True Love: The Do's and Don'ts in Paranormal Romance

(Guest Blog: Mythical Books)

There's no shortage of Paranormal Romance in the book world today - hell, I write it, so I can add myself to that ever-growing list.

Being a writer in the genre (a new one, at that), I've read my fair share of them - from Vampires to Werewolves, to Witches and everything in between. There's definitely no shortage of writer's who can conjure up some pretty amazing tales of life and love, and keep you enthralled along the way. Some of those tales I've fallen in love with from the first moment I opened the book, holding onto every word with bated breath and unable to put it down until I've finished the story. Other times, I'm rolling my eyes and laughing, sometimes in a good way, sometimes not so much - why? Because cliches happen, that's why. They're almost unavoidable at times, but for those instances where we can avoid them, we should. So, while I'm a fairly new author in this new adventure of all things Indie, here are some of my rules for Do's and Don'ts in the world of Paranormal Romance.

DO

Create eccentric, fun, off-beat characters that aren't always powerful. Why? While reading about the heroine who kicks ass and takes names while using magic or shapeshifting (or whatever happens to be her forte) is awesome, not everyone is cut out to be a badass (at least, not right off the bat). Just like in the human world, not everyone is going to grow up to be an Olympian, a Lawyer, an Engineer or a Doctor. Magic works in much the same way - sometimes it will speak to people differently, and some people will always be more powerful than others. Use this as a way to build your characters and make them stronger, more interested, level-headed people. It'll make for a great story later.

DON'T

Use the same old cliches that are predictable and easy to decipher. If you're going to use cliches, use them, but make sure you put a twist on them that will make the reader gasp with shock when they get to that point. Some cliches in this genre I feel I read a lot of are the nerdy girl who starts school and immediately attracts the attention of the school hottie, love triangles, the chosen one who's meant to save the world and the usual vampires, werewolves and other magical creatures who deem themselves in love but not worthy. In truth, I don't mind reading these cliches, but without an added twist to make them your own, the story becomes predictable and boring ... which is not what you want.

DO

Show the characters flaws. Much like my first "do", giving your characters flaws and allowing them to grow and learn together is one of the best parts of their journey. Maybe it's a secret they've kept, maybe it's the fact they are a little insecure about themselves in certain aspects of their lives, or maybe they're overly confident in others ... either way, allow them to learn these things about each other - and more importantly, allow them to be okay with this. No one is perfect, especially when it comes to love, and showing these characters for who they are will help strengthen their bond (hopefully) and help their newly found love blossom into something much, much more.

DON'T

Put all your eggs in one basket. What do I mean? Foreshadowing the bad guy's plan, leaving little clues as to what is going to happen and how it's going to play out is good writing - but if you reveal too much too soon, you're going to be with the above "don't" in the cliche aspect ... meaning, you're going to be predictable. Information dump is super easy to do as an author, trust me, I know. I want to give the reader everything they want, right off the bat. The problem with that is ... what's the point in reading more if you know everything within the first fifty pages? So, what should you do instead?

DO

Leave little hints and clues along the way, in subtle, not so obvious hints. It could be the way the main characters love interest stares a little too long, or the smirk they have after someone says something they weren't expecting. It could be in the movements they have, a gesture of sorts - there is no wrong way of doing this, but giving off those subtle clues will clue your reader, and your characters, onto something. It will also make those reading it (mua) super interested to know what the hell is going on - and want to keep reading more.

Well, there you have it, a few do's and don'ts for the Paranormal Romance genre. While this list is definitely not exhaustive (oh man, not by a long shot), it's these rules that I've followed for my own worlds (well, soon to be worlds, anyway).

What do you guys think? What's your biggest pet peeves in the genre, and what do you absolutely love?

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