I write Romance! Okay maybe that’s not quite how the Godfather of Soul put it. But if he understood what it meant to be a romance writer, maybe he would have changed his lyrics.
I am a Romance Writer. There I said it. I have nothing to be ashamed of. My writer friends, we’ve all been there, at some dinner party, some BBQ, some Bat Mitzvah when someone asks what you do.
Do you proclaim loudly that you write Romance?
True Story - Party Conversation, Last Month:
Evil Judgy Woman:“Oh, Nana, what do you do?”
Me: “Some nonsense about day job.”
Dear Hubby: “Don’t be modest, Baby.” Then grins and adds, “She writes Romance.”
Evil Judgy woman: Crickets. Not the cheery summer bunch that at least chirp with some frequency and volume, I’m talking about the odd late fall cricket – you know the one who got lost on the way to wherever crickets go for the winter. He was the lone chirper and even he had a sore throat. After a moment, she closed her mouth, then said, “What with like Fabio on the cover? Heaving bosoms and everything?”
No, I did not bitch slap her, though the urge was strong. No, I didn’t channel my African roots and cuss her out within an inch of her life. Though I could almost picture my 86 year old grandmother doing so.
When did Romance start being a dirty word? If one more person asks me what it’s like to write chick porn, or says something like “You seem so smart, what’s the appeal?” Or worse. “Must be easy right, you just follow the formula, I really might have to channel my grandmother and whoop some disrespectful ass.
When did Happily Ever After become a four letter word? I have a theory that because romances are stories about women and for women, the intellectual establishment wants to downplay their importance and credibility. I write Romance because I love a love story, I love watching two people’s lives unfold and watching them form that bond. I love the idea of love, the hope of love, the nervous energy of it.
Romance readers and writers don’t live hollow existences hoping to live some kind of voyeuristic fantasy life through our books. We are professionals, mothers, teachers and yes, even some men (gasp). Like other writers, we agonize over correct word choice and sentence structure, hooks, and plotting with mythic structure.
And let me point out that in our struggling economy when the publishing world is scrambling to stay afloat, Romance is one genre that’s thriving. Check out this New York Times Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/books/08roma.html
And because these ladies say it better than I ever could, feel free to check out the Smart Bitches blog: http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php They say it all.
I urge the non-romance reader to look beyond the heaving bosoms and purple prose of the old school Romance. Look beyond what you know to be Romance. Get rid of your misconceptions and enjoy a love story. You might just surprise yourself and have some fun.
Have you hugged a Romance writer today?
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3 comments:
Hi Nana. I'm still in the closet about writing romance. LOL. I once mentioned I write romantic suspense to a woman I've known all my life and she said, nose scrunched up, "You mean like Harlequin?"
~sigh~
People are much more enthusiastic when I say, "I write CIA thrillers." And a few men have read my books and liked them, but they didn't realize they were labeled RS before they read them. If they'd heard the label, they would have never picked them up.
Along with drama, action and humor, I write about relationships with happy endings. No matter what label that comes under, I intend to keep on writing it.
Great post!
Well said, Nana.
I, too, have a husband who proudly tells people I write romance.
Toni
I totally agree that part of the reason, or the dysfunctional dynamic around romance, is because women generally write romance and read romance... therefore in the minds of many, it can't be anything of real consequence. How wrong they are. I believe the opposite is true, in that the stories speak to real truths in ways the current society doesn't and won't own up to right now.
Heck, just for the record, I like purple prose and I like bodice rippers. And I really love happily ever after.
And, yes, I am a romance writer.
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