Getting started: So I think I can write?

I want to write a romance novel, and I want to write it well.  Fortunately, there is a lot of help out there.

My primary source of guidance so far has been Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write (‘SYTYCW’) blog.  My first novel, I have decided, will be in the manner of a Mills & Boon, which publisher is now part of the Harlequin group.

Harlequin accept unagented submissions and genuinely want to ‘find new voices in romantic fiction.  There is s wealth of advice and tips in the blog, including the brilliant Romance Writing 101 by Grace, a new Mills & Boon editorial assistant.

Not long after finishing a Creative Writing course, I entered a SYTYCW Writing Challenge, got great constructive criticism from a Harlequin edition and felt lucky to be afforded this contact.  Previously, I felt that there were not enough writing exercises during my course, and I didn’t feel inspire to write much, which meant I missed valuable feedback from my classmates as well as the tutor.  A section of the SCTYCW is specifically given over to the theme of ‘Inspiration’.

I’m feeling inspired…