How I Know a Story Is Worth Writing as an Indie Romance Author

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that I have three separate projects in the works right now. One is simmering on the backburner for a while, but there are two I’m actively focusing on…and at least three or four more that are percolating and potentials for being next on my plate. I wish I could sit down and write them all for you right now!

Now that I’ve published a few books, I’ve learned that I will likely never have a shortage of ideas to write into books—ideas pop up everywhere. Whenever I travel somewhere new and spend my first day wandering around the city, when I overhear a conversation at a cafe, or when I daydream and explore a “what if?” situation.

I’m never going to stress about ideas, because they’re always popping up; instead, it’s a matter of having the time to do them all. When I sit down to write, I’m committing to months—maybe even years—of effort poured into a project. So how do I decide which stories deserve my time and attention so that I can turn them into emotional, spicy romance books for you to enjoy?

1. If I can’t stop thinking about the story, that’s my first sign

I’m the kind of author who prioritizes writing what excites me, because that will ultimately lead to the best book possible. So when a new story idea seems like it’s stuck in my head and won’t go away, that’s usually a good sign to me of what I want to funnel my energy into.

My interest and excitement about stories may come and go in waves, but it’s a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more time I indulge in thinking about a story, the more excited I get about it. If I have something else that takes priority, then I file the story away for another time in my life and career.

Inspiration really can strike anytime, anywhere. Obviously, travel is a big influence for me. Other books and media can affect what I’m thinking about as well. Sometimes, I just see someone on the street or have an interaction and think, That would be a great romance novel. I’ve never had a shortage of great ideas to pursue, so it often just comes down to the story that I’m most excited about, in my gut, to write. The writing process is way more fun that way!

2. I start with the least enjoyable part first

An idea for a book or a story is always super exciting, but I don’t want to sit down and write 10,000 words only to later realize the plot itself feels weak. Some authors can totally pants it, but that’s not the life for me. I am much more a plotter. I personally like to know where my story is going to go. My outline allows for spontaneity, but I’ve found that I too easily write myself into a corner if I don’t think ahead.

So when I like the sound of a story, I sit down and outline it, chapter by chapter. It’s a bit of a slog that can take a few weeks to finalize, but if I do this part right, it means that by the end of all the plotting I am almost about to lose my mind if I don’t get to sit down and write it.

Here is an early version of the opening to In a Desert Daze, according to my outline:

Daisy’s life is hanging on by a thread (it’s the anniversary of her mother’s death, she was just hit with a hefty vet bill, plus the Joshua Tree boutique hotel her mother left her is failing financially due to all the Airbnbs popping up). A guest heading to the hotel for the weekend has gotten stuck on the backroads and calls for assistance, so she heads out to help them. As she’s helping her stranded travelers, a familiar face shows up.

Max, her long-time best friend is back in town and driving down the road to his parent’s place. She’s hit with a pang of longing.

My outlines aren’t not so elaborately detailed, and I often keep certain aspects vague. For instance, it wasn’t until I wrote the first full draft that I even conceived how Daisy and Max really first met, what their childhood was like, and what ultimately tore them apart. Those were things I felt comfortable adding in later, but I had a good start with the two of them from the outline.

And if, by the end of nitpicking through the story before I’ve even written a word, if I’m still in love with the story…well, then, I know I’ve got something good.

3. The emotional part of the story has to have potential

The finer emotional elements of a story don’t usually reveal themselves to me in the first draft, but there has to be room for that to grow. That sometimes means starting with characters who are not fully developed, but I typically like to give them something that is a cornerstone to who they are.

With June in The Half of It, I wanted her to be a guarded young woman who has only ever had bad experiences with family was not used to be anyone’s priority. That led to me needing to really dig and refine her character at the start of the book, because she literally flies across an ocean to and arrives in a small town in Ireland to meet her newly discovered half sister. Why would she do that if she doesn’t trust easily and has no interest in having family ties? At what points in the book does she soften and find herself getting comfortable with her found family? And how does having her defenses up affect her relationship with Aidan, the love interest? These were all things that I had lightly explained and sorted out early on in drafting, but throughout revisions it became much clearer and way more emotionally rich.

So rather than let my characters start out as cardboard cutouts, I like to give them opinion about something or a big goal. This way, their actions and emotional arc can be built around that.

4. The setting feels right

I’m a destination romance author, what can I say? I have to be as excited about the location of the story as I am about the story itself.

With the third book in my Small-Town Escapes series, I wrote about half of the book before realizing something was…off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, so I decided to take a pause on the book and focus on something else in the meantime.

In one of those random moments of inspiration, I realized the setting for my book was all wrong. I had selected a place I wasn’t excited about and that didn’t add much tension to the story.

I’m in the process of revising this book as we speak. Luckily, the story itself won’t change—I am SO excited for the tropes and premise in this book!—but the location will add a rich layer to the story. It will also mean a lot of new writing and tweaking what I’ve written so far, but I know it will be worth it (especially when you get to see where this series is taking you next…I can’t wait!).

5. I’m ready to spend the next 6+ months with this idea

Writing a book is a marathon, not a sprint. Even if I can knock out a first draft in a month or two—which is pretty ambitious, depending on the project—I still have months of editing and revising ahead of me. This book will be the thing on my mind nonstop for the foreseeable future, so I have to be looking forward to that.

The truth is, just like readers only have so much time to read so many books, I will only ever have so much time in my life to write so many books. So I should definitely pick the stories that matter the most to me.

There are also so many challenges when writing a romance novel, and while they can be rewarding, they’re still challenges nonetheless. There will be hard moments—scenes I don’t want to write because I just can’t put myself in the right headspace, characters I want to strangle because their decisions that I’ve laid out feel inconsistent, and plot points that need refining with a fine-toothed comb. If I am only in love with the idea of the finished product, then I need to have a little pep talk and make sure I’m willing to put in the hard work, too.

As I build my career as an author, I’ve found that choosing what to write—and what not to write—has become an important part of this whole process.

Most recently, it’s meant diving into a spicy ex’s friend/roommate romance set abroad. The story survived the plotting, has a lot of juicy emotional depth to uncover, and—most importantly—I’m excited to sit down at my keyboard and write every day. That’s usually how I know the story is worth chasing! I can’t wait to bring you this book…and the one after that…and the one after that… 😉

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