Annie Burrows's Blog - Posts Tagged "harlequin-romance"
O is for...osmosis (yes, honestly!)
Each month I've been sharing a very personal view of what it is like to be a writer. Dealing with themes in alphabetical order. This month, I've reached O...
I have to admit I was a bit stumped for an "O". I have to thank Johanna Grassick for coming up with the fabulous word "osmosis".
The dictionary definition is: "Tendency of solvent to diffuse through porous partition into more concentrated solution."
Or, "The process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of ideas, knowledge, etc."
In other words, "soaking stuff up".
I have to admit, when I first started writing, I did a lot of "soaking stuff up." I'd studied literature at university, but not creative writing. So that although I could write essays about style, metaphor, and subtext, I didn't have a clue about how to achieve any of those things in a work of fiction I'd written myself.
I've already mentioned in an earlier blog (M is for...my career) about how I discovered that any writer who wants to submit to a publisher of genre fiction had better read a lot of them to get a "feel" for what they are looking for. In other words, I needed to soak up the atmosphere of romance that Mills & Boon publish. I've read, since then, all sorts of books which go into clinical detail about how to become a better writer, specifically of romance, but I still think the best way to get a real feel for the genre is to read lots and lots in the same line, and soak up the atmosphere.
I have shelves full of Georgette Heyer, and other Regency romances, so it's not surprising that the stories I've had published are also light-hearted Regency romances.
I'm not trying to write like Georgette Heyer, though. I'm trying to be as original as I can be. Which brings me to the slight drawback to learning to write by a process of osmosis. And that is the danger that I might unconsciously soak up someone else's style. That is why I steer clear of reading any kind of Regency romance at certain stages of writing my own books. I don't want to accidentally reproduce someone else's turns of phrase.
It isn't just the art of writing that I needed to "soak up", though. In order to make a historical background convincing, I have needed to positively wallow in research books. The only way I can confidently mention a mode of travel, a political undercurrent, or the cut of a gown is by reading as much as I can about the period. The only way to get into the mindset of my characters, and make them come to life, is to understand the way people in that era would have thought and acted, which means reading biographies of eminent figures of the day. And period newspapers. Soaking up as much knowledge as I can makes it possible to bring the era to life on the page for my readers. (hopefully!)
Going to museums and stately homes is also another way of soaking up atmosphere. I can imagine myself as an aristocrat, strolling through the grounds in a full-length dress, or going for a ride in a carriage. The view from a window, or the pattern of wear on a carpet can spark ideas, so that I often come home from trips to a stately home with inspiration for a new story.
A lot of writers will say that their mind is like a kind of compost heap. All sorts of things go in, get absorbed, transformed, and produce a rich crop.
That's me. A veritable compost heap!
The next book to emerge will be The Captain's Christmas Bride - out in December
I have to admit I was a bit stumped for an "O". I have to thank Johanna Grassick for coming up with the fabulous word "osmosis".
The dictionary definition is: "Tendency of solvent to diffuse through porous partition into more concentrated solution."
Or, "The process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of ideas, knowledge, etc."
In other words, "soaking stuff up".
I have to admit, when I first started writing, I did a lot of "soaking stuff up." I'd studied literature at university, but not creative writing. So that although I could write essays about style, metaphor, and subtext, I didn't have a clue about how to achieve any of those things in a work of fiction I'd written myself.
I've already mentioned in an earlier blog (M is for...my career) about how I discovered that any writer who wants to submit to a publisher of genre fiction had better read a lot of them to get a "feel" for what they are looking for. In other words, I needed to soak up the atmosphere of romance that Mills & Boon publish. I've read, since then, all sorts of books which go into clinical detail about how to become a better writer, specifically of romance, but I still think the best way to get a real feel for the genre is to read lots and lots in the same line, and soak up the atmosphere.
I have shelves full of Georgette Heyer, and other Regency romances, so it's not surprising that the stories I've had published are also light-hearted Regency romances.
I'm not trying to write like Georgette Heyer, though. I'm trying to be as original as I can be. Which brings me to the slight drawback to learning to write by a process of osmosis. And that is the danger that I might unconsciously soak up someone else's style. That is why I steer clear of reading any kind of Regency romance at certain stages of writing my own books. I don't want to accidentally reproduce someone else's turns of phrase.
It isn't just the art of writing that I needed to "soak up", though. In order to make a historical background convincing, I have needed to positively wallow in research books. The only way I can confidently mention a mode of travel, a political undercurrent, or the cut of a gown is by reading as much as I can about the period. The only way to get into the mindset of my characters, and make them come to life, is to understand the way people in that era would have thought and acted, which means reading biographies of eminent figures of the day. And period newspapers. Soaking up as much knowledge as I can makes it possible to bring the era to life on the page for my readers. (hopefully!)
Going to museums and stately homes is also another way of soaking up atmosphere. I can imagine myself as an aristocrat, strolling through the grounds in a full-length dress, or going for a ride in a carriage. The view from a window, or the pattern of wear on a carpet can spark ideas, so that I often come home from trips to a stately home with inspiration for a new story.
A lot of writers will say that their mind is like a kind of compost heap. All sorts of things go in, get absorbed, transformed, and produce a rich crop.
That's me. A veritable compost heap!
The next book to emerge will be The Captain's Christmas Bride - out in December
R is for...Romance
When I was at the Romance Writers of America conference in New York last summer, one of the highlights, for me, was attending the Harlequin booksigning.
In spite of what anyone may say, Harlequin romances are still incredibly popular. Sales may be down, but a lot of people were extremely keen to get their hands on the books that were being given away, to judge from the queue outside the door to get in.
I signed and gave away copies of my Waterloo book, A Mistress for Major Bartlett, almost continually for the two hours the event went on.
The only bit of the event I didn't enjoy was when a film crew came along to interview me. (I'm not alone in that - the other authors ducked behind their stacks of books, then sighed in relief when the crew pounced on me, because I'd been too busy chatting to a fan to notice them sneaking up)
Anyway, they cleared a space round my bit of the table, thrust a microphone at me, and said, in what I felt was a rather challenging manner, "Why do you love romance?"
My mind immediately went as blank as the first sheet of paper in a brand new notebook. After umming and erring for a while, I came up with something inane along the lines of (I think) "What's not to like? Doesn't everything in life mean more when you have someone to share it with?"
The reason I can't recall what I answered then, is because the crew went off into a huddle for a bit, then came back to me and said, "Could you say all that again, only this time look into the camera?"
Silly me, I'd answered the girl who asked the question, not the guy standing over to the side with half a ton of equipment strapped to his shoulder.
Anyway, by this time I was somewhat irritated. Because I still couldn't come up with a clever, witty, answer off the top of my head. And I felt a bit resentful that I had to defend my position as a writer of romance. And as anyone who's ever tried to take a photo of me will confirm, I have an extremely expressive face. So I don't think the second attempt to get a soundbite from me would have been any good either. Not to judge by the tight smiles on their faces as they shuffled away, anyhow.
It was three months later, before I finally decided what I should have said. (Not that I'd been lying awake at night going over and over how stupid I must have looked or anything)
All you have to do, I should have said, is to turn on the radio, to hear that love and romance is on just about everyone else's mind too. There may be the occasional song that reaches a top slot in the charts about Medicinal Compound, or digging a hole in the ground, but the vast majority of popular songs are about love and romance. Even the most cynical of news hounds would have to admit that finding a soul mate, that special someone who will understand you, support you, and share all life's trials with you, is extremely important to a lot of people. And that without that special someone, life can feel bleak and pointless.
Programmes like the X factor or Pop Idol rely on the fact that huge numbers of young people want to get up on stage and sing about how much they long for the object of their affection to notice them, or to bewail the fact that their heart has been badly broken.
Has anyone gone up to Adele, or Sam Smith, and asked them why they sing about romance? And made them defend their choice to do so? And imply that they would somehow be more worthy if they sang about crime, or the human condition? I don't think so.
So why is writing stories about romance regarded by the press, so often, as being somehow a bit silly, when singing about love and romance is not?
If I could write poetry, or hold a tune in a bucket, maybe I'd be up there singing about how wonderful it is to fall in love, or how badly it hurts when it all goes pear shaped. (Or if I could stand being in front of a camera!) Instead, I write about people going through the entire process of striving to find their happy ever after, in prose.
And what's wrong (to quote Sir Paul McCartney) with that?
If you'd like to see how ridiculous I looked in that interview, you can view the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/HarlequinBoo...
They stuck me right at the end. (I don't blame them!)
In spite of what anyone may say, Harlequin romances are still incredibly popular. Sales may be down, but a lot of people were extremely keen to get their hands on the books that were being given away, to judge from the queue outside the door to get in.
I signed and gave away copies of my Waterloo book, A Mistress for Major Bartlett, almost continually for the two hours the event went on.
The only bit of the event I didn't enjoy was when a film crew came along to interview me. (I'm not alone in that - the other authors ducked behind their stacks of books, then sighed in relief when the crew pounced on me, because I'd been too busy chatting to a fan to notice them sneaking up)
Anyway, they cleared a space round my bit of the table, thrust a microphone at me, and said, in what I felt was a rather challenging manner, "Why do you love romance?"
My mind immediately went as blank as the first sheet of paper in a brand new notebook. After umming and erring for a while, I came up with something inane along the lines of (I think) "What's not to like? Doesn't everything in life mean more when you have someone to share it with?"
The reason I can't recall what I answered then, is because the crew went off into a huddle for a bit, then came back to me and said, "Could you say all that again, only this time look into the camera?"
Silly me, I'd answered the girl who asked the question, not the guy standing over to the side with half a ton of equipment strapped to his shoulder.
Anyway, by this time I was somewhat irritated. Because I still couldn't come up with a clever, witty, answer off the top of my head. And I felt a bit resentful that I had to defend my position as a writer of romance. And as anyone who's ever tried to take a photo of me will confirm, I have an extremely expressive face. So I don't think the second attempt to get a soundbite from me would have been any good either. Not to judge by the tight smiles on their faces as they shuffled away, anyhow.
It was three months later, before I finally decided what I should have said. (Not that I'd been lying awake at night going over and over how stupid I must have looked or anything)
All you have to do, I should have said, is to turn on the radio, to hear that love and romance is on just about everyone else's mind too. There may be the occasional song that reaches a top slot in the charts about Medicinal Compound, or digging a hole in the ground, but the vast majority of popular songs are about love and romance. Even the most cynical of news hounds would have to admit that finding a soul mate, that special someone who will understand you, support you, and share all life's trials with you, is extremely important to a lot of people. And that without that special someone, life can feel bleak and pointless.
Programmes like the X factor or Pop Idol rely on the fact that huge numbers of young people want to get up on stage and sing about how much they long for the object of their affection to notice them, or to bewail the fact that their heart has been badly broken.
Has anyone gone up to Adele, or Sam Smith, and asked them why they sing about romance? And made them defend their choice to do so? And imply that they would somehow be more worthy if they sang about crime, or the human condition? I don't think so.
So why is writing stories about romance regarded by the press, so often, as being somehow a bit silly, when singing about love and romance is not?
If I could write poetry, or hold a tune in a bucket, maybe I'd be up there singing about how wonderful it is to fall in love, or how badly it hurts when it all goes pear shaped. (Or if I could stand being in front of a camera!) Instead, I write about people going through the entire process of striving to find their happy ever after, in prose.
And what's wrong (to quote Sir Paul McCartney) with that?
If you'd like to see how ridiculous I looked in that interview, you can view the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/HarlequinBoo...
They stuck me right at the end. (I don't blame them!)
