WRITING | ROMANCE | 30 DAYS

How to plot and write a short romance in 30 days

Can I write a short romance in less than one month?

[Update 5 May 2023: The book is written and published on Amazon. Because of the exclusivity requirements of KindleUnlimited, I’ve removed all drafts of the story. Want to read it? Find me on Amazon]

Am I a little bit crazy or overly optimistic? To be honest, probably both.

Let me recap. I wrote HEAT as a small-town, firefighter romance in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 Australian bushfires. Having almost lost my home to bushfire, I drew on the emotions and gratitude to the first responders and volunteers who literally put their lives on the line to save my family.

When reformatting the book so I could add it to a June 2022 promotion, I changed a few words. Then I changed a few more. Before I realized it, I had completely rewritten HEAT and fallen in love with the characters and fictional town of Meringa all over again.

I’d also written a short romance, IGNITE as part of a fundraising anthology back in 2020. I pulled out the manuscript and decided to develop it into a full-length novel. This time, an enemies-to-lovers romance set just before HEAT.