Here are some writing tools I’ve created or adapted from tools already out there, especially for romance writing.  As I use or mention a tool in my blog, I’ll add it here, so there should be new content appearing from time to time. Please feel free to use them for yourself if you think something could be helpful, but do leave in the link back to my site! Thanks!

• Blake Snyder beatsheet adapted for romance The classic Save the Cat beatsheet, adapted to fit romance. Don’t get too hung up on word counts- your story may work differently! The key issues here are that these are stages in the character’s journey, and all need to be there somewhere in the story. I love Save the Cat, because it’s all about transformational character arc, and for me, more down to earth and easier to use than The Hero’s Journey. This complicated looking diagram of charcter arc is called The Transformation Machine. Print it off and read the description for each step from the Beatsheet, and it all makes sense! More on this at the Blake Snyder site.
• Identity to Essence Character Chart based on Michael Hauge. I love Michael Hauge’s work! I bought the downloads of the two talks he gave at the RWA conference last year. He has some hugely useful articles on his website. If I can’t fill in this chart for my characters, I know there’s something wrong with my basic premise before I start, and I need to rethink things.