How many of you are reading this article under protest? “I don’t write romances,” you say. Well, you might need to stick around as I clarify the word romance for you. “Not necessary,” you say? “Everyone knows what a romance is,” you say? Okay, humor me.
Merriam-Webster defines a romance as, “a love story, especially in the form of a novel.” “Ha! You say! Just as I thought.” But wait, there’s more.
Dictionary.com defines romance as “a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginary setting.” That might make, say, most of the stories of King Arthur and his knights romances! Still not convinced?
Merriam-Webster also defines romance as, “based on legend and involving the supernatural.” Is anyone else thinking The Lord of the Rings? What about Star Wars? The Christmas Carol (I mean three ghosts)?
Merriam-Webster has a third definition, “a prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious.” Whoa, Hunger Games just popped into my mind.
This is my final defense. Dictionary.com defines it as “indulging in fanciful or extravagant stories or daydreams.” There it is friends; isn’t that really the definition of any fiction writer?
There is a method to my madness. All of the above was meant to be a humorous way of impressing upon us as fiction writers that there is at least a grain of romance in almost everything we write. But what I wanted us to really understand is that every contest out there gives you different categories, with different levels of romance, where you must determine where your book fits.
Let me tell you that, in my humble opinion, entering contests is an important part of writing. Whether published or unpublished there are contests to fit everyone. And whether you win or lose, if you realize that you are getting terrific feedback on your manuscript for very little cost, you come out way ahead.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve entered my fair share of contests and sometimes the hardest part is which category to enter my manuscript. That is the teaser for my next column. There is no excuse to skip it anymore because you don’t write romance!
I’d love to hear from your feedback on this article and/or questions we might be able to address for my upcoming contest column.
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6 Comments
I’m convinced. I came in doubtbul and I’m leaving a romantic writing convert. 😉
Yay, Tina! Now I wish I could write a “Hunger Games” instead of the smaller, more narrowed view of a Romance…who knows!
Half of all readers are female. Why leave them uninterested in an engaging story? I’ve worked hard on it. Besides, fifty percent of my target audience are female.
You know, Richard, that puts a whole new spin altogether! A “Romance,” from the male perspective, whether in a contemporary love story or a sci-fi thriller might not have been what I picked up first, but it sure does pique my interest in a romance by a gentleman. I recently had a reader who was out of town and forgot his John Grisham novel. The only book he found was mine. He began it against his will, but by the end had been engaged by the characters and their stories. He wrote me a lovely letter and went on Amazon and named his critique, “Not just for Women.” I am definitely headed over to Amazon for a copy of yours! Thanks for taking the time to respond….
Woops! Sorry, but I’m pre-published at this point in the journey.
That’s ok (I did look :)! Let me know when it comes out ok?