Defending romance novels

Over at the Harlequin Intrigue writers' blog, Dana poses an interesting comment (it's short so I'll quote all of it):

I was interviewed today and one of the questions was, What do I tell to people who don't think romance is serious fiction?

Mostly, I only talk to my readers who think romance IS serious fiction :-) Does a book have to be "serious" to be enjoyable? What does "serious fiction" even mean?

Do you read other fiction outside of romance? I read pretty widely. Some books make me cry, some books make me laugh. I have to say, I prefer a happy ending. I hate when the hero or heroine dies at the end of a book. HATE it.

Here is what I posted on the site (with a little extra mustard):

As a beginning romance writer, I still find myself pre-defending the writing of a romance novel. That is, I tell people that I'm writing a romantic suspense novel...and-immediately-start-trying-to-defend-it. I don't know why I do that, but I do.

Fiction is fiction. Entertainment is entertainment. Pure and simple. "Serious" fiction is a label given by people who think if a story is imponderable and boring, it must be serious. I've read simple books and seen mainstream movies that have changed my outlook on life. That's serious to me.

Don't worry about it, Dana. Keep at it. And I'll join you as soon as possible.

I'll add one more thing: there is a part of me that actually enjoys...no, not a good word...appreciates a sad ending. Romeo and Juliet would not be the same given a happy ending. Oh, and the new ending for the movie "The Mist" I absolutely hate. But it absolutely fits the movie.

I'm a Collegian! (Readability Level)

Woo-hee! I didn't know I had it in me.

Movie Reviews

Why Do I Resist?

I have to admit something: I do like Star Trek: The Next Generation. The best villains on that show were the Borg with their catch phrase: "Resistance is futile." That's a little how I feel this week as I ponder my future as a writer.

What am I trying to resist? Writing a romance, of course. I logged into Harlequin's website and perused all the writer's guidelines listed there. Not too challenging, I think. Granted, I've never written a romance before so, perhaps, writing a 50,000-word romance is like rocket science.

Over and over, at the various guideline pages for all different types of romance sub-genres (suspense, American, spice!), the editors reiterate that the romance should be front and center. The editors of the romantic suspense series even state that the plot should be simple. Romance, romance, romance. You can have lead heroes and heroines but they are the focus. The secondary characters should be just that: secondary.

This kind of threw me a bit. I love romances on TV and the movies but I have not really read many romances. Now, I've given myself two challenges.

1. Read romance books. Plain and simple. I've already gone to the library and checked out a few, all suspense. I noted one genre missing from the books the library had: SF. There was paranormal, vampires, fantasy, and contemporary. No SF. I love SF. I wonder why there are no SF romances?

2. Re-watch some of my favorite romantic movies and learn how they present the story. This one will be fun. Some of my favorite love movies are Down With Love, When Harry Met Sally..., and The Bridges of Madison County. A recent favorite is Definately, Maybe.

Be back next week...
LL