Writing YA/NA Historical Romance

You may recall that Romancing the Genres celebrated New Adult novels in August and September, and I explained then how my books could be considered both Young Adult and New Adult. (See my post at https://romancingthegenres.blogspot.com/2017/09/new-adult-or-not-by-lynn-lovegreen.html.)

I’ve learned a lot about writing YA/NA historical romance over the years, including these points:

• A writer can’t just take a modern young woman and throw her into past centuries.

• The historical information must be woven into the story without slowing down the plot.

• The romance has to be organic and appropriate for the characters involved.

For more tips and tricks, you can sign up for “Writing YA/NA Historical Romance,” an online workshop I’m leading through Hearts Through History Romance Writers on January 3-31, 2018. Here’s the course description:

Can you just throw Bella or Katniss into the nineteenth century to create a historical romance? This four-week workshop will provide the skills an author needs to write a historical romance with young characters. In this course, we will practice writing romance grounded in historical fact. We will consider setting, character, and plot points, and ensure the language is appropriate for the story. Part of our discussion will include how young women had more limitations in the past, sexuality has changed over the years, and that adolescence was seen differently way back when. We will also discuss researching and weaving in historical information. While Lynn will provide lectures and short homework assignments, participants will be encouraged to add to the conversation with their own ideas and knowledge.

To learn more and to register, go to https://www.heartsthroughhistory.com/workshops/writing-yana-historical-romance/#register.

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for almost fifty years. She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

My Most Romantic Scene by Lynn Lovegreen

I have written five young adult historical romances. I have several favorites in my Gold Rush series, from my favorite first kiss to my favorite supporting character. But my favorite romantic scene is in my novel Gold Nuggets, because it shows true love.

When a critique partner read this scene, she said it showed that Henry really loved Charlotte because he was thinking of her needs, not his desires. I agree—one definition of true love is that it makes you the best person you can be for that person. You’re not just after the fulfillment of your own wishes. Henry is at his best here.

He knew now that he loved Charlotte. He wanted the best for her, and wanted to be the best person he could, for her. That felt like love. The hard part was deciding what role he could play in her life that would be better for her. Should he woo her and marry her? Would being his wife be right for her? Or was she better off pursuing her own life without him? Henry didn’t want her to feel tied down to him, but maybe marrying him would give her more choices to pursue her dreams without worry about finances.

Of course, this was assuming she’d want to marry him. She still wouldn’t look him in the eye. Was that her way of putting him off?

The train car hit a short gap in the rail and it jolted Charlotte awake. She looked around and met his eyes. She smiled.

This was as close to alone as they’d ever be, so he seized his chance. “Charlotte, I love you.”

Hope you find the perfect romance in your own life, however you define it. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Publication by Lynn Lovegreen

Considering the theme for this month, I thought of this story immediately. At first, I was afraid to tell it for fear of sounding negative toward a certain person, but I decided the life lesson was too important to ignore. So some of the details are missing, deliberately.

None of us are born experts, and we all have to start somewhere. Like everyone else, I started writing fiction before I knew what I was doing, and got advice and help from more experienced writers and others along the way. But that doesn’t mean that everyone had valuable advice for me—I had to sort out what was true for me. Here’s the most obvious example.

I signed up for a manuscript review at a writing conference. A successful agent met with me to discuss the first chapter of my first novel, a sweet YA romance set in the 1940s. The agent knew her stuff, and had several authors placed with big publishers. But she didn’t know me or my writing goals—that became apparent during our meeting.  

She began by pointing out the things I did well and the places where I needed to revise or make changes. (I am still grateful to her for that.) Then she said, “You’re a high school English teacher. You know about literary fiction. Why are you writing romance?”

I could only manage an incoherent stutter for an answer.

She went on. “You should put this aside and write something important, something gritty and edgy.”

I stumbled through a thank you and shook her hand. Then I went upstairs to my hotel room to take in what happened. 

At first, I had to giggle. The agent wanted me to take a complete 180 in my writing, either from snobbery, or from not understanding who she was talking to. I don’t have a gritty or edgy bone in my body.

But as I thought more about it, I became angry. How dare she tell me what to write?! How dare she suggest that there was something wrong with a sweet romance?! 

By the end of the conference, I vowed to write the best dang romance she’d ever see. And I came up with the plot for Fools Gold, my first published novel, on the trip home.

Life Lesson: Listen to the experts, but only take the advice that works for you. Disregard everything else, or use it as motivation to do what you want to do. As Polonius says in Hamlet, “To thine own self be true.” 

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. She taught for twenty years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

My Perfect Time and Place by Lynn Lovegreen

This month, we’re talking about our perfect time and place. I’ve already found my place—Alaska. As I’ve mentioned before, this is my home because I love the land, water, and people here. It’s great to be around beautiful landscapes, and friendly, independent  folks. But as an historical author, I’m always looking back in time.

