e opposite ends of that thread to place them on. Use those traits to increase the conflict and the emotional tension in a romance story.

If your heroine is a crusader trying to save the rainforest, make your hero someone who works for a corporation that is destroying it. If your hero is a die-hard biker dude, make your heroine afraid of anything on two wheels.

You get the idea. Give them something they do not agree on, right from the start.

I used to work with a woman who had a strange outlook on what was considered romantic. Her idea of a perfect evening with a man was chili dogs at the truck pulls. Do not bringing her flowers and chocolate, it would not get you past the front door.

Another co-worker was just the opposite. He felt the need to hold the door for ladies, pay for dinner, and basically shower them with romance. He was the man all of the women who worked there wanted to find, even the ones who were already married.

So imagine our surprise when these two co-workers not only met, but fell in love with each other? Not a single person in the shop saw that pairing coming. And as you would think, their romantic beginnings did not run smoothly.

Physical attraction between your hero and heroine is important. It is the basis for their initial meeting and is what gets their hearts pumping for romance. But what keeps a relationship going, and makes the attraction turn into deep, meaningful love is what is going on inside your characters. How their personalities mesh with one another. That is the meat and potatoes of any romance.

The old saying "opposites attract" is a wonderful conflict mantra but be careful. Making your hero and heroine too different can make for a very bumpy romantic road for them to walk. You want them to have enough in common that they are willing to work out their differences. Too much alike and it will be a boring story. Complete opposites and it will make the changes they both have to go through unbelievable, not to mention difficult to write.

Giving your character's flaws, fears and personal convictions that are opposite enough to make them question how they could fall in love with someone like that. The easiest way to do this is find a common thread between them, then choose opposite ends of that thread to place them on. Use those traits to increase the conflict and the emotional tension in a romance story.

If your heroine is a crusader trying to save the rainforest, make your hero someone who works for a corporation that is destroying it. If your hero is a die-hard biker dude, make your heroine afraid of anything on two wheels.

You get the idea. Give them something they do not agree on, right from the start.

find, even the ones who were already married.

So imagine our surprise when these two co-workers not only met, but fell in love with each other? Not a single person in the shop saw that pairing coming. And as you would think, their romantic beginnings did not run smoothly.

Physical attraction between your hero and heroine is important. It is the basis for their initial meeting and is what gets their hearts pumping for romance. But what keeps a relationship going, and makes the attraction turn into deep, meaningful love is what is going on inside your characters. How their personalities mesh with one another. That is the meat and potatoes of any romance.

The old saying "opposites attract" is a wonderful conflict mantra but be careful. Making your hero and heroine too different can make for a very bumpy romantic road for them to walk. You want them to have enough in common that they are willing to work out their differences. Too much alike and it will be a boring story. Complete opposites and it will make the changes they both have to go through unbelievable, not to mention difficult to write.

Giving your character's flaws, fears and personal convictions that are opposite enough to make them question how they could fall in love with someone like that. The easiest way to do this is find a common thread between them, then choose opposite ends of that thread to place them on. Use those traits to increase the conflict and the emotional tension in a romance story.

If your heroine is a crusader trying to save the rainforest, make your hero someone who works for a corporation that is destroying it. If your hero is a die-hard biker dude, make your heroine afraid of anything on two wheels.

You get the idea. Give them something they do not agree on, right from the start.

a relationship going, and makes the attraction turn into deep, meaningful love is what is going on inside your characters. How their personalities mesh with one another. That is the meat and potatoes of any romance.

The old saying "opposites attract" is a wonderful conflict mantra but be careful. Making your hero and heroine too different can make for a very bumpy romantic road for them to walk. You want them to have enough in common that they are willing to work out their differences. Too much alike and it will be a boring story. Complete opposites and it will make the changes they both have to go through unbelievable, not to mention difficult to write.

Giving your character's flaws, fears and personal convictions that are opposite enough to make them question how they could fall in love with someone like that. The easiest way to do this is find a common thread between them, then choose opposite ends of that thread to place them on. Use those traits to increase the conflict and the emotional tension in a romance story.

If your heroine is a crusader trying to save the rainforest, make your hero someone who works for a corporation that is destroying it. If your hero is a die-hard biker dude, make your heroine afraid of anything on two wheels.

You get the idea. Give them something they do not agree on, right from the start.

re willing to work out their differences. Too much alike and it will be a boring story. Complete opposites and it will make the changes they both have to go through unbelievable, not to mention difficult to write.

Giving your character's flaws, fears and personal convictions that are opposite enough to make them question how they could fall in love with someone like that. The easiest way to do this is find a common thread between them, then choose opposite ends of that thread to place them on. Use those traits to increase the conflict and the emotional tension in a romance story.

If your heroine is a crusader trying to save the rainforest, make your hero someone who works for a corporation that is destroying it. If your hero is a die-hard biker dude, make your heroine afraid of anything on two wheels.

You get the idea. Give them something they do not agree on, right from the start.

e opposite ends of that thread to place them on. Use those traits to increase the conflict and the emotional tension in a romance story.

If your heroine is a crusader trying to save the rainforest, make your hero someone who works for a corporation that is destroying it. If your hero is a die-hard biker dude, make your heroine afraid of anything on two wheels.

You get the idea. Give them something they do not agree on, right from the start. By creating something they can disagree on, you are putting a wedge between them, romantically. Remember, this can be anything you wish; it does not have to be a major thing. It just has to be something they both care deeply about and are willing to disagree over.

As they get to know each other, and fall more in love, you need to show their personalities and convictions changing. You do this by putting them into situations that test their convictions, and push them to the limits. Make them sweat, and suffer, before they come to their realizations. That is what makes great conflict and what romance readers want.

But what of the couple I spoke about at the beginning of this article? What happened to them? Well, as I said, their relationship started off pretty rocky. For a while there, we all thought they would give up and start seeing other people. But in the end they surprised all of us. Last I heard, they were celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary, and had four kids. In time, he learned to like truck pulls and she decided that getting flowers was not the end of the world.

Just what every reader wants, a happy ending.