Historical Novel VS Historical Romance

[DivaNicoletta]

I would I am writing a historical novel, but I don't want for it to turn into a historical romance. It takes place during the 18th century in London, and has to do with highwaymen. How to write this novel WITHOUT making it a romance? I am just asking because this is a pretty popular subject for romances.

[DamaNegra]

Hmm that's an interesting question. I might be a little er.. let's say 'naive' to avoid saying 'stupid' about these matters, but what kind of romance do you mean? Man meets woman and they fall in love romance, or romance like the Cid?? I'm confused, sorry.

[DivaNicoletta]

Romance like Harlequin, Mills and Boon etc, really formulaic plots that are just based on the heroine and hero falling in love. Maybe this could be done through subplots?

[jules]

Concentrate on a non-romantic plot as your main source of conflict. A romantic subplot may exist (there are in many historical novels; the most recent I read, Valerio Massimo Manfredi's Spartan had one, for example), but they are rarely the most important part of the novel.

Also, if you don't have a "happily ever after" ending, I believe this disqualifies the novel from being genre romance.

So: what exactly are your highwaymen going to do? Who's the main character? What does he/she want?

[Cathy C]

Heck, that's easy!

1. Just don't include any romance in the plot. Make it a "guy" book with all action/adventure, or an all "girl" plot with a band of FEMALE highwaymen.

2. Or have one of the people get "lucky", but not so much that there's any hope of continuation beyond a one-night stand.

3. Have the other person get killed after the one-night stand.

Unless, of course, are you telling an ACTUAL story from history that you're fictionalizing and there's REAL romance involved?

I guess I have to wonder one other thing -- is there a particular problem with selling it as an historical romance? At 55% of the mass paperback market, that's not a terrible thing for your pocketbook... :) I never planned to write romances, but it really is where the money is, advance-wise.

[Elisabetta]

Write the book you really want to write. Write the book you love. Let it decide for itself what it wants to be.

[Vuligora]

Don't think. It will be a Romance if it wants to be. If you force it too much it will be neither an adventure or romance...it will be a historical fiction that is really annoying. If you can start a romance and say,"Okay, I don't want to do this," start another Highway man book or whatever that doesn't have too much in common with the original. Just don't stick a book through the House Renevation machine to make it into a non-romance just so you can say it's not a romance. No book deserves that.

[Chansonellensky]

DivaNicoletta,

Romances (the modern kind, not the classical definition) aren't that easy to write. They have some rather narrow conventions, so you're not likely to write one by accident. So don't worry, and just write what your muse tells you to. And if, by chance, it does turn out to be a romance, then you'll know that's you're calling. :)

Kelly

[DivaNicoletta]

My novel is about a woman who become a highwaywoman, she is mentored by a man who is a bit older, an already well established highwayman. It's not really a romancy plot, it's more of almost an odd may december relationship. They do fall in love in between her robbing people and kicking thier butts and there are some love scenes ( not as explict as in some romances), but the ending is NOT happy, the man she loves is exocuted halfway through the book, also the book involves historical events in it as well. ( The great fire in London in 1666 and the Plauge which was right around that time as well) It also uses some real historical characters as well in the plot. She also has a son by him, so part of the book is her life trying to raise her child on her own.

[Sage]

Based on this description, I think even with the romantic subplot in there, you'll be fine if you don't want it to be a romance novel.

[Lilybiz]

I think what Chansonellensky says is true, and there are definite conventions to the Harlequin type romance (i.e., happy ending) that your plot doesn't fit. Don't worry about it. Your story sounds exciting and different. I'll read it!

[Cathy C]

Don't worry in the least about it being "accidentally" deemed to be romance. Sage and aertep are right. There needs to be a "happily ever after" ending for it to be romance. But this might qualify as women's fiction, since the emphasis is on the woman's life as a whole. Not a bad place to consider marketing it. Women's fiction is HOT right now! Good luck with it!

[Jamesaritchie]

I would I am writing a historical novel, but I don't want for it to turn into a historical romance. It takes place during the 18th century in London, and has to do with highwaymen. How to write this novel WITHOUT making it a romance? I am just asking because this is a pretty popular subject for romances.



I agree with those who say you should just write the book. Don't worry about what it is. Write the book you want to write, write it the best way you can, and let an agent and/or publisher decide what it is. Let the story go where it wants to go, the way it wants to get there.

[Diviner]

Romance writers follow accepted forms. What you need to worry about is the originality of your concept and the sensitivity of your writing. You could not accidentally fall into formula fiction unless your thinking is so saturated that you unconsciously follow the forms. A love story within an adventure story would probably not do this.