. Justine was the woman he had his eye on from the very beginning.

Oh, that ending. That is just awesome.

From behind us, I heard Joe and Katie approaching fast. Dale and I ran out of the maze, laughing. As his hand enveloped mine, I knew I wasn't lost anymore.

Photo credit: Joel Kramer (Flicker cc license)

Overdue Romance by Diane Crawford

From the October 2, 2017 issue

Tagline: Could a search for missing books open a new chapter for Jessica and Mike?

Observations: As I read this story, I thought it was a great example of a "girl to the rescue" story in which the hero has a problem and the heroine helps him solve it. What was a little different about this one is that the problem is only partly solved by them working together, then Jessica takes it upon herself to find the remaining two missing books.

Notice the mini black moment when Mike thanks her and leaves? The only thing that is usually there is the heroine wishing she'd have reached out or thinking that this would be the last time she sees him.

We have a coincidence at the gas station, which might seem awfully convenient at first glance, but you know what? It really is a small world and things like that happen. It seemed real to me and the ending sentence was great. The line about starting a new chapter in her life could have been corny but wasn't.

Photo Credit: Bill Smith (Flickr cc license)

No Place Like Home by Nell Musolf

From the September 25, 2017 issue

Tagline: Melanie was tired of cutting grass and ready to move into an apartment...then she met Jeff!

Observations: Woman's World changed fonts on the story! I like it! I wonder, though, if it was because this story was longer or something.

Anyway, I noticed a plot device that appears in many stories, but that I haven't talked about in a while. It's when a main character believes x, y, z and that belief shifts by the end of the story. This also appears as a main character expressing some sort of dissatisfaction and by the end of the story, they end up satisfied one way or another.

If you're an experienced Woman's World romance story reader, then you might have read the passage quoted below and realized, "Aha! She's going to change her mind."

...I thought about how much easier life would be if I rented an apartment instead of a house. Someone else mows the lawn or shovels the snow when you have an apartment.

And sure enough, the story ends with...

Maybe moving into an apartment wasn't the best solution for me. Especially now that my house was beginning to feel more like home!

In my basic Writing for Woman's World class, I talk about ways to get ideas for stories, and one way is to take a character, figure out what they believe and change their minds. Or come up with something a character might be dissatisfied with and, again, change their minds. They could realize that dissatisfaction is actually trivial. They could realize that they should be grateful for what they have. (That would be a great idea for a Thanksgiving story.) These can be great jumping-off points when your mind is blank and you're trying to get started.

Also, I liked the repeated motif of sparks and wondered if Musolf intentionally planned for the "spark" of the lawn mower engine starting to echo that. If so, wow! Very impressive.

As Sweet as Peach Pie by Mary Davis

from the September 11, 2017 issue

Tagline: Sandy thought that she had no time for love...then she met Brian!

Observations: I just literally laughed out loud while reading this story. Here's the part that made me crack up:

"Why would I hang up on Ginger Ford's grandson?"

"Because the peaches are a bumper crop this year, and my grandmother refuses to make me a pie unless I ask you out."

So funny! I also loved this line:

"...I am very familiar with dating under duress."

OMG, I just cracked up AGAIN. (That Brian is a very funny guy.) He sold 50 of her shirts and she asks him what his secret was...

"No secret. Just a basic marketing principle: product positioning. You have to convince the customer your product is the one that they should spend their money on."

"How did you do that?"

"I wore the shirt, then I gave them an incentive to buy."

"What was that?"

"I told them if I could sell enough shirts, you might go to dinner with me. Not a single person turned me down."

Bottom line, this story had so much humor in it, I dare anyone not to have loved it.

Photo credit: Jeffrey W. (Flickr cc)

Cookie-Cutter Romance by Mary Jo Young

from the September 4, 2017 issue

Tagline: Mark thought he had no time for love...then he met Kenzie!

Observations: At first, I thought this was another story about cookies and I wondered if Ms. Gaddis was going on a cookie story binge, but I soon found out I was wrong. LOL

I thought this particular meet cute was funny and novel--not something I'd seen before. There was also a quasi-matchmaker, his office manager, Mrs. Hendrix. I thought it was oddly formal that they referred to each other as Mrs. Hendrix and Mr. Osborne, but I went with it.

