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.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
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
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
Friday, March 28, 2008
Ideas Abound
One of the daunting things when starting to write a novel is all the potential ideas. They are not quite infinite but it sure seems that way!
Characters are a given. You're certainly going to have a man and a woman. I mean, it IS a romantic suspense novel, right! ;-) A big question, perhaps the fundamental question, is setting. Sure, you are going to have your characters do things, overcome obstacles, and find love (hopefully) at the end. But the setting goes a long way to determining what the characters do and what kinds of obstacles they will have to overcome. If the story is set in space, then you have all the SFanl elements with which to contend. If it is an Elizabethan drama, a whole different set of mores comes into play.
And that is what I'm grappling with today. If I set my story in the present day, I have one huge advantage: I live in the present day. I don't need to research. I can make my characters talk the way I talk, do things I do, and so on. But is that interesting? I don't know. I love history so there's a certain part of me that wants to do a historical romance. But I don't want to do another English countryside bodice ripper. If I do historical, I'll almost certainly set the story in America. The 1790s holds a certain amount of fascination for me. The late 1890s leading into the twentieth century is another period of interest.
But one thing is all but certain: my novel will contain an element of mystery. I love mysteries and find them quite interesting to read.
Stay tuned...
Characters are a given. You're certainly going to have a man and a woman. I mean, it IS a romantic suspense novel, right! ;-) A big question, perhaps the fundamental question, is setting. Sure, you are going to have your characters do things, overcome obstacles, and find love (hopefully) at the end. But the setting goes a long way to determining what the characters do and what kinds of obstacles they will have to overcome. If the story is set in space, then you have all the SFanl elements with which to contend. If it is an Elizabethan drama, a whole different set of mores comes into play.
And that is what I'm grappling with today. If I set my story in the present day, I have one huge advantage: I live in the present day. I don't need to research. I can make my characters talk the way I talk, do things I do, and so on. But is that interesting? I don't know. I love history so there's a certain part of me that wants to do a historical romance. But I don't want to do another English countryside bodice ripper. If I do historical, I'll almost certainly set the story in America. The 1790s holds a certain amount of fascination for me. The late 1890s leading into the twentieth century is another period of interest.
But one thing is all but certain: my novel will contain an element of mystery. I love mysteries and find them quite interesting to read.
Stay tuned...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
My First Blog!
Wow! I can't believe it. I'm actually a blogger. And I'm on cyberspace. Does anybody still use that term? I don't know. I still do. But then I'm behind on the blogging thing, too.
I want this blog to be a record of my efforts to write my first romantic suspense novel. I am an avid reader, enjoying mysteries, SF, mainstream, culinary writing, history, and almost anything else. I recently read J. D. Robb's first novel, Naked in Death, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have always wondered if I could write a book like that and now I'm going to try. We'll see how it goes.
Ciao!
LL
I want this blog to be a record of my efforts to write my first romantic suspense novel. I am an avid reader, enjoying mysteries, SF, mainstream, culinary writing, history, and almost anything else. I recently read J. D. Robb's first novel, Naked in Death, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I have always wondered if I could write a book like that and now I'm going to try. We'll see how it goes.
Ciao!
LL
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