A reader tends to pick up a how-to book for specific instruction, a literary work for enlightenment, a comedy to change the mood, or an adventure book for escape. Picking up a romance means reaching for satisfaction.
To satisfy a reader, the story must fulfill certain deep-rooted expectations. The first uses of the word romance referred to verse written in the vernacular Latin as it was spoken in parts of France, and quickly transferred to the content of that verse--which leaned heavily on tales of questing, adventure, and love. To this day, a solidly constructed romance is a tale of a quest, of the adventures encountered in that quest, and of the love found along the way.
Whether the quest is to find the perfect pair of shoes, to get through this semester without having to sell blood, to find a grandchild lost in a war zone, or to avert the obliteration of the Earth, a story isn't a romance without a quest. A quest entails adventures; if not, you might as well have a story about reaching across the table to pick up the salt. Adventures are the ministories of conquering, sidestepping, or merely surviving the obstacles between the hero/heroine and the story goal--the object of the quest.
The presence or absence of eroticism in no way affects the question of whether a story is a romance. If the story is a romance, the eroticism, or the degree of it, determines only the type of romance. If the story is not a romance, no degree of eroticism will make it one. An erotic story other than a romance is typically an adventure story, although it might be a comedy. Erotic romance depends heavily on eroticism, whether of the jade stalk variety or the hairy grinding variety, for character development, but to make the story a romance rather than a masturbation aid, the hero and heroine must undergo adventures along the way to accomplishing a quest, and the story must end with a satisfying sense that they have found love.
In a novel-length story, the quest tends to change midway or about 2/3 of the way through, because the hero and heroine have outgrown the initial challenge, or accomplished the initial goal, and now face something greater. The perfect pair of shoes ruins the outfit; finishing the semester becomes more difficult after eviction and a charge of cheating; the grandchild, once found, must be extracted from the war zone; the initial attack on the Earth turned out to be a feint to hide the real threat. The sense of a quest remains, regardless. The hero and heroine struggle on toward the new or clarified goal.
Love is the personal reward for overcoming all the hardships, for winning one's way through adventures to reach the goal. While the shoes scuff, the degree is won or lost, the child grows up, and the Earth continues in its orbit, love remains. If a story promises and then delivers on all that, the story is a romance.
That's my take. What's yours?
Amber
Visit http://www.shapeshiftersinlust.com/ tonight!
Feb 3, 2008
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10 comments:
I think your take is correct. When I read a non-romance that has the potention for the Hero/Heroine to find love and said event doesn't happen, I find myself deeply disappointed. Feeling as though something is missing, like the story isn't quite finished yet. There is a sense of satisfaction when two people make it through hell, alive, ready to face more challenges in the future together.
Great thoughts on a subject near and dear to many of our writer's souls.
One thing I would add is often a change occurs to a person during the quest that makes them reevaluate their place, their lot, their life. That change, and the acceptance of it, in a romance, is often the impetuous that the romance needs to go forward.
You're freakin' brilliant. You should send this in to the RWR.
AH HA! The light bulb clicked over my head. Writing furiously throughout the quest I often STOP, bucket of ice cold water thrown on me. Usually my audible scream and sob is "ACK! I have no story!" BUT... you are saying that the quest needs to SHIFT. Hmmmm... I need solitude to reflect. Your clue answers a great deal of repetitive angst for this writer -- and gives me a key to several unfinished stories. Thank you.
Amber and the other commentors are so right, all brilliantly said. I must have the love story for sure when I read and write. It IS the reward for getting through the quest, and my reward for investing my time and emotions in the book.
Great blog!
Love the shift goal idea. I think that's why sometimes a romance can get repetitious, when that shift is missing and they're repeating the same arguments.
But, when the couple achieves the first goal and then there's a whole new fight/goal, ah, that's lovely.
And, I must say, having read yours, that you leave a reader with that 'aaaah, now *that's* a romance' feeling at the end. Thumbs-up!
I enjoy the entire "journey" the H/h take together -- willingly or unwillingly. These types of stories are my favorite and most fulfilling as a reader. I absolutely LOATHE the stories that aren't fully told, or the author has skimped some, or perhaps a third of the book is a misunderstanding. Ugh. I feel gypped with those. I love to see and feel the characters grow both individually and together throughout the story. Ahhh... nothing more satisfying to me. :)
Great post, Amber!
I live with my handicap. My romantic soul. If I watch a movie I'm on the lookout for the perfect finish.
It's a soft edge. For me it's the beginning. The eroticism will not exist without first the approach (my approach) to the object of the matter.
Romance.
Eroticism will become only part of the journey. It will be the interaction between the characters that drive my authoriship. Whether they love each other throughout, or hate each other, whether they are chasing demons, or being chased by them, the erotic will only stem from rather than romance stem from eroticism.
That's my take on it.
Funny how art imitates life. My qualifying letters are
qiojt which remind me of
quoitus interruptus, since we are talking about eroticism.
8-0
Yep, you definitely hit the mark with this one. When I write, it's always with the h/h searching for something. whether it's true love or the meaning of life, both are seeking something!
The journey the hero and heroine take together from that first meeting where each grows in some way or changes in some way from their first encounter. As this occurs a core conflict develops and as the story progresses it is eventually resolved. It is this core conflict that creates the tension between them and takes the reader along on that journey to where they will have grown together emotionally enough to produce both a satisfying resolution and the anticipated as well as expected happy ever after ending.
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