On Writing Romance

by Leigh Michaels

  False Perceptions and the Reality of Romance

  The detractors of romance novels — usually people who haven't read any — often say that the stories are simplistic and childish, and that they contain no big words and very little plot — just a lot of sex scenes separated by filler and fluff. A common view of romance is that there's really only one story; all the authors do is change the characters' names and hair color and crank out another book.

  Critics of romance also accuse the stories — and their authors by extension — of presenting a world in which women are helpless. Romance, they say, encourages young readers to fantasize about Prince Charming riding to their rescue, to think their only important goal is to find a man to take care of them. The books are accused of limiting women by idealizing romantic relationships, making women unable to relate to real men because they're holding out for a wonderful Harlequin hero.

  In fact, rather than trailing behind the times, romance novels have actually been on the cutting edge of society. Long before divorce was common, for instance, romance novels explored the circumstances in which it might be better to dissolve a marriage than to continue it. According to Mills & Boon historian jay Dixon, the books “have always argued, along with some feminists and often against prevailing ideology, for no-fault divorce.” Even early romances often featured working women and emphasized the importance of economic independence for women. While some heroines are indeed young, inexperienced, and in need of assistance, the usual romance heroine is perfectly competent. Finding her ideal man isn't a necessity; it's a bonus.

  Modern romance novels tell a young woman that she can be successful, useful, and valuable on her own; that there are men who will respect her and treat her well; and that such men are worth waiting for.

  Rather than presenting women as weak and helpless, romance novels show women as holding the ultimate power. The heroine tames the hero, civilizes him, and helps him to embrace his softer and more vulnerable side. As romance novelist Jayne Ann Krentz wrote in Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women, her study of romance novels, “the woman always wins. With courage, intelligence, and gentleness she brings the most dangerous creature on earth, the human male, to his knees.”

  When you look at romances on the bookstore shelves, it's easy to see why people who don't actually read them might think that all romance novels are alike. Each book published in a specific category, such as Harlequin Presents or Silhouette Intimate Moments, will have a similar cover design, and all the books in a particular category will have exactly the same number of pages. So how, the skeptic asks, can the stories possibly be different?

  A soup manufacturer uses the same colors and design on every label to catch the consumer's eye and assure her that she's getting brand-name quality, whether she's buying bean soup or corn chowder or cream of tomato. In the same way, the specific theme of a romance cover design tells the reader that this story will be the same type of story she enjoyed last month.

  All the books in a particular category have the same number of pages to allow for economy in printing, packing, and shipping. Because the publisher doesn't have to adjust the press for each new title, or buy different-sized boxes to ship different books, it can keep costs in check and pass the savings on to the consumer through lower retail prices. But books with the same number of pages don't necessarily have the same number of words; margins, type size, and line spacing can be adjusted to meet the required number of pages.

  So Is There Really a Formula?

  Many people believe not only that romance novels are all alike, but that they're simplistic and formulaic. Romance novels are usually small — they're shorter than many other kinds of novels. They're also light — they focus on an entertaining story with an upbeat ending, rather than on such things as the evils of modern society. (Though they don't ignore reality, they don't dwell on violence.) They're also easy to read — the story is told in a way that is effortless for the reader to comprehend.

  Because the books are small, light, and easy to read, some critics and even some readers think they are easy to write. Nearly every romance reader says, at one time or another, “I could write one of these.” Almost every romance author has been asked to provide the simple magic formula for writing a successful book.

  It's true that all romance novels have certain elements in common. All mysteries have certain elements in common, too — a crime, a perpetrator, an investigator, and an ending in which the crime is logically and clearly solved. But mysteries aren't all alike, and neither are romances.

  What romance novels have in common is this: A romance novel is the story of a man and a woman who, while they're solving a problem that threatens to keep them apart, discover that the love they feel for each other is the sort that comes along only once in a lifetime; this discovery leads to a permanent commitment and a happy ending.

  That's it. That's the formula.

  And even then, there are exceptions. For instance, there are gay romances, and there are romances that don't include a permanent commitment as part of the ending.

  Today's romance novel allows an author wider latitude than ever before. Romance readers — and writers — have their favorite types of books. Just as a reader of mystery expects she will not be getting an Agatha Christie drawing room mystery when she picks up a new Janet Evanovich or Sue Grafton novel, the romance reader knows Nora Roberts, Julia Quinn, and Jennifer Crusie aren't going to produce the same kind of stories.

  Let's take a good look at the most popular types of romances and their guidelines.

  KINDS OF ROMANCE NOVELS

  Entire volumes — how-to books as well as reference books — could be written about the many categories of romance novels. The list that follows is intended not to take the place of in-depth study, but to introduce you to the wide variety of romances available in the industry today and to share some of the basics about the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges involved in writing specific romance categories.

