There is no scientific formula to determine chemistry between two non-fictional humans, but an author controls how to write character chemistry in her novels… right?

TWA editor Harrison Demchick was thrilled to discuss “Missed Connections: How Characterization Creates Chemistry” in a guest blog post for Romance University. In this fascinating post, Harrison explains how to write character chemistry, including what “chemistry” means for fictional characters, where it comes from, and how to fix it when it just isn’t working.

Harrison asks his readers a few simple but essential questions about their characters that can make and break the character chemistry—each character must have his own intentions, desires, and needs that the relationship might fill. The words on the page may claim a romantic attraction between two characters, but if the characterization isn’t there, the chemistry will not follow.

You can find Harrison’s post on RomanceUniversity.org, where you can join the conversation in the comments. Thank you to everyone at Romance University for inviting Harrison to be a guest on your blog!

Harrison Demchick came up in the world of small press publishing, working along the way on more than two dozen published novels and memoirs, several of which have been optioned for film. He is an award-winning, twice-optioned screenwriter, and the author of literary horror novel The Listeners. He’s part of The Writer’s Ally team as a developmental editor of fiction and memoir, for which he’s currently accepting new clients.