|
Romance Author Roundtable
1.
AOTW: Romance authors are prolific writers. Knowing that there are so many romance books published each year, how do you keep your ideas fresh and avoid traveling over well-worn territory?
Carly Phillips: It takes work! Especially when you've also written category books and have done as many as four or five a year. But it's the challenge of starting a new book that keeps me coming back for more. The adrenaline of getting to know new characters and people all over again. What I like to do is start with a scene or a set up and build character around that particular notion. I don't always work myself. I always bounce ideas off my critique partner, author Janelle Denison, and recently I've become part of a fantastic plotting group of authors, Janelle, Leslie Kelly and Julie Elizabeth Leto. All three authors have different strengths and I find if I bring my idea to the table, they can offer fresh takes on it that I haven't thought of! But the initial concept and execution is mine alone and so it's my challenge to give readers a hot, sexy, Carly Phillips book without duplicating myself or others. Hence, the panty thief plot in The Bachelor, the heroine being marriage-shy in The Playboy and the shocker of who the heroine's real father is in the upcoming The Heartbreaker. But it isn't easy! I strive to always give my readers a unique twist on the happy ending.
Judith McNaught: As a romance writer, I doubt I qualify as prolific, having written only thirteen books in twenty-five years. However, there's no denying that there's a rather staggering number of new books published in our genre every year. On the surface, the sheer quantity of them makes being "fresh" seem like a formidable, even impossible task, particularly in the Regency historical segment of our genre, which is where I began my writing career in 1985. The proliferation of Regency historicals that followed in the later 1980s and continued to escalate in the 1990s caused me to finally switch to contemporary romances --- not because I wanted to be "different" but because, in their desire to write fresh material for the Regency period, writers were stretching the bounds of credibility for that time period far beyond what seemed believable or justifiable to me. As a writer, I wanted my work to be not only "fresh" but also as historically authentic as I could make it.
The truth is that life in the Regency period among the aristocracy was extremely restricted, which severely limits the kinds of plots and characters a writer can create, unless she's willing to sacrifice authenticity for entertainment value. On the other hand, writing about contemporary people in modern-day situations offers unlimited plot and characterization possibilities. I know there are a great many contemporary romances being published every year, but I very rarely read in this genre, and I don't worry about being fresh or traveling over well-worn territory. The truth is, my strengths as a writer lie in my dialogue, my characterizations, and my ability to evoke emotional responses in readers. Knowing that, I concentrate my efforts on these things, rather than on elaborate plots and colorful narrative (which I love and admire, by the way, but have a difficult time writing). Because of the combination of my particular strengths and limitations, I have to assume that my book will ultimately seem "fresh" or at least uniquely mine to readers. If I couldn't make that assumption, I couldn't write at all. Writing is already excruciatingly difficult for me; if I had one more thing to worry about doing wrong, I'd be utterly paralyzed.
Barbara Samuel: The answer to that is a lot simpler than you would imagine: every love affair is different. The freshness of a romance novel doesn't depend on plot, but rather on character development. It's largely an internal journey the characters make, individually and with each other. Since each human is quite different from every other, the flow of a romance is always different, too. If you think about when you've fallen in love, you can see how true this is. The first time had things in common with the second time, but they were very different experiences, too.
Julia Quinn: It all depends on what you mean by "well-worn" territory. There are only so many plot lines for any type of fiction, romance or otherwise. It's what you do with the story that matters. As a reader, I find that I am more attracted to voice and style than I am to plot and theme. If an author has a voice that grabs me, I'll stay with her forever. So as an author, all I can do is write the story I want to write and trust that my writing voice will make it different from everything else out there.
Christina Skye: Characters --- always the characters. Their voice, their mannerisms, their secrets all conspire to make each story unique. All the author has to do is listen closely. The problem is, once they start talking it's sometimes hard to shut them up again!
Shirlee Busbee: Keeping it fresh is a challenge for any writer, not just romance writers. I don't consciously think about keeping it fresh --- but I do try not to repeat myself or use the same old ploy (Ahem. If I'm aware that I'm doing so). Remember that each new book is just that --- a new book. Because it's a new book, with new characters and new situations, there's always something different on the horizon.
Jo Beverley: Well, I'm not as prolific as my recent publications might imply. I had three reissues out in 2002, but only one new book. It takes me most of a year to write a book, though I like to work on more than one novel at a time. By that I mean that I'll spend a few months on one, then switch to another that's at a different stage. This seems to keep my mind fresh. In the end, I generally have a new book out every nine months.
I know this is still fast by some standards, but I am a full time writer. I don't teach, do reviews, or any other occupations, so I don't think that an average of a page a day of finished, polished prose is a problem.
To me, it's the characters that make the difference. They have to come to life before I can write about them, and that means each has to be unique. Therefore, they will have unique stories. Some people will say that all romance novels are the same, but that's like saying that all marriages are the same, which is clearly untrue. In fact, if a person has a number of marriages, each of those will be different. So I let my characters be themselves and discover their special and fascinating story.
Kerrelyn Sparks: What an excellent question! This problem haunts me every time I plot a new book, probably because there really aren't any new plots out there. For example, my debut book, For Love or Country, has been described as The Scarlet Pimpernel meets The Patriot. Just about everything has been done and not just recently by romance authors. A look at Shakespeare will give you many of the plot lines we all enjoy again and again. So, I have to ask myself --- do I have a new slant on the story? A different twist? Does it come off fresh and entertaining? The plots may appear similar, but what I write can still be different. My characters can be original and unique. And the way I present the story, my voice, can be original and unique. This is why I think a great voice and excellent characterization are the two ingredients that make a romance author stand out.