  As the romance industry grows and matures, various types of romances wax and wane in popularity. Some memorable, though now defunct, categories include Silhouette's Shadows, which featured paranormal plots verging on soft-core horror; Harlequin's Lucky in Love, which required a main character to suddenly strike it rich; Berkley's Second Chance at Love, which starred older, widowed, or divorced heroes or heroines; and Bantam's Loveswept, which was an early step toward more erotic romance.

  The most common romance categories are listed below, along with their defining characteristics. (Because guidelines vary between publishers, the word counts listed here are wide ranges.) For a list of publishers and the specific subgenres they are interested in buying, see Appendix E. An up-to-date list of publishers is also available at www.leighmichaels.com.

  Anthology: Made up of three or more novellas with a common thread or theme, each by a different author. Some anthologies are based on holidays (Christmas, New Year's Eve, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day), while others are based on a theme (stories about the same dress or necklace or quilt as it is passed down through a family; stories about the bridesmaids at a big wedding; stories about witches). The majority of anthologies are historicals, the Regency period being the single most common setting.

  Most anthologies are commissioned by publishers who ask established authors to write the novellas, although some anthologies are proposed by one or more of the authors. Anthologies are not usually open to beginning authors.

  Word count: 25,000 to 35,000 for each novella

  See also Historical, Regency

  BODICE-RIPPER

  A derogatory term for all romances. Inspired by some early historical romances that featured rape fantasies or included rape as a part of the plot, the term is occasionally still used — usually by people who don't read the books.

  Chick-Lit: Builds on the success of television shows, movies, and general fiction about twenty-something women who are often more interested in building a career than in finding Mr. Right. In fact, many of these y
oung women aren't even pretending to look for Mr. Right, but they're quite interested in Mr. Right Now — someone to date, maybe to live with, and perhaps to marry … someday.

  The heroine is younger — usually in her mid-twenties — and less well established than more traditional romance heroines. She's more likely to live with roommates and work at a dull or entry-level job. Chick-lit stories break some of the other common rules of romance as well. The heroines might smoke, bingedrink, sleep with more than one guy, swear like a sailor — all things that aren't commonly associated with romance heroines.

  The ending may involve an understanding between heroine and hero, or the story may end with the heroine uninvolved in a relationship but more mature. The storytelling style is different as well. Many chick-lit books are written in first person, some are in present tense, and most are up-front, breezy, and less introspective than the average romance.

  Word count: 90,000 to 100,000

  See also City Girl, Hen-Lit, Mom-Lit

  Christian: A common but mistaken term referring to inspirational romance. There is no Christian romance category as such, even though most inspirationals are based on Christian philosophy and belief.

  See Inspirational

  City Girl: A variation of chick-lit, featuring a heroine who is a little closer to the heroines of traditional romance. The city girl is not likely to smoke, drink heavily, or sleep with more than one man during the story. Like the chick-lit heroine, she may not be looking for a lifetime love, but she's more apt to find her perfect mate than the chick-lit heroine is. City girl romances are sometimes published as miniseries within an established romance category.

  Word count: varies, but usually shorter than chick-lit

  See also Chick-Lit, Hen-Lit, Mom-Lit

  Continuity: A group of books in which each volume stands alone but also advances a larger, more complex story. The books are written by different authors, each free to develop her own set of characters so long as she follows a “bible” that establishes the larger story. Each author must cooperate with the group to avoid contradictions or inconsistencies. An example is a murder mystery set in a small town; each book follows a different pair of characters and their romance while dropping clues about the crime, which is solved in the last book of the series. A typical continuity includes five to twelve related books, usually published over as much as a year.

  Continuities are most often originated by the publisher. An editor writes the “bible” and commissions authors to take on each piece of the story. An author who has sold two or three books to the publisher might be asked to take part in order to boost her career.

  Word count: varies by project, but each book in the series will be a similar length

  Erotic Romance: A story at the more erotic end of the romance spectrum, with detailed, explicit, and frequent sexual encounters between the main characters, but not usually involving anyone else. If a hero has a sexual encounter with another woman, it's typically brief, early in the story, and not emotionally meaningful; heroines are unlikely to share a sexual encounter with anyone but the hero. Also called romantica, this is a very sexy romance focused on the developing relationship between hero and heroine.

  Word count: 25,000 to 35,000 for novella; 50,000 to 75,000 for novel

  See also Erotica

  Erotica: Stories emphasizing the details of sexual encounters between the main characters or between a main character and others. Though erotica is sometimes romantic in nature, erotica and romance are not equivalent. Romance emphasizes the growing emotional connection of one couple, while erotica emphasizes sex rather than love and may include characters outside the main relationship. Most publishers who say they're looking for erotica mean the romantic end of the spectrum, with lots of explicit sex between the two main characters.

  Word count: 25,000 and up

  See also Erotic Romance

  Ethnic: Involves heroes and heroines of color. Africa American, Native American, and Latino/Latina are most common.

