I have been writing a book for about 7 months, and at first thought it was a dialogue-driven psychological thriller. I am now seven chapters in, and it has intense dialogue, and tension building up, leading to an eventual corpse being found, a slight chase, and a tragic death. However as I've been looking at the Romance genre; I feel my book falls more under that umbrella. The only thing is, not much romance in the book, but the rest of the formula, and the way it is written has me wondering if it falls under the romance genre, more than the thriller genre I have it under. Hell, the main character ends up finding himself, and being happy but not with love.
Romance novel with very little romance.
- Thread starter Coreyt0304
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A romance is about the relationship between the primary couple (or throuple, or however many people are involved). The relationship is the plot of the story. How they meet, what brings them together, what tries to keep them apart. And romances have a happy-with-love ending.
If there isn't much romance in the book, I'm not sure why you believe your book fits the "romance formula."
Your book sounds more like a thriller with a romance subplot than a romance, based on what you've said here. "Finding himself and being happy, but not with love" would put it firmly OUT of the romance genre.
If there isn't much romance in the book, I'm not sure why you believe your book fits the "romance formula."
Your book sounds more like a thriller with a romance subplot than a romance, based on what you've said here. "Finding himself and being happy, but not with love" would put it firmly OUT of the romance genre.
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Thanks. I've been going nuts because 7 chapters, and its more drama less action, so I've been confused lol. Plus the potential series, I have outlined is much more romance novel territory, but as I said, not all of the books planned necessarily have a big romance plot.
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I agree.
The guideline I've seen before is something like this: If you take the romance out, and the story falls apart, then it's a romance. If you take the romance out and the story more or less still holds together...then it's not a romance. And to be a romance, it should have an HEA/HFN.
Is a romance without romantic elements kind of like a thriller with no thrills? A crime procedural where no crime is committed? A comedy without funny stuff?
Nothing of what you've described indicates that you're writing a "romance." The fact that you may have two characters having a romantic relationship during the course of the plot doesn't automatically put it in that genre.
Romance is perhaps one of the genres that punishes writers most severely for going off script. I would really hesitate to try to market something as a romance if "the main character ends up finding himself, and being happy but not with love". People picking up a romance novel are not looking for that.
Nothing of what you've described indicates that you're writing a "romance." The fact that you may have two characters having a romantic relationship during the course of the plot doesn't automatically put it in that genre.
Romance is perhaps one of the genres that punishes writers most severely for going off script. I would really hesitate to try to market something as a romance if "the main character ends up finding himself, and being happy but not with love". People picking up a romance novel are not looking for that.
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