Plot Monkeys

Below is an article I wrote for the Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market 2005 edition.

Hope you enjoy!!

Leslie

ROMANCE: WRITING TO YOUR COMFORT LEVEL
An article for Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market
by
Leslie Kelly

Picture this: you’re at your spouse’s holiday cocktail party, surrounded by semi-strangers talking budgets and forecasts. You’re nursing a white wine spritzer when you’d rather be sucking down a dirty martini, but the job is too important to risk any lampshade-on-the-head incidents. You mingle, you pick at the cold hors d’oeuvres that should be hot, or the warm ones that should be cold. You keep a fake smile on your lips while shooting your hubby looks that say, “I’d better get jewelry in exchange for this.”

And then it happens. From several feet away, in a voice loud enough to warn of an impending iceberg, someone says, “Hey, aren’t you the one who writes those sex books?”
You instinctively look around the room, wondering if Larry Flynt has crashed the party. Then the truth dawns. The half-tanked loser from accounting was talking to you, the smut queen of the group. You know. The one who writes romance novels.

Sound familiar? If you’re a romance writer, I’m sure it does. If you want to be a romance writer, prepare yourself…it will happen. While no one at an office cocktail party would dare ask a surgeon if he’s amputated the wrong limb lately, or an attorney if he’s gotten a murderer off the hook this week, for some reason people have no problem asking obnoxious questions about one aspect of the romance writing profession. The sex.

Sex sells, of course. We all know that. Unfortunately, however, some people think sex is all romance novels contain…and that we live what we write. While at first your husband might not mind everyone believing your sex scenes are based on your own life, you will, eventually, get tired of the lewd comments and the lascivious looks. So before you find yourself in this situation–where you can respond by asking the obnoxious guy if he’s the one who has half a brain and one-third an ounce of common courtesy–you need to think about and define your own comfort level when it comes to writing romance.

First things first: not all romance novels contain sex. There are sub-genres beneath the romance umbrella where there is either no sex, or it takes place behind closed doors. An immediate example is the inspirational romance. These faith-based novels have experienced a huge surge in popularity and the genre has exploded into new areas such as “chick-lit,” historical sagas, and sassy contemporaries. Powerhouse publisher Harlequin has achieved such success with their Steeple Hill line that they’ve recently expanded its size.

For those unfamiliar with them, inspirational romances have all the drama and emotion of any other romance novel, but they also incorporate the characters’ religious beliefs into their romantic journey. While not preachy, the message of faith is an integral part of the story. And because of the inherent promise to the inspirational reader, there usually won’t be graphic sex in the pages of those books.

Among traditional romance novels, there are plenty of books where the sex is a minor part of the story, or is nonexistent. Physical attraction is there, but the big payoff may take place after the book ends, or at least off the page. Think of Captain Kirk kissing some green alien chick in his cabin. After fading to commercial, we come back to see him sitting on his bunk pulling his boots on. We know what happened…but it’s behind closed doors. You might see this kind of sex in some of the “sweet” romance novels, though it’s usually only between couples who are already committed to one another. As an aside, the term “sweet” seems a misnomer, since it implies “insipid.” In actuality, the sweeter romance novels have all the emotional depth, drama and angst as any other romance, they simply keep the action above the belt.

If you’ve examined these options and have decided you’re comfortable writing a sexy romance, you still have a wide variety of options. Whether you’re writing light contemporary novels or long historicals, there is a broad range in which to work. Some authors have become known for their hot, intense love scenes and their readers fully expect them. Others who may write the same length book for the same publisher prefer to keep the sex shorter and less erotic. Her audience will expect that, too. Be warned, however. You may get the occasional hate letter from a reader who picks up your steamy novel by mistake, when she was looking for a kisses-only story. Being consigned to the fiery pit by a little old lady from the Midwest won’t be the highlight of your career.

