On Writing Romance

by Leigh Michaels

  Each long contemporary category has a very specific identity and unique requirements. Different publishers' books vary widely in sensual content, amount of subplot, preferred viewpoints, and overall type of story.

  The main factors distinguishing long contemporary category books from single-title books are length (long contemporaries are usually shorter than single-title romances) and packaging (long contemporaries are marketed as part of a group with similar cover designs rather than as stand-alone titles).

  Word count: 70,000 to 85,000

  See also Single Title

  Mainstream: Stand-alone novels (not published as part of a defined category) in which a romantic element is present but not paramount. This story is primarily the heroine's, and even if the romantic elements were removed, the story would still be complete.

  Word count: 100,000 or more

  See also Single Title, Women's Fiction

  Medical Romance: Emphasizes medicine as a significant part of the conflict or as a way to bring hero and heroine closer together. At least one of the main characters should be a medical professional. Medical romance is a story about medicine as well as love; it isn't simply a romance that happens in a clinic or hospital, or in which one main character gets a disease.

  The most successful medical romances don't focus on just one case; they include several patients' stories as a background to the romance. It's particularly important in medicals to tie up loose ends. If a patient has been important within the story, the readers will want to know how she's doing at the end. While it's not realistic for every case to have a Pollyanna-style happy ending, many can be left on a positive note and still be believable.

  Medicine changes so quickly that it's risky to go into too much detail about particular procedures, treatments, or even diseases, yet editors want to see enough specifics to evoke the feel of a real hospital, clinic, or emergency room. A wise author combines medical knowledge and background with timeless elements common to other types of romances.

  Medical romance has been a steady seller for more than fifty years, though it's more popular overseas than in the United States. It used to be known as doctor-nurse romance, with — of course — a male doctor and a female nurse in the starring roles.

  Word count: 50,000 to 55,000

  Miniseries: Books within a romance category that carry on a theme, usually published one per month for a predetermined period of time. Examples include stories set in a particular geographic area, like the Australian outback or the Great Lakes; stories that feature a specific type of hero, like Latin lovers or single dads; or stories that feature a certain plot device, like a surprise baby or a hurry-up wedding. Other than the common theme, the books are not related; each story has a separate set of characters and must stand independently. Some miniseries are written by a single author, but most include a number of different authors.

  Most miniseries ideas originate with editors, who ask established authors to write books specific to the theme, although they may also choose books from the range available. A new author may end up in a miniseries if her book happens to fit the theme, but it's usually unwise for a beginner to aim for a specific miniseries because few continue for extended periods of time. In most cases, by the time the first miniseries title hits bookstore shelves, all the remaining titles have been purchased or assigned.

  Word count: same as the category the miniseries is published within

  Mom-Lit: An off shoot of chick-lit, similar to hen-lit but featuring heroines with families — including teenage or older kids who may be part of the heroine's conflict. The heroine of mom-lit is less likely to indulge in self-destructive behavior, but she still has the sassy attitude and outlook of the chick-lit heroine.

  Word count: 90,000 to 100,000

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

  Paranormal: A story that includes elements of the supernatural, such as witches, angels, werewolves, vampires, genies, aliens, ghosts, time travel, or extrasensory perception. Usually the setting and one (or both) of the major characters are outside the normal limits of reality.

  Readers find it harder to identify with paranormal characters who are extremely different from ordinary people. When creating beings with special powers, keep in mind that their human characteristics are what makes the readers empathize. Consider limiting the uses of paranormal powers in order to keep your character vulnerable and therefore more sympathetic. (Perhaps your psychic can only work after eight hours of sleep, or your witch can only cast spells when there's moonlight.)

  Word count: varies from 25,000 for novella to 100,000 for single title

  See also Futuristic, Time Travel

  Regency: A branch of historical romance, set in Regency-period England and involving the upper classes, often focusing on the main characters' efforts to make or escape the socially acceptable marriage.

  Technically the Regency period ran from 1811 (when the Prince of Wales was named regent for his father, the mad King George III) to 1820 (when George III died and the prince became King George IV). For literary purposes, however, it is often stretched from the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 — the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars — to the Reform Laws of 1834, which marked the end of the Georgian era and the practical beginning of the Victorian age.

  Regencies are usually short novels and sweet rather than sensual. They often feature humorous episodes as the hero and heroine deal with the details of society. The seamier side of life — poverty, prostitution, crime, and other social ills — seldom appears in the Regency romance. A story occurring in this time frame that involves darker elements or more sensuality is usually longer and is classified as a historical set in the Regency period.

  Word count: 25,000 for anthologies, 50,000 to 55,000 for stand-alone books

  See also Anthology, Historical

  Romantic Comedy: A story that involves romance in a humorous setting that can range from amusing to farcical. The most effective humor arises out of the characters — their outlook on life, their perspective on the situation, and often the contrast between them.

