Writing Paranormal Romance - Creating Your World

For February, we will be looking at writing Paranormal Romance. First up - World Building.
Most fantasy books include world building and that is no different for Paranormal Romance. Your characters are going to have to follow or break the rules as their love blossoms, so the reader needs to know what they are. What types of supernatural creatures exist in your world? Are they allowed to interact? Is there a forbidden love aspect? What are the repercussions of that?
These questions need to be answered which is why your world building should come first. As you decide the rules of your world, it can help to resolve any plot holes or point out further issues your characters may face. 
Let's use an example - a vampire and a werewolf fall in love.
In most books, they are enemies. To have two fall in love would cause a lot of issues. Their people will not be happy about it. It could lead to fighting or even a war. There are the personal aspects to consider too - can the vampire control themselves? What if they attack the werewolf? What if the werewolf can't control the shift and attacks the vampire? 
There are of course other issues to consider to such as a vampire is immortal while a werewolf is not. These are all types of conflict they will face. 
World building can seem daunting, especially if you are a pantser and not a plotter, but I would encourage you to at lease jot down some ideas to keep you right. It will save trouble later on. Look at the following - 

• Time period - this will impact the story
• Real world or fantasy world = you can make up the rules in a fantasy world, but it is more work. If set in the real world, you need to be aware of certain things such as what is happening at certain points in history
• What supernaturals exist and how many there are (roughly)
  
• If they hate each other - why? What caused it and how does this impact your characters?
  
• You may decide to only include one type of supernatural, but they could be rival clans for example. You need to create a believable situation where the two will interact 
  
• You need to at least discuss larger issues like immortality as it will impact them eventually. They may want to live in the moment, but if they get their happily ever after, they need to consider what will happen to them

By answering these questions you will be on the way to shaping your story. If you are a pantser, you will still be able to start writing, but you will have the guide to come back to if you get stuck. 
The most important aspect is to remember that it is a romance that happens to be between supernatural beings. The romance is the focus and you do not want to make it easy for your characters to be together!

Next week, we will look at creating your characters - Happy Writing!