Megan Davidson’s Writing Journal

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, what better literary topic to discuss than romance novels?  They’re often light, breezy and fun…but sometimes dark, brooding, and thought-provoking.  They almost always stir the deepest emotions and leave the reader hoping that love really does conquer all…which is exactly what happens in much romance literature. 

As in all genres of fiction, there are well-written romance novels and…others, some of which are downright embarrassing.  In this post, I’m referring only to the good ones, the ones that elicit strong emotions in the reader and use powerful, detailed wrting to make intelligent love stories come alive.  There are all sorts of romances, including erotic, gay/Lesbian, and paranormal romances, but the time-honored favorites are contemporary romances and historical romances.  The former are set “today” and feature thoughtful, determined women, usually involved in business, the arts, or the hospitality industry.  Historical romances are set in days of yore, from the earliest days of human civilization up to and including WWII.  (Some sticklers for the historical romance format will argue for settings prior to the Great War.)  Good historical romances require a great deal of research to ensure that historical details of clothing, transportation, mores and so forth are correct, since romance readers tend to be a critical lot.

Traditionally, romance novels share two elements:  No, not steamy sex scenes.  (More on those later.)  First, the hero and heroine of a romance must be free to love.  If they’re married to someone else, you can bet your laptop that the nonheroic spouse will be killed by the end of the book, or will turn out not to have married the heroine properly in the first place.  Generally, though, the heroine has never been married, and the hero is either a widower, or has misspent his youth by loving and leaving “the wrong sort of woman.”  In many cases, at least for the first five chapters or so, the two protagonists do not even like each other, although they may be mysteriously attracted to each other.  Second, romance novels of all sorts tend to have a “happy ending.”  This does not necessarily mean that the two lovers get married and live happily ever after; they may actually part ways for a number of reasons, glad to have known each other when they did.  It does mean, however, that both usually are living at the end of the novel, and often get married to each other or are otherwise an item.  The conflict, whatever it may have been (a war, a feud, a missing child, a business disaster) will be resolved, typically in a way that brooks no opposition (unless there is to be a sequel!).

As to those sex scenes….  From the author’s standpoint, the sort of novel you’re writing dictates the sort of sex scene you’ll write.  Erotic romance novels feature very graphic sex scenes, and lots of them, not necessarily just between the hero and heroine.  An inspirational romance (usually of a religious nature) will often have no sex scenes, or will “close the bedroom door” at the opportune moment to allow the reader to imagine what happens next.  In between those two extremes lie all sorts of variations and intensities of description involving lovemaking.  At least one love scene is usually necessary in most romances, since the physical act of sex is one of the many aspects of the love between the protagonists.  (By the way, don’t refer to romance novels as “bodice rippers,” as this implies rape or at least a very forceful seduction.  The huge majority of romance novels are about deep and respectful love, not abusive or meaningless sex.)   

So, ready for a little romance…or a lot?  This Valentine’s Day, why not curl up in the evening with a cup of cocoa and a favorite romance novel to ward off the winter’s chill? Most romance fiction may be escapist fare, but the best books in the genre are wonderful, magical stories of devotion, courage, and determination that never grow old, no matter how often you read them.  For proof, I give you six words: Gone with the Wind and Jane Eyre.  ‘Nuff said.