Romance novels are about . . . well, romance. But love can take many forms, and many of them span a wide rang from agony to ecstasy. While many writers depart from stories that involve romance between two young adults, there are countless elements available to them that make the story come alive to the reader. The most important element, in my humble opinion, is the characters. It is not easy to create the kind of characters that can power a runaway bestseller in this kind of fiction. It is doubly hard to create a supporting character that is young, adorable, and irresistible. As Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said when a landmark case involving indecency came before the court: “I can’t define pornography, but when I see it I recognize it.” As a writer I find it difficult to define adorable and irresistible, but I know it when I see it. Click on the title of this article and see if the characters in the video give you a few ideas for your next novel.
5 comments:
no ideas, but too, too cute!!! What a little dolly she is!
Hi, Joe,
As a romance writer and reader, I appreciate your blog post. There are indeed many kinds of romance and that's what makes fiction as well as life so interesting. I enjoy reading and writing for young adults as well as adults-- from the so-called clean read to romance for mature readers.
I like reading and writing every form of romantic fiction.
Jacqueline Seewald
STACY'S SONG-YA romance
TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS--adult historical romance
Thanks for your comments, Jacqueline and Pauline. While I do not write within the genre of romance fiction, I never write anything that does not have a romantic theme somewhere in the plot. After all, what is life without love!
Oh, yes. A man who can sing and loves his daughter--the perfect romantic hero for me! You have a good eye, Joe!
I think all books have some kind of romance included and the difficulty is in making it feel real. Too many romance writers write "formula" which takes the element of surprise out of the story.
Good post. We do indeed "know it when we see it." And, miss it when it's contrived and predictable.
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