One question I’ve been getting lately is “Why did you
choose the genre you write?” For those who don’t know, my focus is contemporary
mystery/thrillers and crime fiction, with some romance thrown in. I chose this
genre because it’s what I like to read. I originally became a fan of pulp
fiction mysteries from watching old film noirs on TV. I’d see something like
“Double Indemnity,” “The Maltese Falcon” or “The Big Sleep,” then seek out the
book at the library. If I liked it, I’d make my way through everything written by
these authors. Came a point where I thought “I’d like to write one of these
myself someday.” This was followed by the mental challenge “Then either write
the damn thing or stop talking about it!” I decided to add some romance to the
mix to create more interesting characters and broaden my audience.
I conducted a survey with members of a local writer’s
group I belong to, focusing on why they chose the genre they write. The
majority consensus was pretty much the same reason I had—“It’s what I like to
read.” Some other responses included “Been dreaming about being a mermaid since
I was a kid” (from a fantasy romance author), “I like challenges” (romantic
mystery writer), and “After I read and re-read ‘The Mystery of Camp Laughing
Water’” (mystery/suspense writer). Some people made an unusual confession—“It
chose me!” The participants I polled write contemporary romance, paranormal,
young adult, fantasy, poetry, and mystery/suspense.
Of all the genres on the market, romance seems to have
sprouted the most branches. Popular topics include fantasy, gothic,
contemporary (defined as post-WWII), inspirational, Christian, historical,
paranormal, western, suspense (crime, mystery), and science fiction. Category
romances still comprise the biggest portion of the market. They’re usually a pre-determined
word count and fit into specific niches that readers feel comfortable with (medical,
billionaire, bodyguard/protector, cop, bounty hunter, military, cowboy, etc.).
Category romance lines each have a distinct standard style, involving similar
settings, characters, time periods, levels of sensuality, or types of conflict.
Additionally, there are many sub-genres that have
developed loyal followings, such as BDSM, time travel, steampunk, vampire, horror,
bizarro, shape-shifter, LGBTQ, Young Adult, Black Love, multicultural, Chick
Lit, and erotic. The rise in popularity of e-readers made erotic romance one of
the fastest-growing trends. The reason was anonymity—if it’s on your Kindle or phone,
it’s easier to conceal what you’re reading when someone walks up on you. This
practice also coined the unfortunate term “mommy porn.” These novels are a
blend of romance and erotica, characterized by strong sexual content, but they can
contain elements of any of the other romance genres. They tend to use more
frank language, avoiding many of the euphemisms found in books with milder
content (i.e., the dreaded Purple Prose).
Erotic romance novels typically have explicit sex scenes
instead of a more sensuous encounter and may include different acts or fetishes.
As opposed to pornography, erotic novels feature well-developed characters and
a plot that could exist without the sex, but it generally progresses the plot
or furthers the character development in some way that’s critical to the story.
A standard requirement from most erotic romance publishers is a
happily-ever-after or happy-for-now ending.
Black love and multicultural romances typically
feature heroes/heroines who are African-American, although some multicultural
lines also include Asian or Hispanic characters, and interracial relationships.
The first line of multicultural romance novels, Arabesque, was launched in
1994. It was followed five years later by the first line of Latino romance
novels, Encanto. These novels were originally released in two ways – a bilingual
Spanish/English version and a Spanish-only version. Two novels were published
every month until late 2001, when the line went into hiatus. Despite the
demise, some of the Encanto authors continued writing novels with Latino characters.
It’s interesting that although romance novels featuring African-American and Latino
protagonists are popular, those featuring Asian or Asian-American characters
are rare.
The creative writing community is always quick to cash
in on current trends or hot-button issues, which explains the rise of some
subgenres. I think it’s fair to say that recent political rhetoric is responsible
for repositioning the spotlight on certain subjects, along with book banning. These
actions have heightened the awareness of so-called “forbidden books” and their topics and increased the public’s interest in them. LGBTQ has been a
fast-growing example, especially with social media opening doors that were
previously closed, along with more online discussion. Male/male romance leads
the topic list, but lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, and asexual
fiction are all featured prominently.
It’s tricky when some writers feel the need to follow
a new trend when it catches on, especially if it’s outside their comfort zone.
I used to review books by competent romance authors who climbed onto the BDSM
bandwagon when a certain self-published book became popular years ago. This was
a repeat of earlier trends involving vampire romance and teen-focused stories
featuring young wizards. For the most part, the results indicated that these
folks should’ve stuck with what they did best.
Author Tess Gerritsen has stated "We read
romances because we want to feel good about love." To that end, never
sacrifice your story to conform to the market, or trade originality to fit a
trend. The best stories set new trends, and what matters is that YOU like your
story. Experimentation and spreading your creative wings is a good thing, but
ultimately you should write what you want. Period.
***
Tim Smith is an award-winning, bestselling author of
mystery/thrillers and contemporary erotic romance. His novels featuring former
CIA agent Nick Seven have garnered several awards and international critical
praise. He is also a freelance writer, blogger, editor and photographer. When
he isn’t pursuing those interests, he can be found in the Florida Keys, doing
research in between parasailing and seeking out the perfect Mojito. His author page is AllAuthor/Tim Smith
2 comments:
Great post, Tim.
I, like you and your author friends, first started writing what I liked to read... which was mainly thrillers.
When I finally attracted an agent with my work, the agent pointed out that I had great sex scenes in my book - along with a solid love story - so why not try romance. At the time, it was easier to break into.
I did that and got pubbed right away with a series of romcoms I wrote. Odd since romcoms are about the furthest thing from thrillers than I can think of.
Thank you, Tina.
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