As writers, we are encouraged to “know your genre.” We must know
what genre we are writing in order to ensure our stories meet the conventions
that readers expect. For example, a writer can call his or her book a romance,
but if it doesn’t have a happily-ever-after, or at least a happily-for-now, reviewers
are going to skewer the author, leaving him or her curled in a fetal position, sobbing
into their Wheaties. Hell hath no fury like a reader scorned.
The journey to knowing my genre lead me to a surprising
discovery. When I first made the move from fan fiction to original works, I
considered myself to be a sci-fi/fantasy girl. I knew the stories that I wanted
to write, but, try as I might, I couldn’t get the pieces to fall into place.
One day I read a blog post about knowing your genre and decided that I needed
to take a good long look at what I had already written. I logged into my fan
fiction account where my gaze was drawn to the categories that I had selected for
my stories. They were:
Romance/Adventure
Humor/Romance
Hurt/Comfort/Romance
Humor/Romance
Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Romance/Drama
It didn’t take long for me to see a trend. I was a romance
writer! When the realization struck, I was horrified. What would people think? What
was I going to do? Romance novels, as well as those who read and write them, get
a bad rap from, well, virtually everyone. Once the initial wave of dizziness
passed, I decided to look at my situation from a new perspective.
I adored the fan fiction that I had written and some of my
stories seemed to resonate with readers. As a matter of fact, it was their
positive feedback that had given me the courage to begin writing original
stories. For me, the growing love between the main characters is what made the
story work – everything else revolved around it. Once I realized that, I
practically heard angels singing. The romance
was what was missing from my sci-fi/fantasy stories! Once I added it into the
mix, all of the formerly disparate pieces began falling into place.
Once a reluctant romance writer, I am reluctant no longer.
Romance novels are the best-selling
genre. Obviously, happily-ever-afters resonate with many, many readers. I’m
honored to be a part of the romance writing community and proudly hold my love
banner high. I hope that my stories make readers laugh, sigh, and feel better
for having read them. After all, isn’t love what makes the world go round?
Tell me, dear readers, what do you love about romances?
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