This story was unusual in another way. We saw more going on between Mrs. Hendrix and Mr. Osborne than we did between Mark and Kenzie. It didn't bother me. I still thought it was a cute story, but it went against my suggestion that you always spend a good deal of time showing the hero and heroine interacting. So, that just goes to show you, I don't know everything!

Photo Credit: Steve Moses (Flickr cc)

Always Bake Cookies by Kacey Laine

from the August 14, 2017 issue

Tagline: Abby loved her new house...and her handsome neighbor made it feel like home!

Observations: This was a sweet story. What stands out to me is the heroine. It has always been my assertion that Woman's World likes the traditional woman who waits for the hero to make the first move. She is still very present in stories. However, just as popular is the confident woman who sees an opportunity and takes it.

Here, Abby acts, and sort of as a throwback to that traditional woman, she feels like she was too "forward." So, maybe she's a hybrid, after all.

I also wanted to point out the misunderstanding, a common plot device in WW stories. Very often, one of the characters makes an assumption that the other is married or otherwise spoken for and it turns out that this isn't the case. Here was a fresh take on that plot device: the heroine assumed the man was moving away when he wasn't. Well done, Kacey!

Photo credit: Wen Tong Neo (Flickr cc)

The French Connection by Rochelle Banks

from the August 28, 2017 issue

Tagline: Ty never dreamed of going to Paris until he met Angie...then she gave him the surprise of his life!

Observations: This was such a great story! I was genuinely surprised at the plot twist and it's hard to surprise me. I think this week is a good week to talk about showing not telling. This is a phrase writers hear often, and it is true most of the time. But if you look at this story, you'll see it's probably half showing and half telling. This is because of the word count. You only have 800 words to use. You have to forward the plot along using transitions. Let's see how this panned out with this story.

Scene 1 - Ty and Angie meet in the library.
Scene 2 - We transition to Tuesday at the French for Travelers class.
Scene 3 - We transition again to that weekend when they see a French film and kiss.
Scene 4 - After yet another transition to the next day at work when he asks his travel agent about flights to Paris in the spring, we skip forward to their second date. Then, we fast-forward a year to their honeymoon in Paris.

So, six time transitions! That's a lot, but a lot happens in this story. We go from boy meets girl to boy marries girl in 800 words. That's how it's done, ladies and gentlemen. Make transitions your friend, and you'll move your plot along.

Photo credit: Chris Drumm (Flickr cc)

You won't believe it...

I'm actually working on two stories. I think it's been 2+ years since I wrote a Woman's World story. Wish me luck! LOL

Mellie's Tiny House by Mary Jo Young

from August 7, 2017 issue

Tagline: Mellie loved her tiny house...and Sam made it feel like a home!

Observations: I love tiny houses! I love those TV shows about tiny houses.  If I lived alone, I might very well try out a tiny house to see what it was like. I'd certainly have to cut down on the amount of stuff I own, that's for sure.

While I'm a fan of Young's stories, this one didn't hit any particularly high notes for me. I would like to have seen some more witty conversation that centered around something relevant, like how she was liking her house or maybe a bit about dogs--whether he has one or had one as a boy or whatever. The chicken thing seemed to come out of left field and was
touched on for too short a time for the bring-it-full-circle device of Sam offering to build a coop for her to really work. If it had been my story, I might have cut out the hike date stuff so I had more room to develop the chicken coop stuff, or vice versa. Their topics of conversation were never meaty enough for me.

Photo credit: Nicolas Boullosa (Flickr cc)

Mustang Sally by Elizabeth Palmer

from the July 31, 2017 issue

Tagline: Miranda wasn't looking for romance...but her Mustang, Sally, changed all that!

Observations: I loved this story. I loved the heroine being so familiar with her car that she could change the oil -- not something I would ever attempt to do myself since it's not that expensive to have it done. I loved that Palmer showed Miranda knew herself well enough to not settle for a man who didn't share her interests.

