Sunday, December 9, 2012

The Romance Story









Have a great couple of weeks everyone!


  1. I don't read a *ton* of the romance genre, but it's harder for me to love a book without a pretty significant romantic plotline, and I've realized recently that even though I don't aspire to write genre romance, the stories in my head are always fundamentally romances at heart.

    I might differ from romance readers in that I sometimes get irritated with the HEA (happily ever after). I like to see characters make tough choices, lose in love sometimes, come to each other a little bit broken instead of magically making each other whole. I like when love grows slowly through shared trials, rather than being tested by them, if that makes sense.

    But I'm always a sucker for a romantic plotline, whether it's spicy or sweet :)

    1. I think that's is how I got started reading romance. I can't take more than one every few months--they get boring really quick, but I found that I prefer stories that center strongly on romantic plots/subplots, whether it's YA, Fantasy, etc. Sometimes you do need loss and heartache, but I've learned a lot from the happily ever after, too. :)

    2. I'm with you guys. I like a strong romantic plot/subplot in my fantasy, UF, or YA genres. But a lot of times, I've been disappointed in the romance. But when a writer nails it, it is awesome.

      I've read a few genre romances, not very many, so maybe I need to branch out a little more, and read a few more. I'm sure it could help my writing, but like you, Trisha, only in moderation. :)

      I don't think I'd ever write genre romance. It is too restricting. Like Sarah, I don't always want a HEA, and I like reading books where I'm not guaranteed one.

  2. I'm right there with Sarah--most of my favorite books have a major romance. Unlike Sarah, however, I like everything to end up happy, if possible, and if it's not possible, I want to know quite early on (I'm thinking of The Fault In Our Stars, and how much I loved it, ending notwithstanding).

    I don't think I've read a plain old romance in the past decade at least. Obviously I'm in the minority. The major two reasons are that I like my romances PG (though perhaps I might dip a toe into PG-13 on occasion) and that I have stereotyped romances as having clunky exposition and stilted dialogue. Obviously, I don't actually KNOW, because I'm not reading them. Given how much I love a good romance, that's too bad. I'm excited to try out Carla Kelly--I've never heard of her before.

    1. Stick with the 3 I mentioned. Some of her older work can get a tad bit racy, but it's still mild compared to mainstream romance. I'm pretty forgiving when it comes to a line of silly dialogue with her. She does a fantastic job in general that I can't help but love her writing.

    2. I didn't mean to say that I don't like happy endings, just that I find the romance novel version of a happily ever after ending to be a little too pat sometimes. In other genres, the romantic subplot has a little more freedom to deviate from the formula or defy it altogether, and the male character doesn't have to be as idealized. But I do read and enjoy romance novels, just not too many in a row. :)

    3. I know what you mean, Sarah. The romance genre has the most rigid set of rules of any genre I've encountered. Unfortunately, most stories are constrained by the rules rather than enhanced by them. It seems sometimes that some authors notice they've hit the end of their 75,000 words or such and just slap on a happy ending at random (the more babies in the epilogue, the better!)

    4. "I hate you Reginold," (74990 words) They kiss ,have lots of babies ,and
      live happy ever after. Let's get this sucker on the kindle.

      I don't read as many romances as I used to, mainly because if you read one story about a Scottish lass and her love, amazon assumes you must like every half dressed man in a kilt, and those picture in the suggestion queue can get super racey.

  3. I actually like romance novels quite a bit, but only because I've managed to find a select few authors whose dialogue and prose and plotting absolutely sparkle. I think one of the major strengths in well-written romance is the character interaction. A good romance (that doesn't rely on some stereotypical villain to cause tension) is all about how two characters interact.

    In general, I like dark endings and twisty plots. But sometimes, if I'm feeling low, it's nice to pick up a book with a guaranteed happy ending.

    I can recommend some authors if anyone's interested, but most are decidedly past a PG-13.

    1. Ack, hit send too soon. I meant to say that some of my favorite romance authors are Julie Anne Long, Courtney Milan, and Meredith Duran.

