Tongue in cheek

Every now and again, someone comes along thinking they can knock off a romance or two and make a fortune from Mills & Boon. They begin with tongue firmly wedged in cheek and write … usually extremely ghastly stories that no-one in their right minds would publish.

The first rule in writing romance is to respect our readers.

Romance readers are generally intelligent and well-educated. A considerable number of them have tertiary education and important careers. They don’t read romance because they’re stupid, but because, in the hum drum of everyday life, they want to experience the intensity of deep emotion.

Romance is not necessarily inferior to other genres. As I tell my journalism students (but it’s equally applicable to genre writing), there’s no such thing as a small story; only small writers.

It depends on the writing. If you combine complex characters with a suspenseful narrative; if your writing shows rather than tells and creates a believable world, it doesn’t matter what genre you’re writing in – it’ll be good.

After all, if you think about it, Jane Austen wrote classic romance. Of course she also gave us a picture of the times. With delicious irony, she commented on the hypocrisies and manners of society, class and the position of women.

Naturally she did. Because, besides the fact that her plot-line contained a romance, she grappled with the situations and concerns of her day. And when you do that, a theme will appear.

Bridget Jones was great fun and high entertainment. It also gave us a view of the times, the neurotic concerns of the day.  Write with integrity. Write with honesty. Believe in what you’re writing about and try to make it real. That will always lift it above the ordinary.