Those of you who are fairly new to analyzing Woman's World stories with me should take note of the big coincidence that Sally happens to break down in front of "Bud's." Woman's World stories often contain a coincidence that the reader needs to accept for the story to work. This is fairly common.

There really are too many details to list that make this story nice and tight. It was so smartly written. I especially loved the ending in which they talk about Sally having HPS.

Photo credit: Ann Baekken (Flickr cc)

Love Is A Mystery by Mary Ann Joyce

from the July 10, 2017 issue

Tagline: Joe's smile was warm--just like his eyes!

Observations: A murder mystery part was such a cute premise for a story. I wish I'd thought of it! And who doesn't love the fashions of the 1920s?

I wanted to point out that in contrast to romance novels, in Woman's World stories the emotional baggage of the characters is not dwelled upon. In fact, it's barely even mentioned. Here, you see that both the hero and heroine are divorced. Both have been reluctant to get out socially. And that's it. That's all that's said. That's all that needs to be said, because with only 800 words to work with, you need to spend most of your time showing these two connecting on as many levels as you can.

Some ideas for showing that connection include

• physical attraction - they touch and there's some sort of zing, they are each handsome/pretty in the other's eyes
• they have one or more things in common
• they make each other laugh

Also, I loved that he called her "dollface." That made me laugh.

Photo credit: Pedro Ribeiro Simoes (cc)

The Cellphone Wager by Tina Radcliffe

from the July 24, 2017 issue

Tagline: Hannah loved social networking...could she drop it for 24 hours?

Observations: This was a clever premise--and one I think teaches us a valuable lesson. I see far too many people on their phones when they should be interacting with each other. I feel a keen disappointment and a little anger when I see a parent on their phone when they could be talking to their child, like at restaurants or when shopping. I'm guilty of too much phone use myself.

I'm not sure why Jane was so invested in Hannah unplugging, but I went with it. Maybe she was just that concerned about her friend being too immersed in her own world. There was a tiny coincidence in this story--that Cute Guy happens to live in her building. But coincidences thrive on the pages of Woman's World.

Also notice that Hannah not only finds romance, she grows as a person and learns the lesson that her friend Jane was trying to teach her. She starts out reluctant and a little nervous, but bit by bit, she gradually realizes what she's been missing. At the end of the story you even see this little tidbit:

Someone's cellphone rang. Its discordant tone was a rude interruption.

I loved this little detail and how it showed how Hannah's perception of phones had changed.

Photo credit: Gonzalo Baeza (cc)

Love on the Vine by Shannon Fay

from the July 3, 2017 issue

Tagline: Carol wasn't looking for love, but then she met Paul...

Observations: What a great story this was. I loved the setting of a winery, a setting I don't remember seeing before. I loved the little mini-love story.

This is the perfect example of a "meet-cute" story in which you only show the couple meeting. There's usually so
me set up then they actually meet. Make sure you show a real connection between the pair. If you look at this particular story, we get just enough to convince us that Carol and Paul will enjoy themselves at that Independence Day party.

There's also a small dark moment when the interview is over and Carol thinks she might never see Paul again, but of course, she's wrong. After that, we wrap up with the two people arranging to have a first date. The end. :)

Photo credit: Tim Corradino (cc)

On a side note, my father passed away on Tuesday. He left peacefully in his sleep, which was a blessing. He's been bedridden and unable to effectively communicate for over two years as a result of a stroke. Thanks for understanding why the blog isn't current.

Catch of the Day by Rosemary Hayes

from the June 26, 2017 issue

Tagline: Ben's smile warmed Maggie more than sunshine...

Observations: There was some cute banter in this story. The niece, Phoebe, acted as the matchmaker--something children unwittingly (or sometimes on purpose, as in this story) do in Woman's World stories. I thought the hero and heroine were nice. I liked the last line and the play on words about catching each other's heart.
The only thing that I wondered about was why Phoebe had to wait her turn if Ben had an extra rod.

Photo credit: Ralph Daily (cc)