  Romance/Love
This week: Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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“Dance like nobody’s watching; write like your mother will never read it!” - Marisa Wright
Perhaps this is why fifty-five percent (55%) of all books sold today are romance fiction, according to the Romance Writers of America.. Where else can one experience not only the depth of scenic perception AND get into the mind of the heroine and/or hero of the story – completely enter the ‘otherworld’ created by the writer! Where in a mystery or suspense story, scenes move with alacrity from one clue to another, in a romance, they weave a path through ‘rainbow-flecked droplets of rain caressing the bare toes that embrace with measured care the rungs of the wind-kissed jetty inscribed with the musk of countless fishermen casting off, anticipating the day’s catch.’
See where I’m going with this? The scene engages sight, touch, scent, hearing and the mind. There’s perhaps a bit of a double entendre as well in ‘anticipating the day’s catch.’ The pace is somewhat more determined (I won’t say slower) and reveals more of the sensory details of the character and the surroundings. Today, men also seek this sensory journey and, also according to Romance Writers of America, 22% of those who read romance novels are men.
Now, the romance novel today has become as multifaceted as its writers (and readers). Along with the traditional historical romances (those plotted through the mid-1940’s in a variety of historical settings), there is also blending with other genres, like suspense, time travel/futuristic, comedy, and erotica. Though each of these genres can blend with romance to charge it in a unique way, in order to remain a romance, the following must take place within the story.
 Sensory immersion - in the setting – people, places and things with which the heroine/hero interacts, setting a vivid image into which the reader is drawn. Now, romantic scenes are sensuous, as experienced through the eyes and imagination of the heroine/hero. Sensuous descriptions and interactions are subtle, creative and composed in part of the vision and imagination of the characters; allow your reader to experience this as well.
Creating the heroine in her full persona early in the story, getting inside her head. Immerse the reader into the inner thoughts of the heroine/hero; taking the story, and the reader, into the otherworld envisioned and shown by the writer in sumptuous sensuous detail. Then do the same with the hero, so the reader comes to know them and care about each of them as much as the writer does.
One way to do this is to write the opening scene or chapter in first person as the heroine, relating all sensory experiences and thoughts about the same, then rewriting to third person (with a bit of tweaking to remove extraneous pronouns) to keep it consistent with the rest of the story. Think about it, almost like journaling the opening of a story to show what’s happening, and what the heroine’s thought processes are about the occurrences. It’s one idea I’ve seen in several locations. This is a splendid vehicle for the wordsmith who embraces the variety of words and savors their flavoring in writing the romance story and/or poem.
Showing inner thoughts allows the reader to experience the inner conflict (key feature in romance); what drives the heroine and hero apart and what ultimately brings them together. Although outer conflicts are more likely seen as well in today’s writing, the inner (internal) conflict is what motivates the heroine and, by extension, the writer and reader, to continue the quest for satisfaction. A mainstay in romance stories is the interplay between the heroine and the hero throughout the plot, which actually supersedes the plot, becoming the reason to keep going ~ to resolve the inner conflict and afford the heroine and the hero satisfaction and happiness.
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Thank you once attain for your hospitality and I wish you a summer of immersion in the sensory delights of a good romance ~ read and/or written .
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Here are some prosaic and poetic tales of romance in its myriad forms (including comedic) penned by members of our Community for your reading (and reviewing) pleasure.
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Have we tweaked the Muse Romantic ~ perhaps to pen one for these inspiring challenges
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Thank you again for welcoming me into your virtual home this week. I wish you a season of sensory delight; may you be immersed in a journey sensous and vivid, whether read or written (both, I hope)
Keep Writing!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Romance/Love: June 18, 2008 Issue [#2454]
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