Sealed with a kiss

Are you overwhelmed by emotions, crazy about the opposite sex, plagued with needs, hormonally driven, in love desperately? Well maybe you’re a teenager, young or new adult.

For the rest of us: do you collect social security, babysit grandchildren or are now raising children? Have you forgotten or are your feelings diminished?

We forget and for many of us we do not either feel love or our love has matured. Less hormones equals less passion, right? Also, the culture has changed from when we were dating. So, avoid summary thought while writing our characters if it is just because we can't generate the entire thought process.

Do you need to be under thirty to write a good romance? Or will research carry you through? Recalling (partially) how you felt is not enough. Listening to kids speak isn’t enough either. I recommend allowing their song and culture to overwhelm your heart. Dedicate a little time each week to immersing yourself in the culture of the age group you are writing about. Being flexible is being real and therefore believable. Dig deep.

When you listen to an old favorite song of yours, do you think your granddaughter would appreciate it as much as the latest from Taylor Swift (who, IMO, is great)? Does that old song speak to your babies? Do you get the Big Bang Theory or the like on TV? Invest a little time. I promise you’ll stay younger (more with it) and produce a better romance. Hey, maybe, if you are single, you’ll fall head over heals.

Try Brian Hyland's 1962 hit, Sealed With a Kiss on your babies. Will they get it? Do people still mope if separated when there is all this social media? Skype? I think a kiss carries the same impact, even if it is only to seal a letter. Obviously,  it's emails etc. not letters. So do kids sign off with SWAK?

Kissing for any purpose needs practice.