We have author Melanie Milburne this week talking about "Writing Characters" She also has a new book out this month, Rival's One-Night Rule.
Melanie Milburne is a bestselling author of contemporary romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon. Inspired by her first romance novel at seventeen, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a romance writer—a passion that began when she started creating stories at just five years old. With nearly 100 novels published and numerous industry awards and nominations, including a recent Romantic Book of the Year 2025 nomination for Illicit Italian Nights, Melanie continues to delight readers with emotionally rich love stories. She writes from her home in beautiful Hobart, Tasmania, where she lives with her husband and their two cheeky toy poodles. When she's not writing, Melanie loves spending time with her three grandchildren, who bring plenty of joy, laughter, and inspiration to her life.
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How do you create emotionally relatable characters?
I find it hard to read a romance ( or any fiction for that matter) if I can’t relate to the characters. It’s important to make them human with similar flaws to us all. We all have a backstory and out of that comes our beliefs about ourselves and others- I don’t deserve to be loved, I’m not ready to settle down, I don’t want to get close to anyone in case they leave. There are so many to choose from!
What’s your approach to building conflict and character tension?
The secret to building conflict and character tension is to make sure your characters’ beliefs about themselves ( see examples above) are put to the challenge by the hero or heroine. If a hero who believes he will never fall in love meets a heroine who is his heart’s desire then that is going to create tension.
How do you balance character flaws with reader sympathy?
Again it comes back to relatability. If your hero is arrogant then give him a good reason for it. Perhaps he was given everything he wanted as a child or he has a sense of entitlement from being a self- made man. Or perhaps your heroine is a man hater after being jilted or cheated on. The options are endless!
What techniques do you use to give each character a distinct voice?
Character voice is important because you don’t want every character sounding the same. The hero should speak as a man does. Watch movies to see how writers differentiate the voices between the characters. By the way, the male characters won’t all sound the same, nor will the female characters. Some will be confident, others reserved, some will be bitter and resentful due to something that happened in the past, some will be upbeat and cheerful and so on. The important thing to remember is that when you choose a voice for your hero and heroine, make sure you stick with it. Don’t change it halfway through the novel!
Latest novel from Melanie Milburne
Rivals' One-Night Rule (Wilde Billionaire Brothers Book 2)
Can they resist…
the laws of attraction?
Cynical divorce lawyer Jack never mixes business with pleasure. Until a case puts him head-to-head with his fiercest rival, Sylvie, the only woman who gets under his skin. He’s overcome by a primal need to wreck her icy facade and unleash the simmering heat between them…
Sylvie refuses to blur the lines of professionalism—especially not for arrogant playboy Jack. Yet, to her horror, he awakens a hunger she can’t deny, leading to a sinfully delicious, strictly one-night indulgence. As passion obliterates hatred between epic rivals, who will come out on top?
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