Today, Helena Fairfax is stopping by with a special guest post on writing an easy read. If you've never read any of Helena's books, you're really missing out on some truly wonderful, sweet romances. And now, here's Helena!
Why writing an “easy read” is hard to do
I’ve become used to people’s reactions these days when I say I write romance. People who have never read a romance novel either ask me if I’ve ever thought of writing a “proper book,” or else they give me a funny sort of leer, as though I’m some sort of soft-porn peddler. Romance novels are held by many to be a pretty low form of the written word. Another cliché is that they follow a “formula,” and that anyone could just scribble a romance if they put their minds to it.
Anyone who has actually put pen to paper and written an entire romance novel will know that it’s incredibly difficult to write a successful romance. There is no magic “formula” for writing a good romance, but romances do need to follow a certain structure. The hero and heroine are kept apart for the entire length of the novel because of a conflict within their own characters (Lizzie Bennett’s pride, for example, and Mr Darcy’s prejudice, in Jane Austen’s classic romance novel). There will be a series of situations that test this conflict to the limit, eventually resolving in a happy ending.
All great romances follow this structure, but they’re not easy to write. A sonnet has a structure that consists of fourteen lines, each with ten syllables, following this pattern: a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g.
It sounds simple put like this, but give it a try – it’s actually very difficult to create a moving or meaningful poem that flows easily using this structure.
If I think of all the romance authors I love, like Georgette Heyer, Jennifer Crusie, Kristan Higgins, Courtney Milan, Mary Stewart, etc, they all write great stories that flow easily, and are such engrossing reads that I never consider how they’ve actually been written, or the way they fit the romance structure so perfectly. I’m too engrossed in their stories to notice how they’ve been crafted. And that’s exactly how it should be. So when people tell me that my novels are an “easy read,” I’m pleased as Punch. It means my job of writing them has been done well.
Bio:
Helena Fairfax writes engaging contemporary romances with sympathetic heroines and heroes she’s secretly in love with. Happy endings are her favourite, and when the ending of one of her novels won a reader competition for "The Most Romantic Love Scene Ever" it made her day.
Helena was born in Uganda and came to England as a child. She's grown used to the cold now, and these days she lives in an old Victorian mill town in Yorkshire. After many years working in factories and dark, satanic mills, Helena has turned to writing full-time. She walks the Yorkshire moors every day with her rescue dog, finding this romantic landscape the perfect place to dream up her heroes and her happy endings.
Her latest novel, A Way from Heart to Heart was released by Accent Press on 18th November.
Book blurb:
After the death of her husband in Afghanistan, Kate Hemingway’s world collapses around her. Her free time is spent with a charity for teenage girls in London, helping them mend their broken lives - which is ironic, since her own life is fractured beyond repair.
Reserved, public school journalist Paul Farrell is everything Kate and her teenage charges aren’t. But when Paul agrees to help Kate with her charity on a trip to the Yorkshire moors, he makes a stunning revelation that changes everything, and leaves Kate torn.
Can she risk her son’s happiness as well as her own?
A Way from Heart to Heart is available in paperback and as an eBook from Amazon http://authl.it/B00PQRJ0WQ / Barnes and Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-way-from-heart-to-heart-helena-fairfax/1121193110 / Apple iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-way-from-heart-to-heart/id965774616 and other retailers
You can find Helena on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenaFairfax
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/helenafairfax/
Blog: www.helenafairfax.com
Thanks so much for having me today, Mary!
You can find Helena on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenaFairfax
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelenaFairfax
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/helenafairfax/
Blog: www.helenafairfax.com
You are so welcome, Helena!
Not only are your books "easy reads," they're also very uplifting. I've enjoyed them all and look forward to more.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your lovely comment, Heather! I love a happy ending myself, and I like to give my characters the glorious ending they deserve - after keeping them apart for so long! I'm so thrilled you enjoyed my books. Thank you!
DeleteThey are marvelous reads with lots of realistic twists along the way to happy-ever-after.
