Romance writers?

[kangels4ever]

Anyone here write romance at all? If so, any tips on how to pen one without needing to resort to a love triangle, or anything else that causes petty drama?

[MANICHAEAN]

The two ends of the spectrum off the top of my head could be:
Jane Eyre: tasteful.
Ian Fleming: functional.

You might try "Middlemarch" by George Eliot.
It's given me some new perspectives.
But basically I believe one should write on romance from personal experience.

Best regards
M.

[themiddleprince]

As with manichean's examples, I suppose the great romances show the romance occurring within the context of dramatic events or against a backdrop of the world at change.

I was once advised "write the story, not the politics". The same must apply to romance, unless you're hunting the dollar of being one of Mills & Boon's top writers of course...

[sookisoo]

Hi Kangel4ever,

By requesting assistance I'm assuming you're keen to avoid the cliched romantic novel and all that that entails.
To help give you some ideas I would recommend a duo of novels by Collette, 'Cheri' and 'Le Fin de Cheri,' which give a fresh new perspective on a love affair and may help you to find what you are looking for, depending upon the readership you have in mind. It chronicles the love of an older, experienced woman and a much younger man and is beautfully written and thought provoking and has stayed with me for 20 years. (I'm supposing have certain readership in mind?)

[osho]

Why not D.H. Lawrence to start with and I have read all of his novels and I find him matchless when it comes to romance

[xtianfriborg13]

I must say I like your idea of needing not to end up in a love triangle stuff when writing about love or romance.

[manuscript]

i am interested by love triangles. i think this is a kind of idea about fashion and what is cool or uncool at some particular time. in reality although some trope may have become something of a genre standard the possibilities of human relationships are basically humanly infinite and there is always something new to be said.

but there is a lot more that can come between two people than another person. it could be differences in their values. or it could be a serious problem that one of them has. (often we all have problems, no one is more perfect than anyone else.) or it could be a problem of the broader cultural context within which they are situated, that condemns their relationship or does not recognise the validity of their connection. it is the success or failure of the resolution of a conflict that has come between two people who are drawn together. what is it that draws them together, and how does what is pulling them apart interfere in their union?

what about when we meet someone in person that we feel attracted to, but never go up to them and talk? what stops us in any particular occasion? too tall, too short, looks like a hippie, looks too conservative, looks alcoholic, whatever. and then imagine that we did actually start a relationship with them and had to resolve the conflict. what would it mean to have a relationship with an alcoholic or an abuser, and for them to address their problems through the course of the relationship, could the relationship survive or would it perish? (i have read some romance by authors who explored these conflicts partly as a way to encourage readers who are in these relationships to seek help.) but, you can explore your dramatic mind. go on a fantasy journey in your imagination about a possible relationship and all the things that could happen.

PS. Austen.