Still, it’s safe to say that readers will seek out authors whose books continue to satisfy their own demands in terms of sexual content. So while your own comfort level dictates the original level of sensuality in your books, quite often your readership will be the ones reinforcing that decision as your career progresses.

Some publishers or category “lines” are, by definition, hotter than others. Harlequin Blaze novels, as well as Kensington Brava, Red Sage and Ellora’s Cave all promise a sexy reading experience. Choosing to write in one of these more erotic venues comes back to that comfort level question…how will you respond to the jerk at the cocktail party? Is the letter from the little old lady going to haunt you? Does the thought of your child’s Kindergarten teacher reading your book make your heart stop?

Essentially, what is the line you will not cross and how, exactly, do you figure out where that line is?

You could start with trial and error. If you find yourself blushing as you try to come up with another word for a certain part of the male anatomy, you’re probably not an erotica writer. Conversely, if you love cranking-up the volume of a hot rock-and-roll song that sets a pulsing rhythm for your characters to rip each other’s clothes off, you’d likely be okay aiming for Blaze or Brava.

There is, of course, one obvious problem with trying to write books with completely different levels of sensuality. Remember those readers who buy your books based on how sexy–or non-sexy–your last one was? Unless you want to publish under a pseudonym, you’re really going to tick them off if they expect a few kisses but get a three-alarm fire.

In considering this topic, I solicited the opinions of other authors of romance. They all, it seemed, had their own ways of finding–and maintaining–their comfort level. New York Times best-selling author Vicki Lewis Thompson, who was the launch author for the hot and sexy Harlequin Blaze line, finds herself able to write sexy stories by making them funny. She also, however, has one more litmus test, saying, “My comfort level is also controlled by the commitment of the two characters. If they’re emotionally attached and the encounter feels safe for both of them, I can pull out all the stops.”

Others had varied perspectives on how much, how far, and how detailed their love scenes are. Authors Katherine Garbera and Toni Blake believe sex to be another human attribute, and an important part of any realistic relationship. They’d feel guilty leaving it out. Amusingly, successful authors Jill Shalvis and Heidi Betts both said they base sexual content on their own personal “ick factor” while New York Times best-selling author Patricia Rice seeks to avoid boredom. Rice says, “These days, I can conjure up no new ways of creating an exciting sexual experience for me or my reader, so I’ve been gradually reducing sex scenes to the romantic and emotional tension between the couple.”

Some authors who write very hot romance simply enjoy the challenge and the excitement of their craft. Erotica author Vella Munn has found writing her Ellora’s Cave novels under a pseudonym to be freeing and she likes that “fantasy is given free rein.” Downtown Press and Blaze author Julie Elizabeth Leto constantly pushes herself, saying, “To stir things up, I like to write outside my comfort zone, so with each book I try to pick at least one thing that pushes me farther than I’ve ever gone before.”

From all the authors who spoke about this topic, there seemed to be one common theme. Whether spicy or sweet, erotic or innocent, fleshed-out or quietly implied, sex is an important part of the romance novel. But it’s not the most important part. The relationship between the hero and heroine…that’s the most important part. Author Julia Ross puts it best. “The sex must serve the novel, not the other way around.”

With that in mind, do take some time to explore the different sub-genres and think long and hard about how you’ll face those rude party guests or shocked Kindergarten teachers. Finding your own level of comfort is the first–and often most important–step on the road to becoming a published romance writer.

By the way…what’s my comfort level? Well, I’m the one who likes to crank up the rock and roll song and let the driving beat carry me…and my characters…away. And if I can throw in a few laughs while I’m at it, I have a simply marvelous time doing my job.

As for how I answer that question at the party? Well, originally when someone would hit me with one of those obnoxious questions, I’d get all indignant and snap back about how there’s absolutely nothing wrong with sex between two committed, monogomous adults and they needed to get their facts straight on what romance was really all about and yadda yadda. Now I say, “Sure. Don’t you like sex?”

That usually shuts people right up.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Leslie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.