5 Things I've Learned About Writing Reading Romance Novels
I love reading romance novels. I have since I was a pre-adolescent when I was reading Sunfire novels featuring a heroine set in historical times immersed in a love triangle. I would work (babysitting and helping my mom with her housekeeping business) and save all of my money so that I could go to the bookstore and splurge on the ones I didn’t have (oh why didn’t I keep them?!?!?!). I read Sweet Valley High books and Sweet Dreams books, then branched out into horror-suspense by reading Christopher Pike. Eventually I graduated to romance novels written by Lavyrle Spencer, Judith McNaught, then onto suspense novels by Tami Hoag, Thomas Harris and Stephen King. Always, always, I returned to romance novels.
As a writer, I’m of the belief that reading is essential to the practice of writing. Sure, writing is important, duh. But we learn through models, and how better to learn the craft than by reading and reading widely. When I think about my reading experience, reading romance has taught me a lot as a writer (and not just to write romance novels). Let’s face it: the romance category is the best selling category of novels for a reason. Here are five things I’ve learned by reading romance novels:
Character development is key in any novel. Whether you’re writing a detective story, a memoir, a suspense thriller or a dystopian sci fi, your reader MUST be invested in the characters. Romance authors do this so well. When connecting to readers on an emotional level, the investment in a character’s backstory is critical. That doesn’t necessarily mean a writer should info dump that backstory. Knowing those what’s and why’s is important because it informs perspective in the current narrative, dictates behavior, and is reflected in dialogue. (I’ll be posting a template to my patreon page if you’re interested in what I use for my characters to get to know them).
The key to keep readers turning the pages is tension. Picture a relaxed rubber band. That’s often where we start our stories (when they are linear). As the story progresses, that tension builds (stretching the rubber band). If the tension dissipates, the story flags, drifting and often losing the reader. Romance writer’s do this well. Granted, there is built in tension in the “will they or won’t they” element of the love story, but they maintain the tension. This element is what creates a page turning horror story or a dystopian that you can’t put down. Tension builds up to the climax of the narrative with the rubber band snaps, releasing it for a new build in the final act. In romance novels this is often the beat when the lovers have a massive fight and the readers know they are in love, but they have to resolve the misunderstanding to return to one another. The tension is what keeps readers turning the pages.
Speaking of those beats. Romance novels are often formulaic. That isn’t to say they are easy to write. (Go write a really well-done AND well-received romance novel, then come back and tell me how easy it was to write). What romance writers do is adhere to the common beats of the genre because that is what readers expect. The romance genre has a specific code to move the narrative. If you’ve read Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, she adheres to the idea that ALL novels (especially those that sell) adhere to specific beats in the narrative structure. She calls it a code, or the “DNA of a novel”. That code of beats doesn’t make all novels the same, but rather the beats make them recognizable to a reader as a “good story.” Ultimately, it is that code that moves the story from the beginning to the end and romance writers do this very well.
Romance is all about the heart, the emotions, but I’d argue it isn’t characters emotions that a romance writer is concerned with. It’s the reader’s emotions they are tapping into. The best stories are those that speak to our hearts. Those stories that linger long after you’ve closed the book. The ones you can’t read before you go to sleep because you’ll toss and turn thinking about it. The romance category does this so well. When I’m writing (well, rewriting because this never happens when I’m drafting), I’m thinking about how that character responds to situations in order to develop that tension that will heighten the emotional payoff.
I need a happy ending. I also know that life doesn’t work out in a nice, neat, tidy box to close up and pack away, but I read to drift away from those real-life difficulties. I want a happy ending. I want to know that the protagonist faced struggle and overcame it. That is why I escape between the pages of a book. Romance readers expect a happy ending. It is as critical to the genre as the common beats and the emotional payoff of the “I love you”. Whether it is really a cry your eyes out happy ending or a cry your eyes out resolution, readers what an ending that provides them with depth and hope (even if it isn’t always happy).
I have no plans to give up reading romance anytime soon. I’ve branched out in young adult novels, fantasy, science fiction, and literary, but I always come back to romance. These stories make me happy, and ultimately isn’t that why we tell stories ourselves? To bring joy to a reader?