Brenda Novak: I think it's important to keep "filling the well." What I mean by that is simply to know when to leave my work behind for the day and enjoy life --- read other books, other genres, watch some television, go to the movies, cook, travel, enjoy friends and family, mentor children, do something artistic, exercise. The more well-rounded I am, the more diverse and interesting I think my books will be. These other activities help replenish my creativity. My best ideas usually strike when I'm on vacation or, on a rare morning, letting myself sleep in. Then I can simply let my imagination wander... But it's equally important to be consistent about turning out the pages, which is why I aim for a healthy balance between the two.
Leslie Carroll: To be honest with you, while I revisit favorite classics, or finally delve into the ones I always intended to tackle (I'm talking the Brontės, Twain, Dickens, Wharton, Austen, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, etc.), and I enjoy literary fiction, nonfiction, biography, and dramatic literature, and I also belong to a book club that chooses some eclectic selections, I'm not much of a romance reader. I never was much of a genre fiction reader. Even after I started writing romances, I never really read romance books, except those written by friends. I don't really think of myself as a romance author, the same way I don't categorize myself as a Shakespearean actress just because I've professionally performed a lot of Shakespeare. I'm a storyteller. I like writing love stories because they make me happy and because I believe in happily ever after. If I preferred scary stuff, I might be writing horror, mysteries, or thrillers instead, and more than likely I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a suspense writer either.
So, frankly, apart from seeing a plethora of babies, brides, and cowboys on book covers, I don't know what's out there and can't otherwise comment on what's fresh or what's considered overdone in the romance market. I just know what I like: what stories invade my soul and get under my skin. I get an idea for a story and sit down to write it, without wondering or worrying whether seventeen people --- or no one --- has already written something similar. I write what I like and what I know. I neither know nor particularly care what other authors have done; it's not going to effect my selection of topics, themes, or storylines.
My Ballantine novels are contemporary romantic comedies set in New York City. Miss Match is about a thirty-five year old high school drama teacher who enrolls with a matchmaking service and goes on a series of madcap Manhattan misadventures with a half-dozen potential husbands. Reality Check, my second novel, just released on January 1st, takes a wry look at our seemingly endless fascination with reality TV shows and the cult of "instant celebrity." Three female roommates get cast on "Bad Date," America's hottest reality TV show, with a million dollar jackpot at stake and a no-fraternization clause in the contestants' contracts. But as the weeks progress, the characters begin to find true love and, like some of the charming old Frank Capra and Preston Sturges movies, we see what happens when good people become tempted by money and fame. It's funny
when I began writing Reality Check in the summer of 2001, there were only a handful of reality TV shows and I was concerned that the trend might burn itself out before the book hit the stores. Now, there seem to be more new reality TV shows hitting the airwaves every week.
Gaelen Foley: Well, there are only, what, twenty, thirty plots in the world, anyway, right? I rely on characterization, solid research, and above all, my writing "voice" to distinguish my books in the crowded marketplace. But I really don't worry too much about trying to come up with what's Never Been Done. I think that may be more a "literary" fiction writer's obsession.
Popular fiction writers work in the heroic tradition, which is a shared cultural heritage. Many of us enjoy tapping into familiar plot --- or situational --- elements to help give a sturdy structural framework to our novels.
Of course, you want to make your story your own, but to me, the archetypal romantic figures (highwayman, pirate, dashing English lord, warrior, prince, etc.) and situations (forced marriage, marriage of convenience, abduction, etc.) are too much fun to pass by just because everybody and her mother has written about them.
Like fairytales, these are rich, deep, ancient monomyths that come out of the collective unconscious and still vibrate with enormous power. I really don't worry too much about what other writers are doing. If I can write a book I think is pretty dang good, then hopefully my readers will like it, too.
Dorothy Garlock: I don't read a lot of romance so I don't worry about it.
Rachel Gibson: I don't worry about "traveling over well-worn territory." When I first get a story idea, I am so excited to write it that I don't really care how many times it's been done. I've never done it. Besides, what keeps something fresh is the writer's voice, not necessarily a story idea.
Mary Lynn Baxter: Fresh ideas and traveling over well worn territory are two things I fight everyday. To overcome those, I try and focus on unique characters rather than situations. I think it's the characters who make each story strong and different.
Teresa Medeiros: I have a very short attention span so I've written everything from ancient Ireland to contemporary New York. If I don't keep myself interested, I'm afraid I won't be able to interest the reader. I do believe the most important factor is that each character be unique with their own passions, memories, and foibles. I can put two heroines in a very similar situation and they'll each react differently. I also like having a big plot hook to drape my story over, which is another strategy that sets each book apart.
Candace Camp: There are lots of similar basic ideas, but I think, at least for me, it's the characters that make each story different. Nearly always my very first germ of an idea is about a main character --- or both main characters. Whether or not they appear in the book, I always think of families for my hero and heroine and the past events that have shaped them. Sure, you may have a tall, dark, and handsome hero as so many romances have had, but he is a specific tall, dark, and handsome guy with certain personality traits and a certain place in life and with a certain past, and all those things make him unique. And even if their story is a basic story --- say, that they've been best friends for years and then suddenly realize that they really love each other --- it's the way they interact, the things that happen to them, the way they travel the journey of discovery through the book that makes their story different.
|
