| RULES FOR WRITING ROMANCE - WHEN DOES IT WORK TO BREAK THEM? AND WHAT ARE THE RULES ANYWAY? February 2006 issue by Ann Durand copyright 2006 |
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Find out about Ann's latest book: FLIGHT OF THE GRYPHON A SCI FI ROMANCE |
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| HEART BEAT ARTICLES by ANN DURAND FEBRUARY 2005 |
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If you had asked me ten years ago to define romance fiction, I would have told you
that somewhere in the story a man and a woman would fall in love. It was the one,
single ingredient for creating a romance. In my mind, The DaVinci Code fell just short,
because the hero and heroine had not fallen in love by the time the book ended. If
they had just kissed on the last page, it would have been a romance for me! All that
running around together looking for the Holy Grail had created some great chemistry
between the hero and heroine, even though the author, Dan Brown, never addressed
it. My imagination sure did, though. What a disappointment!
I didn’t even know that a romance should end happily. Romeo and Juliet, after all, is
touted as one of the greatest romance stories of all time, isn’t it? You know these
characters must love each other – they were both willing to die for it! What could be
more romantic than a demonstration of eternal love? Well, Romeo and Juliet was
written a long time ago when the rules were very different. Contemporary readers
looking for a romance novel would probably eschew an updated version of Romeo
and Juliet as unsatisfying!
So like the visual arts, there are rules for the composition of a written work. And also
like the visual arts, the rules can be broken, but not before they are learned,
thoroughly. Only through an intimate knowledge of how a novel should work, do we
learn how to twist the “shoulds” into new realities. Let’s take a look at a few of those
rules, first of all, and then test the water for breaking them.
Rule #1:
The hero and heroine must meet early and not be separated.
Romance readers want to feel a relationship developing throughout the book. They
want to feel the tension between the hero and heroine as they struggle with whatever
baggage is holding them back. That’s what makes the final “YES” so exciting…all
those contrasting “NOs” that came before it! And the H and H may or may not have
had sex earlier in the story – that’s not the “YES” we’re talking about. That final “YES”
refers to their decision to surrender their hearts and minds to each other. It takes lots
of interaction between them before they reach this stage.
It makes sense to keep them around each other, but can this rule ever be broken?
Sure, it’s been done. It’s been done well! In the historical romance by Isolde Martyn,
The Maiden and the Unicorn, the H and H spend long periods of time apart, but the
book is long: 400 pages long! Martyn sweeps us in and out of their lives together and
apart. The relationship between H and H is thoroughly developed by the time the
book ends. Even when they are apart, they are always thinking about each other. And
in Nora Roberts’ romance, Blue Dahlia, the H and H don’t meet until Chapter 4, page
61! Before that, the heroine, Stella, becomes a widow and must relocate to a new
town with her two sons. It is necessary to understand her history in order to feel
compassion for her resistance to the hero. Stella’s condition eventually plays
intimately into her relationship with the hero.
So, if you want to break this rule, keep in mind that a romance is ultimately about the
relationship between the H and H. You can play this out in many ways, through
development of characterization in separate circumstances, through the interaction of
the H and H with secondary characters, or through internal dialogue of the H and H. It’
s okay to separate them, but in spirit at least, they should always be together.
Rule #2
Do not switch POVs…at least not frequently.
Few editors insist that writers stick religiously to one POV, however switching POVs,
when done badly, can create a very dizzy reader. For that reason, writers are advised
to stick with one POV for a whole chapter, or at least for an entire scene. However,
Nora Roberts makes a practice of switching POVs frequently, sometimes in the
same paragraph!
So if you want to break the rule, you can point to the masters and say that they are
doing it, but be careful! It must be done well in order to work. A POV should never,
ever be switched just for the sake of switching. Always, if it’s done at all, it should be
done to enrich a scene, or because it makes imminent sense. If you want to try
breaking this rule, study it first. Read a book by Roberts and outline the examples
where she has the reader hopping from head to head and back again (most likely
that will be a love scene). Ask yourself why it works so well and why it doesn’t disrupt
the flow. When you can answer the question, when you can see it and feel it for
yourself, you are ready to try it.
Rule #3
The hero and heroine cannot be employed as a rock star, artist, writer, politician,
entertainer or professional athlete.
These professions are traditional no-nos. Why? I don’t know, but some publishing
houses have lines that adhere to this rule, but not to worry; there are a wealth of
professions, both usual and unusual, to choose from. I ran across this site: http://www.
likesbooks.com/profession.html, All About Romance, which lists dozens of romance
novels where the hero and/or the heroine have unusual professions. Here’s just a few:
a forensic sculptor, an antique appraiser-in-training, a person who designs fireworks,
a prostitute, a magician, a haunted house designer, a toymaker, a musicologist, even
a horse whisperer.
While perusing the list, I also noticed some of the taboo professions listed, such as: a
photographer, professional glass engraver, circus acrobat, a movie stuntwoman, an
animator, a cartoonist, a tabloid journalist, a greeting card writer…
Obviously, some successful writers are breaking the rules, and it’s good to know that
it can work. Still, some publishing houses have dug in their heels about not using
certain professions for some of their lines, so it pays to know their preferences
before submitting your work.
Rule #4
Don’t throw body parts around!
You’ve read these before: “Her eyes dropped as she avoided his gaze.” “His lips
rushed to meet hers.” “His gaze flew across the room when he spotted her.”
While some editors will admonish a writer for tossing body parts around, the truth is
that no reader takes this information literally. When eyes roll, we don’t picture them
falling out of their sockets and rolling across the floor. And again, if you look to the
masters, you’ll find all kinds of examples for disembodied human parts. Once more,
let’s look at examples from Nora Roberts. She has hearts lurching, pulses galloping,
nerve endings exploding, and even eyes that go swimming. If we were to translate
this information literally, we’d have to wonder what was left of the poor hero and
heroine once they were through with each other!
Naturally, you want to keep your imagery rich, and if it makes sense to throw body
parts around—if it works for your piece—then go ahead. If however, the imagery isn’t
clear and can be misinterpreted, then change it.
Rule #5
A romance must always end happily
Okay, that’s a really big one. If anything has defined the genre, it is these two things:
the love aspect and the happily-ever-after ending. Romance readers polled in an
earlier Heart Beat article overwhelmingly agreed that the happy ending was a
necessary ingredient in a romance. In this age of busy working moms, they want to
be spared the anguish of an unhappy heroine running off into the rain after the hero
tells her he won’t leave his wife. They read to relax—to be entertained—to get that
happy glow inside. It’s a form of escapism! Anything less than a happy ending would
probably disappoint.
However, readers don’t need to be hit over the head with it. They don’t need to feel
that the H and H are locked into a forever-after relationship. An implication that they
have formed a dedication to each other is often enough. To leave readers with a
hope for their future and a feeling that both H and H have gotten what they deserved
(each other), can be more than enough to satisfy. For many readers who have
ingested dozens, or even hundreds or romance novels, the implied happy ending
may prove even more satisfying than the blatant wedding.
So there’s just a few rules and rule breakers to get us started. To sum it up, rules
generally serve a purpose, and for that reason, it pays to know them. As a writer,
however, you are free to judge whether a rule serves your purpose or not. If it’s
working better for you to deviate, then by all means, have at it! If you keep your
readers in mind at all times, you will be using the appropriate guide for gauging the
rules.