  Publishers emphasize the need for authenticity — if the author is not of the same ethnic background as the character, she must be sufficiently informed to make the reader believe that the character is a person of color. Some publishers seeking African-American romance will consider a hero of a different race, but the heroine is always African-American (or a biracial woman who considers herself African-American).

  Some ethnic romances play on ethnicity or a conflict of cultures as part of the plot, but in most, the issues and conflicts between the characters are those common in other romances. Most publishers prefer that ethnicity be a background issue rather than a major conflict point.

  Both Latina and African-American romances are a growing market, including cross-genres such as ethnic/inspirational, ethnic/romantic suspense, and ethnic/paranormal.

  Word count: varies from 50,000 to 100,000 or more

  Futuristic: A science fiction offshoot of paranormal, involving romances taking place partially or entirely in the future, often including time travel.

  Word count: 75,000 to 100,000

  See also Paranormal, Time Travel

  Gay: Romance between same-sex partners. Other than the sex of the partners, there are relatively few differences between gay romance novels and straight romance novels. While they may have a few extra issues, partners in gay romances experience the same sorts of problems as heterosexual partners do, and they must make many of the same sorts of adjustments. A gay romance puts no more emphasis on the details of sexual encounters than a straight romance in an equivalent line would. If a romance involving gay characters emphasizes sex rather than love, or features multiple partners, it falls closer to erotica than romance.

  Word count: varies, depending on type of story

  Gothic. See Woman in Jeopardy

  Hen-Lit: An outgrowth of chick-lit, featuring older heroines who are more established and perhaps married, but with the same sassy attitude and approach to everyday problems as the chick-lit heroine — possibly including self-destructive behavior. Hen-lit often involves a heroine who is unhappy in her marriage and is seeking to either improve or end it. Often the story involves a man other than the husband, who might be hero or antihero. The hen-lit heroine usually doesn't have kids.

  Word count: 90,000 to 100,000

  See also Chick-Lit, City Girl, Mom-Lit

  Historical: Romances that take place in the past. Most publishers of historicals have preferred books set in Europe or North America between 1066 (when William the Conqueror invaded England) and 1900, but they are now beginning to extend the timeline back to include settings such as ancient Greece and Rome, and forward to include World War I and the Roaring Twenties. A few invite World War II — era stories, but time periods closer to the present (the Vietnam War era, for instance) have proved less popular with readers. It seems that the closer the setting is to the present time and experience, the harder it is for readers to think of the period as romantic.

  Historicals tend to be among the longest of romance novels, allowing for deeper and more sprawling stories. They can even include social commentary, so long as it serves as background to the love story and doesn't read like a textbook. Although it's important for a historical romance to be realistic, some elasticity is required for the comfort of the modern reader. Heroines tend to be more independent and heroes more enlightened than people of their time period actually were. While women in the Middle Ages were frequently married by age thirteen, in historical romances, heroines are generally older than that, or the question of age is glossed over. Any torture, grisly warfare, or violence is apt to happen off stage, with few gory details shared with the reader.

  Word count: 25,000 to 35,000 for novellas; 80,000 to 120,000 for novels

  See also Anthology, Regency

  Inspirational: Romances revolving around the character's spiritual journey as she discovers or finds her way back to a relationship with a higher power. Inspirational romances are sometimes mistakenly called Christian romances bec
ause the religion involved is most often a nondenominational, nonspecific Christianity (usually Protestant in orientation).

  Inspirational romance does not have to include religious figures. While the hero or heroine might be a pastor or a Sunday school teacher, he or she is just as likely to be a layperson. Typically, one main character is a believer and the other is not, or is struggling to find or regain faith.

  A hallmark of unsuccessful inspirationals is a reliance on direct intervention of the supernatural — such as angels or God himself — to solve the character's problems. Inspirationals are much more convincing when the character solves her problems by finding strength, courage, and resources within herself and her own faith.

  Word count: varies from 50,000 to 100,000

  Licensed Theme: Romances that follow a specific theme in a licensing arrangement between a publisher and a commercial venture, such as NASCAR.

  Agreements are usually for a limited period of time and cover a limited number of books, most of which are written by well-established authors selected by the publisher. Each book in the series typically stands alone but follows the agreed-upon theme; books produced under Harlequin's licensing agreement with NASCAR feature racing, drivers, cars, and fans. Such arrangements allow authors to use trademarked and protected terms such as the names of sports franchises and corporations but require extreme care with detail so the licensing entity is accurately portrayed and shown in a positive light.

  Word count: varies by project

  Long Contemporary: A category romance set in current times, frequently featuring sensuality as a strong element. Long contemporary has a higher word count, allowing for more subplots, more intense conflict, strong mystery and suspense elements, and a larger cast of characters. Long contemporaries often allow more latitude in the types of main characters and in the scope of their problems — for instance, they can accommodate a hero with a mental illness — because there is more time to create reader empathy for the character.