Pinch Point, Pinch Point

So I've been working on a new romance. It's actually the second in a series, and I feel like I know the setting and I've been working on the characters. One of my biggest problems, though, in writing writing romance is maintaining the conflict between my hero and my heroine. I think I tend to let them get together too fast.

I've been reading some articles (Harlequin did an amazing Boot Camp this past week, with a fabulous article by Harlequin Superromance author Vicki Essex on how to write memorable characters), and I bought a book (The Complete Guide to Writing Heroes & Heroines, above), and I've really been trying to map out the highs and lows in my books before I start writing them.

I also attended a conference over the weekend, where a speaker spoke about pinch points. I'm familiar with them, because hey! They're in the romance planning sheets I found on Jami Gold's website. (You should totally be using these! I love them!)

The presenter said that the pinch points pull the character back to their starting place and the turning points push the character toward their new state.

• Pinch points -- pull the character back
• Turning points -- push the character forward

I loved that. It made so much sense inside my head. It's helped me map out the ebb and flow of my hero's and heroine's relationships.

Do you outline using pinch points? What advice do you have for outlining a romance?