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Monday, April 21, 2008

Romance writer or not…..

What I’m Reading: Finishing up Madapple by Christina Meldrum

What I’m working on: Rewriting Slayer from the beginning – it’s a whole new and better story.

Word count today: 203

Romance writer or not…..

I’ve taken a writing break this week. It wasn’t like I sat down and said, hmm, I think I’ll take a week off. It just worked out that I had a crazy schedule and my hands didn’t get anywhere near a keyboard except at work.

This break, however, has given me time to mull over my current WIP – Slayer – and to explore some feelings and frustrations and avenues that have been tickling the back of my brain.

One of these nagging issues has been whether I’m really a romance writer or not. It isn’t the writer part in question, but the romance part.

Now, granted, of late, I’ve been writing romance. But I’m not sure romance is what my voice is best suited for. First, no matter what, I’m just not into writing the graphic love scene. Second, when I read for pleasure I tend to pick up non-romance books.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Suzanne Brockmann, Susan Elizabeth Philips, J.R. Ward, and Karen Marie Moning, but beyond that, I don’t love any one author. And when I go to a book store, I don’t check out the latest romance. I check out the latest young adult books and lit fiction.

Yes, you heard me correctly.

So, this week I’ll be blogging – yes, I’ll be blogging again – about whether I’m a romance writer or not. I’ll TRY to present the pros (that I am) and the cons (that I’m not) objectively because I really want to know.

Look for argument number one tomorrow.

Gotta go write my first person, nineteen year old heroine’s latest turmoils. (See, could go either way…..)

Macy

4 comments:

Beth Fehlbaum, Author said...

Why don't you just write your story and see who (er, uh, I mean, 'what',) it ends up being? Isn't writing a book kind of like giving birth? You don't know the personality of your child until he or she gets here and you get to know him/her a little better, right?
Just a thought.Besides, YOU may decide it's YA or Romance, but your publisher may go another direction, and v/v.

Beth Fehlbaum, author
Courage in Patience, a story of hope for those who have endured abuse
http://courageinpatience.blogspot.com
Chapter One is online!

Katie Reus said...

I'm going to second what Beth said. And who says that a graphic love scene equals a romance? Maybe what you write is more along the lines of womens fiction w/ romantic elements. I've never read your work so it's hard to say, but considering you've finalled in a few romance contests I'm thinking there might be a tad woven into your stories :) Can't wait to see your pros and cons list :)

Lara Dien said...

Funny, because I've had a similar question in my head recently. The differences: I like writing love scenes--graphic or otherwise. Blame my Scorpio genes *g*. Where I'm struggling is in the subgenre. I love romantic suspense, you know--the tighter the better. But it's the hardest thing for me to write. So what does that say about me? Who knows? At this point, I certainly don't. All I can think to do is write the stories that come to me, and see where it takes me. But if I had to depend on where my reading interests take me, this is where I'd be. Writing romantic suspense, probably with a paranormal or parapsychological element (like Jayne Ann Krentz). Because that's what intrigues me--who and what is just beyond the edges of what we can see, what happens when we are betrayed by the person we counted on the most, and how do we strengthen ourselves and others through love. And great sex, of course LOL

Terry Brooks wrote a book on writing several years ago, and the one thing I remember from it boiled down to his saying a) he tried lots of genres and b) when he found fantasy, he knew this was the voice he needed to tell his story in.

I'm looking forward to watching you explore yours!

Terry Odell said...

I thought I was writing a mystery when I started my first novel. My daughters were reading as I wrote and they told me it was a romance on page 10.

I then went back and looked at all the books I enjoyed--mystery genre. I realized I gravitated toward series books and was as much involved in the relationships that developed over time as the mystery. As a matter of fact, I was reading with more attention to what had happened to the characters since the last book.

There's no need for graphic, on the page sex in a romance. Lots of very successful authors keep almost all of it between chapters. Susan Wiggs comes to mind.

My romance reading tends toward the mystery/suspense/adventure sub-genre (gee -- you think that's why I write it?) but I still read a LOT of mysteries.

Good luck.