Purple Prose

A love story comprises a number of different elements – humorous dialogue, scenes of action, moments of despair, descriptive passages, and of course the loves scenes between the hero and heroine. Now, although writing a book is never easy, I find that it’s far easier to tell the basic story of boy meets girl, than it is to express in words the love my characters feel for each other by the end of the book without sounding – well… silly.

One of my favourite authors, Georgette Heyer, often ended her novels on an abrupt note. The hero declared his love to the heroine - and then the book ended. I used to wish that the final scenes of her books could have been a little bit longer so that the end of the story could be savoured. But perhaps Georgette Heyer simply didn’t enjoy going into too much detail at the end of her books because in an odd way, it’s hard to express love in a language that doesn’t come across as syrupy and sentimental. And, unfortunately, it is so easy to write what is known in romance writing circles as “purple prose”.

As defined by wikipedia, “purple prose is a term of literary criticism used to describe passages, or sometimes entire literary works, written in prose so overly extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw attention to itself. Purple prose is sensually evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment or pathos in an attempt to manipulate a reader’s response. When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed purple patches or purple passages; these are often noted as standing out from the rest of the work.”

Romantic writing does not necessarily equal soppy, schmaltzy writing. Dressing something up in flowery language can actually take away from the impact of the words. As Mr Knightley said in Jane Austen’s Emma, “I cannot make speeches, Emma… If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.” Sometimes words just cannot express our feelings adequately, and it’s hard to speak about our deepest emotions. To quote Thomas Carlyle, “Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time.”

Perhaps this isn’t good news for romance writers – people who write about love should surely be able to express it well. So how does a writer avoid the numerous traps that are so easy to fall into? I’d say that for a novel to ring with truth, simplicity is key when it comes to expressing a character’s feelings of love.

I think most romance novelists are aware of the fine line they walk between sounding genuine during a love scene and sounding corny. When it comes to expressing love in words between your characters, it’s vital to remain sincere. It’s also important to remain true to the personalities of your characters. If your hero is the “strong, silent” type, it will sound very strange if he suddenly starts to spout sentimental words of love. The way he expresses himself should be in line with his personality, or else the reader might be left scratching her head.

We all understand how hard it is to expose our deepest feelings. However, just attempting to do so will be appreciated as a romantic gesture by the one we love – even if the words do come out slightly stilted - or even silly…

Read The Dashing Debutante, Lord Fenmore’s Wager and Send and Receive