Secrets Uncovered - Blogs, Hints and the inside scoop from Mills & Boon editors and authors

On September 13^>th 2011, Mills & Boon is launching New Voices 2011 - our second global search for fresh writing talent to join our galaxy of romantic fiction stars.

We’re looking for talented new authors, and if you’ve got a romance bubbling away in your head we want to hear from you! But where to start?!

To help you put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard…!) more confidently, we’ve pulled together some brilliant advice - from last year’s competition website, exclusive previews of this year’s content, some of our wonderful authors and highlights from editor Flo Nicoll’s weekly ‘Behind the Scenes at Romance HQ’ editorial blog on www.millsandboon.co.uk.

The aim of this collection is to give you all the tools you need to make your romance stand out from the crowd, so we hope you find the top tips and advice helpful and inspirational!

Have your say or enter New Voices at:www.romanceisnotdead.com

Having strong and believable characters in your novel is a must – it’s the best way to gain your readers’ sympathy and keep their interest. More than an exciting plot, clever twist or an exotic location, characters are the reason why we read romantic fiction.

So, to help you get started, here are Romance HQ’s top tips from New Voices 2010 on how to create characters your readers will fall in love with!

Take inspiration from the world around you. People you know or have known might provide some ideas for interesting personality traits (though only use for inspiration!!). Or you might like to base physical characteristics on someone who caught your eye on the bus, a cute guy who serves your morning coffee… dream a little!

Keep an eye on the news. You’ll often find intriguing characters to inspire you in newspapers, magazines or on the TV. This helps keep your ideas up-to-date.

Create character profiles or biographies. It’s also a good idea to find photos from magazines that you feel most resemble your characters. This might help bring them to life, especially if you’re a very visual person.

Ask questions like: “What do they want?”; “What are they afraid of?”; “What is the worst and best thing that could happen to them?” All this preparation will help make your characters three-dimensional.

Try to write one single defining sentence about your main characters. This is a difficult but useful task, which helps you to focus on your characters.

The most important things to know about your characters are the issues that will drive the story forward. You need to know your characters’ goals – and the conflicts that they must overcome to achieve those goals.

And remember to avoid character stereotypes – they might be humorous, but they’re dull and can feel like plot devices. The blonde “other-woman” might just have had her day!

The Heroine: She must be someone likeable, someone your readers can identify with. But that doesn’t mean she has to be perfect! We all have flaws and like reading about people who do too.

The Hero: He must be desirable, someone your readers can fall in love with, someone who is so real he almost steps off the page.

Have fun! You get to create new and exciting people to take on an interesting journey – and these characters will be with you for a long time - so enjoy the ride!

Now let’s look at your characters in some more detail, starting with the wonderful world of the Mills & Boon hero!

Firstly, advice on how to be seduced by the Alpha male, from New Voices 2010!

We editors like to consider ourselves highly trained experts on men – fictional men that is! We can (and do) spend hours debating the eternal Mills & Boon editorial dilemmas:

Mr Big or Aidan?

Is Colin Firth the tastiest Regency hero ever?

Does Simon Cowell qualify as an Alpha male? (Jury’s still out on this one – there’s a controversial 50/50 split in the department)

Is there a better job on earth…?!

Whilst we might not be able to agree on these all-important questions, one thing is sure – the Alpha male reigns supreme at Romance HQ!

And we know we’re not the only fans. Despite popular misconceptions about the Alpha male – as an old-fashioned two-dimensional bully with no depth of character - he has always been integral to successful romantic fiction: from Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) through Mr Rochester (Jane Eyre) to Rupert Campbell-Black (Riders), he has been a much-loved archetype!

Why do women love a fictional Alpha male? Here’s what we think…

He’s the ultimate fantasy - an irresistibly attractive embodiment of heroic qualities and a celebration of positive male strength!

Some of the most exciting conflicts in a romance stem from ‘taming the beast’. The hero is stopped in his tracks by the heroine, and it is through her that he changes and develops.

He takes control and drives the story; he has the power to make things happen!