  Silliness is not humor, and adding jokes does not make a story a romantic comedy. Puns don't work well on paper because they're auditory in nature and easy to overlook on the page. The most hysterically funny joke tends to fall flat when written as if a character is telling it. Slapstick is hilarious in film but difficult to evoke in the reader's mind with only the printed word.

  In effective romantic comedy, the humor occurs in a way that doesn't diminish or humiliate the characters. Humor is best when it invites the reader to identify with the heroine, not laugh at her. Effective humor comes about because the characters have a lighthearted outlook on life, so even their biggest troubles are not treated as tragedy.

  Since humor works best on a small scale, romantic comedies are usually shorter, smaller books, but humorous single titles are often longer.

  Word count: 50,000 to 80,000

  Romantic Suspense: A story that includes mystery, suspense, or threatening situations in which both the heroine and hero are directly involved. The heroine of a romantic suspense isn't standing off to the side letting the hero protect her or investigate the mystery — she's right in there pulling her weight. Unlike a mystery or suspense novel that includes a romantic subplot, a romantic suspense novel features the romance as the primary focus. However, the romance usually comes about because of the threat to the characters. The problem is solved and the bad guy defeated by the hero and heroine, preferably while acting together. (Though assistance from the authorities isn't forbidden, it's unsatisfying if the SWAT team swoops in from nowhere and wipes out the bad guys while the hero and heroine are drinking coffee and holding hands.)

  The biggest challenge in writing romantic suspense is keeping the story in proportion. If the suspense plot overshadows the relationship between the hero and heroine, the book veers across the line from romance into mainstream.

  Word count: 75,000 to 100,000

  Saga: A long, main
stream novel that follows a female protagonist from early life to old age, often including two generations of her descendants, though she remains the dominant character throughout the story. Romance may be present, but it is not vital. Often the heroine is involved in more than one love affair during her lifetime, and frequently she is shaped by the death or loss of her husband and/or the man she loves. An important element of most sagas is the heroine's drive to succeed in a business she herself establishes and nourishes.

  Word count: 100,000 or more

  Science Fiction. See also Futuristic, Paranormal, Time Travel

  Short Contemporary: The most sensual of the category romance lines, though not as sexy as erotic romance. Though these books include consummated sexual relationships between hero and heroine, their emphasis is still on love rather than sex. These books are shorter and focus intensely on the hero and heroine, so there is little room for extra characters or dramatic, complicated plots. Still, it's necessary to have a believable conflict, since one difficulty in creating a very sensual romance is to maintain legitimate suspense about the possibility of a long-term relationship while allowing the characters to indulge in sex.

  Word count: 55,000 to 70,000

  Single Title: Stand-alone books published and promoted individually rather than as part of a category or themed group of books. They remain on the market and in print longer than category books.

  Single title allows the author more leeway in almost every direction. The hero and heroine can be a great deal more like real humans, with bad habits and dark pasts. The bad guys can be more evil in their intent and their actions. The events of the book can be darker, more violent, more intense. The romance or love interest can play a smaller part in the story. The story may be even more of a glitzy fantasy than a category romance, or it may be gritty and realistic. The ending may be low-key and much more practical than the sweeping happily-ever-after of the romance, or it may be even more over-the-top.

  Single title and mainstream are similar, and the terms are often used interchangeably, but usually the romantic elements are stronger in single-title books than in mainstream.

  Word count: 90,000 to 120,000

  See also Mainstream, Women's Fiction

  Sweet Traditional: The original romance novel, a short book that is highly emotional and maintains sexual tension without including explicit love scenes. Some publishers prefer that the hero and heroine not actually make love unless they're married to each other, while others allow premarital sex. In either case, the emphasis of sensual description is on the feelings, not on the act itself. The sweet traditional tends to leave lovers at the door of the bedroom rather than follow them in.

  Sweet traditional often emphasizes family connections or girl-next-door heroines without sacrificing the fantasy aspects of romance. Sweet does not mean sugary. Characters must be realistic, conflicts must be believable and important both to the characters and the readers, and emotional tension must be kept at a high level.

  Word count: 50,000 to 55,000

  Time Travel: A variation of paranormal in which time-traveling heroes and heroines can go either to the future or the past. As in other paranormal romances, consistency is important in time-travel books. Once the author sets up a rule for how her world operates, that rule must stay in effect unless she can explain why it changes.

  Word count: 60,000 to 100,000

  See also Futuristic, Historical, Paranormal

  Woman in Jeopardy: Features a heroine whose life is clearly in danger, often from someone close to her or in a position of trust. The old-style Gothic romance is a good example of woman-in-jeopardy books, but the rules have broadened considerably since Victoria Holt's day. The threat faced by the heroine in a woman-in-jeopardy book is bigger, fiercer, closer, and more frightening than in most romances (for instance, she might suspect her husband, rather than a stranger, of trying to kill her). Woman-in-jeopardy books sometimes include paranormal elements.

