Hope for Happily Ever After

I’m on the home stretch of writing Fiancé Finale, the third book in my Love Unscripted series. This is the fun part because I get to wrap things up happily-ever-after. It’s getting to the happily-ever-after that’s hard. You probably already know this from experience, but I’ll sum it up from a writer’s perspective.

1. Growth is painful. I give my hero and heroine a misbelief that keeps them from fulfilling their dreams. They don’t believe the lie because they’re stupid; they believe the lie because at one point that lie was true. In fact, it helped them cope with their reality. For example, if the heroine’s father abandoned her, she might expect all men to abandon their families. We’ve each believed lies like this at some point, so I can relate to my characters’ struggles. And it hurts.
2. We must seek God for direction. I like to make my characters err on opposite sides. Say the hero lacks boundaries, then I have the heroine build walls. They’re both wrong, and they need each other to find balance on the tightrope of truth. The question then becomes: Where is that fine line? The answer is: Only God knows. Because of that, I have to personally seek Him for direction for my writing my story while also pointing readers to Him for direction in their own lives.
3. There are no easy answers. My characters find such trouble that not even I know how to get them out of it at first. Thus, I’m forced to grapple with personal beliefs. Once I discover what I’m trying to say, my message only has weight if it looks like the opposing side is going to win. If it can overcome the strongest argument against it. Then I’m not telling the reader what to think, but rather giving them something to think upon.

After all that, you might never guess I write romantic comedy. I try to tell deep stories with a light hand and light heart. Humor helps us deal with tough stuff, and my goal is to encourage you through whatever you’re dealing with right now. If you get nothing else from the stories I write, may they give you hope in making it to your own happily-ever-after.

What is a novel that has offered you hope for your life story?

Angela Ruth Strong (54 Posts)

Angela Ruth Strong survived breast cancer, works as a flight attendant, and uses her own crazy life experiences as inspiration for the stories she writes. Her books have earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been nominated for a Christy, won the Cascade Award, and become Amazon bestsellers. She and her husband also got to play extras when her novel Finding Love in Big Sky was adapted for film. To help aspiring authors, Angela started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho.