Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Reading Romance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

The usual saying goes a little differently: “Distance makes the heart grow fonder” or its opposing sentiment, “Familiarity breeds contempt” but writers are always on the lookout for a different way of seeing the everyday.

To make our work fresh and unique, we scour our brains for ways of saying what ultimately is the same truth — the truth that has been told by our predecessors from the first instance that one human spoke to another member of the cave-dwelling group about an experience they would all need to understand to survive.

In tales of romance, the element of survival may not seem quite as drastic as how to wrangle with a saber-tooth tiger or avoid eating those poisonous berries that look so delicious. But the human heart — technically a mere symbol of the miasma of emotions we cope with every day — can cause the most dire of consequences to arise from what some consider trivial events.

Falling in love, for many of us, is one of the moments in our lives that carries with it all the elements of human drama: comedic and tragic. Romantic love is not for the faint of heart nor is it in any way limited by circumstance. Each couple experiencing the wonder of finding the one-in-six-billion person who is their perfect match can testify to the miraculous phenomenon — that overwhelming elation of supreme good fortune. The ultimate “I can’t believe this has happened to me” moment.

Along with that elation comes the doubt — “This can’t be happening to me - I don’t deserve this - This can’t be love” — when you wish you’d never met this person.

Although Romance, as a genre, is often denigrated as “fluff,” “trivial,” “inconsequential,” most of this criticism comes from a misplaced sense of intellectual superiority. When I entered the Creative Writing Program at my university, I did so with the objective of writing “important” novels. I took classes in every aspect of writing the meaningful short story to the construction of the meaningful novel.

Try as I did, I wrote …and they lived happily ever after.” The optimistic ending is in my nature, probably a result of my childhood spent in reading the classic fairy tales of world literature but more probably related to my “cup half full,” “walking on sunshine” point of view.

“Important” novels are those that drag the reader into a downward spiral of misery and hardship. “Frivolous” books lift readers up, provide “the air beneath their wings.”

I know which I’d rather write and read. Life is hard, why make it harder?  

9 comments:

  1. Leigh, I totally agree with you about how romantic novels lift the spirit. I love writing about relationships and love reading a good romance novel. There's enough bad in the world without reading books that bring me down! Nope. Give me a good romance any day of the week.

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    1. Admitting I write Romance was a big step and one that set my free. Thanks, Fran.

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  2. Such a nice post, Leigh. So full of truth. And yet, as a mystery writer, I have to throw in that it's also nice to have a puzzle to solve. Thanks for adding a positive thought to the day.

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    1. That is true too, Sandy. I think Romance contains problems to solve and mystery as well as trouble and strife - with a happy ending. If a Mystery isn't solved, there's no end, period.

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  3. Though some of the "other" writer types normally won't admit it, Romance in some form is in every book - love, sex, jealousy etc. With the emotions associated with these things, the characters have no heart or soul. Sure we all want to say the world, but doing it alone would be pretty darn lonely.

    Great Post.

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    1. I meant WITHOUT the emotions associated with these things.....
      The Typo Queen lives!

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    2. Exactly! Name one film or book that doesn't have some 'love' interest. Rare. Love is the great motivator and, I think, the lack there of is the great destroyer. As the lyrics go...what the world needs now. Thank you, Kathye.

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  4. I can't tell you how many movies or books I've disliked because they didn't have my requisite happy ending. Can life be meaningful without love? Maybe. But I hope I never find out.

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  5. Hi Leigh--
    You are so right. Reading romance does make the heart grow fonder. Romance is the genre I've been reading forever. They lift my spirit, even the ones with difficult challenges for the characters, because I know the story will ultimately be about strength of character and "love conquers all."
    Victoria--

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