Popular Fiction Writers Group - Romance Novels

This month at Popular Fiction we discussed all things romance! What defines a romance novel, what are the different subgenres, and what type of conflict makes up the story on the road to happily ever after?

Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting. We had lots of fun. And if you missed out, come along next month for Genre Expectations! In the meantime, here is a summary of last night's meeting.

Romance - Definitions

A romance novel is generally defined as a "love story" that follows an emotional journey towards an uplifting and emotionally satisfying "happily ever after".

The one rule in romance is that it MUST end happily. Otherwise, your novel is a 'love story' or contains 'romantic elements'.

More definitions and statistics about romance can be found at Romance Writers of Australia, Romance Writers of New Zealand, and Romance Writers of America.

Romance - Subgenres

Contemporary romance - set in the current time period (1950s onwards)
Historical romance - set in any historical time period (before 1940s and WWII)
Paranormal romance - romance with paranormal characters and/or elements
Medical romances - set within the medical setting - a Mills and Boon category line
Rural romance - set in rural Australia
Western romance - in the American western setting
Erotic romance - high sexual tension and explicit detail

Just to name a few...

Romance Tropes

Tropes are an identifiable marker or theme that instantly tells the reader what the story is about.

Best Friend's Sibling - a romance where the hero or heroine is best friend's with their lover's sibling
Reunion - a romance between two characters who've had a romance previously
Friends to Lovers - friends who take their relationship to the next level
Enemies to Lovers - a couple who have opposing conflict...hopefully they don't necessary hate each other.
Fish out of Water - a character is in a different or new situation they're struggling with
Office Romance - the couple work together
Nanny - (usually) the woman is employed to look after the (usually) hero's kids
Secret Baby - there is a baby that the (hero) didn't know he had
Sudden Baby - a character suddenly inherits a child they need to care for
Accidental Pregnancy - the characters accidentally fall pregnant
Marriage of Convenience - the characters enter into a marriage for reasons other than love

​Just to name a few...

Conflict

There are two types of conflict:

Internal conflict - conflict that comes from inside the character - their thoughts, feelings, fears, etc
External conflict - conflict that comes from an external force - a living situation, a threat of danger, an enemy, etc

Types of internal conflict include:
Fears, dreams, trauma, emotional scars, physical scars, self-esteem, self-confidence, grief, believing in yourself, past hurts

Types of external conflict include:
A sick loved one, a natural disaster, a stalker, a killer, new situation, a disease, work situation

​Just to name a few...