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If I ever try to combine genre romance with a story about politics and prejudice again, please shoot me.

...

...

...

Oh shit, I just remembered that's basically the plot of "A Change of Season." *headdesk* No WONDER I've been reluctant to start serious work on that fic!

...Well, okay, "The Courting Dance" has bigger structural issues that have nothing to do with its particular combination of subplots -- namely, the rotating POV thing, and the fact that I started it as a one-shot with a followup and therefore didn't lay proper groundwork for ANY plot at the start -- but still. I hate romance, I hate romance, I hate romance and I should not be allowed to try writing it. At all.

*resolve face*

Crossposts: http://edenfalling.livejournal.com/948964.html

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

heliopausa

Speaking as someone who's made one desperate, convulsive attempt at a romance in her life - sympathies! :D

From:

edenfalling

I have managed to write romances before! I mean, they are not very romancey romances, but still: two people deciding to spend their lives together in a non-platonic fashion = romance. The trouble is when I have to remember to include a romance plot or subplot when I have any other plot imaginable going on at the same time.

(Also in this particular case the final chapters of "The Courting Dance" kept not gelling properly no matter how I tweaked them, until last night I finally decided to ditch chapters 12 and 14 altogether. I think this will make for a stronger thematic through-line, but it means I am doing AN AWFUL LOT of last-minute revisions to make sure the necessary information gets covered in other chapters without sounding horribly clunky. *headdesk*)

From:

othercat

Romance is hard. (I have almost never been able to finish a romance novel, so I don't even have and understand of the tropes to base any of my romance writing on.)

From:

edenfalling

The funny thing is, I actually enjoy reading romance novels. I have read stupid numbers of them over the years. When they work well, they are about people figuring out how to live together in mutually joyful partnership, and since social connections of any type are my fictional jam, I am all about that. (I especially like when the two romantic leads have friends-and-family who are actual characters rather than quickly forgotten window dressing.) I am very good at knowing where the plot and character beats should fall in almost any specific subtype of romance.

But I can't write them myself worth beans.

I have been attempting to teach myself that skill for about fifteen years now, and it still escapes me. I have gone so far as to design original characters who existed for no other purpose but to fall in love and follow a certain romantic plot arc... and they went off and did other things instead. Like revenge killings and coverups, and maybe opening a magical mafia supply shop. I mean, they still fell in love! But they were not doing proper genre romance anymore, and also they might have been in a poly relationship with some ghosts. *headdesk* It was immensely frustrating.

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Elizabeth Culmer

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