The Alaska Gold Rush ran from the late 1800s through 1915 or so, depending on your criteria. The Gold Rush time period is attractive to me because anything seemed possible and the territory was full of hardy, adventurous people. And while life was not easy for women then, they had more opportunity in Alaska than they normally would have in other places. Many women in Alaska were able to push the boundaries by owning their own businesses, like Belinda Mulrooney, and proving that women were physically as strong as men, like Fannie Quigley. It’s no accident that the territory was one of the first to pass women’s suffrage, and had women representatives like Crystal Snow Jenne, who grew up in Juneau during the Gold Rush, early in its legislative history. 

As you can guess, many of my Gold Rush characters are based on these and other extraordinary ladies. I’m proud to be part of this legacy, and would like to think I would have been as remarkable as my Gold Rush heroines if I’d been there myself. This is as close as I can get, on the beach in Nome in my Gold Rush-inspired clothes. :-)

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.

My Favorite Places by Lynn Lovegreen

Like some of our bloggers, my favorite places have changed throughout my life, but there are threads that tie them together.

When I was growing up in Fort Richardson, Alaska, our housing was next to a small patch of woods. I used to spend hours under the birch trees, making up fairy stories among the ferns and dwarf dogwood blossoms. Later, when I was a teenager, my dad had a boat in Whittier, Alaska. I discovered I loved being on the water, and we explored Prince William Sound, admiring the glaciers cascading into the sea, watching otters and whales. Both places were beautiful to me, but in different ways.

Those woods and the Sound hold special memories for me, but I can’t do those things anymore, now that I don’t have access to the post and the boat has new owners. I do go out on the ferry or other people’s boats as often as I can, but it’s not the same. I still enjoy our family’s condo in Whittier, and Billings Glacier in Prince William Sound is a touchstone I need to see from time to time.

I also have new special places I can go with my husband and daughter and son-in-law, like Denali National Park and Preserve and Homer’s Kachemak Bay. There are so many beautiful and interesting places to see in Alaska. I find wonder and solace in the mountain views or ocean swells. And great stories are in the history of these places, for example from Kantishna in Denali, where I set  Gold Nuggets, my latest book. Instead of telling myself fairy stories, I am writing young adult historical romance, but I’m still inspired by my favorite places.

Learn more about Gold Nuggets at http://www.prismbookgroup.com/goldnuggets.htmlhttp://www.prismbookgroup.com/goldnuggets.html.

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. Her young adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.comwww.lynnlovegreen.com.

My Bucket List by Lynn Lovegreen

I’m a “woman of a certain age” now, so some expect me to have regrets and a bucket list. I don’t, really, because I’ve had a pretty good my life so far. But there are some things I hope to do in the future.

First, I want to go to Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and the village next door, Unalaska. I’m not a reality TV fan (except for Dancing With the Stars—long story), so it’s not about crab boats and their crews. I want to see the history there. You see, Dutch Harbor was bombed by the Japanese military in 1942. And I’m writing a series about World War II in Alaska, so I hope to do some research there next summer. 

Second, I want to publish the series I mentioned above. The first book, about the building of the Alcan Highway, is almost done. Then, I want to write the Dutch Harbor book, and a book about the AlSib program—a part of the Lend Lease program that brought airplanes to Fairbanks for the Russian allies. And I have a few other ideas if I need more than three books in the series. There are some fascinating stories about that time period in Alaska, and I hope to introduce them to readers.

Personally, as I said, I don’t have much of a list. But I do enjoy traveling, so there are a few places I’d like to see. I have relatives to visit in several places around the U.S. And I’ve never been to Ireland, or Scotland, or Australia…okay, maybe I do have a bucket list after all. 

May you cross off the items on your own bucket list, and do all the wonderful things you wish to do in your lifetime! 

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. Her young adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.

Lynn Lovegreen's Writing Advice

I attend the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference in Homer, Alaska, every summer to participate in great workshops with Alaskan writers and hear fabulous keynote speakers of national reputation.

This year, Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog and other books, gave the keynote. He spoke eloquently about many things, but the concept that struck me the most was:

We don’t know what we’re doing—and that’s a strength.

Sometimes, accomplished writers speak as if they have the truth straight from the Oracle of Delphi. We can trick ourselves into thinking, “If I do this or that or that other thing, I will be a brilliant writer, too.” But it doesn’t work like that. Andre offered no easy formulas or guidelines for writing. He admitted he doesn’t know what he’s doing, either.

To support this concept, Andre offered a couple ways to look at writing that I found useful:

You need curiosity and perseverance to write.

You must be willing to fail.

I was comforted by the last one.  It gave me permission to muck around and try different things. Andre Dubus III’s speech came at the perfect time for me. By the end of the conference, I decided that I needed a different hero for my current WIP (work in progress). And as scary as it is to throw away 44.944 words and start over, I’m doing it. Because I don’t know what I’m doing, and that’s okay. I have to try it even if I fail. I have faith that I’ll have a better book in the end, even though I don’t know yet what shape it may take.

To aspiring writers: I can’t make it easy for you, any more than it’s easy for me. But I encourage you to give yourself permission to be curious, risk failure, and persevere. Who knows—one day, you might be the one giving that keynote speech.

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. Her young adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.