  At present, this isn't as much a category or subgenre in itself as it is a type of story appropriate for several of the longer romance lines as well as single titles and mainstream.

  Word count: 80,000 to 110,000

  Women's Fiction: Fiction usually written by women and aimed at a primarily female reading audience, including mainstream and single-title books but usually not category romance novels. Women's fiction often involves a group of women who may be sisters, friends, co-workers, or enemies.

  Word count: 90,000 to 110,000

  See also Mainstream, Single Title

  Young Adult (YA): Aimed at the teenage and even pre-teen reader, these books usually focus on the development of an innocent first love and include few sensual (and no sexual) elements.

  Some books in the YA line focus on older teens and may involve realistic situations and decisions about drinking, drugs, premarital sex, etc. Though these books can carry a message, the successful ones don't preach or lecture.

  The time frame for YA books can be contemporary or historical. Paranormal characters appear in some YA fiction.

  Word count: varies

  READING ROMANCE AS A WRITER

  In addition to understanding the various types of romance, it is important to read widely within the romance genre. As an aspiring romance author, you should read the type of romance novel you are writing, as well as other similar categories or types, in order to be familiar with the style and type of stories the editors are choosing.

  If you wish to write category romance, it's important to realize that each category has its own very definite identity. Reading the books themselves is the best way to understand and distinguish between categories that seem very much alike. If you don't understand the differences between similar-looking categories, you may end up writing a manuscript that doesn't really fit anywhere.

  Even if you wish to write single-title books, you should familiarize yourself with the market and the competition. Though by definition a single-title book stands alone, reading a wide variety of current books will help you discern what factors make a single-title book successful.

  To begin your study, visit a bookstore and simply browse the romance section without picking anything up. Stand back from the shelves and notice the variety of romances, looking at how the different categories and types of books are packaged so they are distinguishable from the rest. Which books seem to have similar themes and covers? What catches your eye as you look at the shelves? Is it bright colors, type styles, art?

  Now move up close. Take a good look at front covers — colors, designs, titles. What kind of art does each cover use — is it a photograph, a painting, a cartoon, or a graphic design? Read back cover copy. What can you deduce about the books from the appearance of the front and back covers? Does the cover hint at the level of sensuality, drama, humor?

  Look inside, check out pages here and there, note the size of type and margins and how the pages are laid out. Is there a lot of narration or a lot of dialogue? Does the page look inviting to read?

  Despite the wide range of romance subgenres and categories, the reader has certain expectations of any romance novel. The author who doesn't meet those expectations isn't likely to make it into the bookstore. Now that you have an idea of how many different romance subgenres there are, look at what they all have in common. Read at least ten romances, selecting different authors and choosing from different categories and publishers. Check the copyright page to make sure the books you choose were first published within the last year or two and are not reprinted, ten-year-old titles.

  As you read, think about the structure the author has hidden behind the story. Ask yourself the following questions:

  How are all the heroines alike? How are they different? What can't a heroine be?

  How are all the heroes alike? How are they different? What can't a hero be?

  How long are the books? How are the chapters or sections divided?

  How do chapters begin and end? How many chapters are there?

  What poin
t of view is used? Whose thoughts can we eavesdrop on?

  How many characters are there? Are there patterns in supporting characters from book to book?

  Are there similarities in the development of the plots — in the number and placement of complications, in the tension, in the love scenes, etc.?

  How does the author get the readers involved in the beginning of the story?

  How is each character first presented to the readers? When does the heroine first appear? When does the hero first appear?

  How does the author make you care about the main characters?

  How does the story end? Is it always a happy ending? A wedding?

  When you've read a number of books, start making a list of the rules you've deduced. Here are a few samples to get you started:

  Romances of all kinds have a happy ending, generally with the hero and heroine planning a lifelong relationship.

  In many romances, the heroine has a best friend who serves as a confidante and allows the author to tell us about the heroine's background, weaknesses, and thoughts.

  While a heroine or hero can be divorced or have had a previous serious relationship, characters generally don't get involved with a new love interest until the earlier entanglement is finished and they have had time to heal.

  In inspirational romances, faith is more important than doctrine, so specific religions and denominations are seldom mentioned.

  NAVIGATING THE RULES

  It's possible that your list of rules will ultimately run into the hundreds, but the reasons for the rules fall into only two main categories. First, the readers of romance novels expect sympathetic, likeable characters. Second, they expect an engrossing, uplifting story. If you look closely at your list, you'll find that nearly every one of the rules fits into one of those areas. Either it helps to create a likeable character or it helps tell the story in a way that holds the reader's attention.