If there is one genre known for tropes, it's romance. Whether it's the dynamic of the central relationship or a particular scene, it's safe to say that every romance reader has their favorite tropes that they have fallen head over heels for. But for every trope that gets love, there's one that gets shade—and none seems as disfavored as the miscommunication trope. The trope is exactly as it sounds: a miscommunication between characters causes tension and a conflict they must o

Writers strive for complexity in their stories. Complicated and flawed characters who are also relatable and redeemable. Intricate worldbuilding. Carefully sprinkled breadcrumbs of foreshadowing and mystery. Layers upon layers to be pulled back and deciphered microcosm by microcosm. We want to write our stories in a way that invites readers to sink into them, but some writers find themselves barrel-rolling off the deep end, drowning their readers in the depths of that complex

Romance readers eagerly await and expect to see a variety of key moments when they dive into a new book. The first kiss. Grand gestures and professions of love. Maybe even spicy entanglements. And, of course, the happily ever after (or at least happy for now). But before any of these must come the meet-cute. The meet-cute is the scene where your love interests cross paths for the first time , and there tends to be sweet or humorous or dare I say adorkable about this interac t

It can be tough to choose your next read. Many romance readers might let a favorite trope guide their selection, like an Enemies-to-Lovers plotline teeming with banter and angst or a second-chance romance that offers a unique blend of redemption and feelings of nostalgia. Among the most timeless romance tropes is a personal favorite: Friends-to-Lovers. You know what they say: nothing's better than falling in love with your best friend! Some who truly gets you. Who celebrat

If there is one thing I love just about as much as writing, it's video games. I've written quite a few video game-related posts over the years, ranging from craft-specific posts inspired by recent playthroughs to reviewing games' storylines from the stance of a storyteller. Between that and my day job as an escape room game master, it's no surprise that I'm often keeping an eye out for ways to gamify the writing process. As fun as writing already is, it becomes harder when y

2024 has been an exciting year for this blog! I was able to give it a long-overdue overhaul I'm incredibly pleased with. I finally got my newsletter up and running after saying I would for Lord knows how long. I uploaded my 300th post back in September and just a few weeks ago, I celebrated the sixth anniversary of launching the site! Even though I've occasionally heard people say that blogs are outdated, I've always felt that this platform works better for me (and my schedul