Top Ten Clichés About Romance Novels (and Romance Readers)
Sandy at All About Romance has had it. Up. To. Here.
Romance readers don’t get no respect and they’re constantly being unfairly stereotyped.
So, don’t be unfair. Don’t be a stereotyper. In case you worry about being an unconscious stereotyper of romance novels and romance readers, here’s what to watch for:
9. The only ones who read romance are _______________(Pick one: Old Maids, fatties, blue hairs) too stupid to read anything else.Hey, if you’re stupid enough to believe that blanket clichés are in any way accurate, how ’bout this one: Any guy who reads literary fiction must have…limitations if you know what I mean. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more)
. . . .
6. You women just love those ripping bodices. Hey, pal, do you even know what a bodice is? I thought not.
. . . .
3. Anyone can write a romance novel. I’ve heard this from the usual idiot faction, but also from people who should know better.
2. Writing a romance novel is a quick and easy way to earn some fast bucks. (See number 3.) Absolutely! Get right on that, idiots! It’s a really productive way to spend months – even years!
Link to the rest at All About Romance
I’m laughing here. Guilty: I thought writing a romance would be easy. Wrong! There are very restrictive rules on how they must be written which makes it hard to be creative and original. But good Romance Authors still do it–and make it look easy. (I gave up.)
If I had a nickle for every person who asked me why I don’t try writing a real book I could take us all to dinner. (BTW it turns out the same people don’t respect Urban Fiction either! Good thing I don’t care.)
Romance Books are BIG sellers, last I checked by far the best selling genre! I once read that the money bookseller and publishers make on Romance novels is what funds the publishing of not so great selling “literary fiction.”
I confess, I sometimes read Romance Novel-never underestimate a happily ever after book’s power in a depressing world. Research actually shows that Romance readers tend to be more educated, more affluent, married. I don’t know about blue hair!
Karen – And I wonder if anyone has done an analysis of Romance sales and economic cycles. My guess would be that when the economy tanks, more readers turn to Romance for a happy enduing.
Ok, I’ve seen the term “literary fiction”, so many times on the internet that I tend to forget everything I know about languages.
“Literary fiction” – I wonder who woke up in a morning, thought of how to kill the language and set up a new rule in linguistics only he/she was aware about. Literary fiction is serious literature, whereas the rest of fiction is not. Huh? The 1960′s decade, emancipation R Us. So, let’s invent something which no one else knows about.
Let’s see the dictionaries:
Literary
- Relating to or dealing with literature.
- Relating to writers or literature as a profession.
Literature
- Body of written works of a language, period or culture.
- Imaginative or creative writing.
Fiction
- Any imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality, but has been invented.
- A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact.
- Category of literature comprising works of this kind.
Isn’t it obvious? Why do people have to invent terms and definitions on their own, disregarding linguistics just to present themselves as important? And why doesn’t anybody question those persons’ invention?
The only accepted definition would be that it is fiction related to literature, as opposed to fiction related to movies, poetry and/or story-telling.
Romance fiction – well, most people “shouting” against romance literature (that is a correct use of the word), are feeling guilty for enjoying it.
After more than 3,000 (three thousand, in case anyone thinks I’ve typed wrongly) books I’ve read in my 38 years of life, from classical to modern literature, many writers from all over the world, in three languages and basically every genre that exists, I think that I can have a valid argumentative opinion on reading. There are great books in the romance genre – excellently written, great plot and great story.
I agree with Karen, happy endings are necessary in the world we live.
But which books have no happy endings? Few of them. Most books, even thrillers, horror and spy genres have a happy ending for the characters. Bad guys caught most of the times, good guys prevail.
And when one admires and considers Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters classics and then disregards romance, that’s hypocricy.
Jacqvern – Perhaps literary fiction may be defined as a book you read only because your book club is reading it.
“And when one admires and considers Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters classics and then disregards romance, that’s hypocricy.” Agreed.
And those points are so transparently stupid. I don’t usually like to sound mean online, but honestly, if people really think that writing romance novels easy or that anyone can write them, is somewhat slow, aren’t they?
Why aren’t there similar comments for those thriller best-seller types mostly written by men? Come on, they are the easy to write ones because there is hardly any emotion in there. there is a reason why men write thrillers and women write romances (sorry to be generalizing but you know what I mean). Because it’s in our natures!
And this, undermining the genre that women are mostly associated with, is simply yet another way for men to put down women. Discrimination. I’m not a feminist but this is obviously unfair. Plus I bet you a man can never write a good romance, however easy they think it is..
Violeta – Let me quickly interject that Jacqvern is a woman.
And one more quick clarification if it is necessary – all the stereotypes described above were written by a woman on the All About Romance website.
Passive Guy doesn’t endorse stereotypes about Romance writers. Mostly, he sticks to agent and publisher stereotypes and even those he does sporadically.
There. Now, everyone will see I’m a woman. Ok, PG? LOL
Well, the stereotypes weren’t written by her, those stereotypes are all over the place. She just mentions them and she replies to the stereotypes.
Don’t worry PG, even if we all are women commenting until now, I don’t think any of us thought that you’re endorsing the stereotypes and we didn’t hold it against you.
It’s obvious you don’t agree with sterotypes, from the beginning paragraph you wrote. We won’t throw you into the pillory LOL.
Whew, Jacqvern. I’m relieved.
Not slow here, I have a rather high IQ, college educated. lol I don’t know why I thought Romance would be easy to write. Maybe because I’ve read some very formulaic romance novels that seemed like all they did was change the names, location, hair color etc.
You are right Violeta there are “those kinds of books” in any genre.
But I’m curious, wouldn’t thinking male written “thriller best-seller type” books are easy to write be as “slow” as believing the same about romance?
Karen – Having tried out two genres and being in the process of working on the third, I don’t think any book is easy to write. And my lousy manuscripts that will never see the light of day weren’t really much easier to write than better manuscripts.
Actually, I’ll limit my statement to fiction. My child custody book was easy to write because it was basically what I told divorce clients for several years. If you include the years talking about custody and arguing about custody in court, the child custody book took more time to write than any ten other books I ever expect to write.
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I’m a proud Presents and Desire junkie. My day job often shows me the sadder side of life. I enjoy the larger than life whirlwind romance, the promise that nothing too bad will happen, the inevitable, emotional breakup that is just a speedbump on the way to happily ever after. Old story lines with new twists are comfortable like my Saturday jeans.
Ruth – I think the guy equivalent is the techno-thriller where the world always gets saved in the end.