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Heather!
Helena,
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the complete answer to anyone who turns up his or her nose to a romance novel is to ask them if they ever read Pride and Prejudice. This should be asked with a note of concern to the voice.
Your latest novel is in our to-read pile. We look forward to an "easy read."
I have to confess, I started to read Pride and Prejudice and ended up skimming through it, as I just couldn't get into it.
DeleteBut, I've never had that problem with any of Helena's books, and am looking forward to reading this one, too!
Lol. Oh thank you Mary. I thought I was the only person on the whole planet who also didn't get into it. :-).
DeleteAnd agree with you on Helena's work.
Aloha Meg. :-)
Hi Ken and Anne, you're right, Pride and Prejudice is the perfect example! But I think even Jane Austen suffered from not being taken seriously. She has one of her characters mention that what she's reading is "just a novel," in that ironic way she has.
DeleteI hope you enjoy A Way from Heart to Heart. Thanks so much for adding it to your TBR, and thanks for your comment!
Hey Meg! glad to know it wasn't just me, too!
Delete:-)
Aloha Helena.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog thanks. :-) and I like your comment on Pride and Prejudice Ken. :-).
I was interested in the whole idea of a formula for romances. I never have my couples get together right at the end. They tend to her together earlier in the book and work through various issues. They'll go through some conflicts in the book but there is always a HEA. I love them. :-)
So even romamce is not standard or cookie cutter. It stretches from the bodice rippers of old to contemporary fiction. And there's a huge range inbetween.
I very much like your writing style Helena am agree it's an easy read. I think that takes a great deal of skill. While I admire writers who are more 'poetic' perhaps in their word choices or phrases. I ultimately want a book that flows through my mind so I am lost in the story and the actions of the characters.
Thanks as always for an Interesting post Helena. :-). And thanks Mary for having the lovely Helena at your place.
Aloha Meg Amor. :-)
Hi Meg, that's such an interesting comment. Romances can have people who get together earlier in the book, or even are together at the start, but they're usually only together in body - but not in spirit. There's still something that keeps them emotionally at a distance, until the end.
DeleteAnd I totally love the range of stories you can have within the romance structure. That's a great point. Romance writers are some of the most inventive!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. It's made me think more deeply about what I wrote in my post.
Interesting comments! We always have at least one romance in our books. Sometimes that romance ends tragically. Sometimes it is one of several threads that come together at the end. We have shied away from labeling our novels as Romance or mystery/romance or thriller/romance because some have told us that Romance readers expect the formula, not just some romance in the book. What do you say, Helena and Meg?
DeleteI think the variety of romance is what makes it so wonderful to escape in to. You never know if the couple is going to start together, separate, then join back up, or how they're going to overcome the obstacles keeping them apart. All these things make me want to keep turning pages to get to that Happy-Ever-After I know is coming at the end.
DeleteI think if you're labeling the book as a romance, that needs to be the primary focus of the story. Many stories have romantic elements, but they aren't romances, and labeling them as such would mislead a reader.
DeleteThanks, Mary! That's what we thought.
DeleteHi Ken and Anne, yes, I agree with Mary. If you call a book a romance, it should be the main focus, and lead to a happy ending. I think that's what readers would expect.
DeleteHi Helena, it's interesting that you talk about people saying your books are easy to read. Unfortunately, I have not read your books, but I am going to now. I love books that are easy to read. That is why I started reading a genre like urban fantasy. I found Jim Butcher and I have read all of his books. I also have been given that comment about my writing and I agree it isn't easy to make a book flow so people find it's "easy to read". My compliments on being able to do that!!
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara, I haven't read many urban fantasy novels, or any by Jim Butcher. It's not a genre I know well, but I 'd like to explore it more. I find the older I get, the more I appreciate books that are "easy to read." That's great that you received that comment on your own writing! Thanks very much for dropping by, and for your comment. I hope you enjoy my books if you do read them.
DeleteBarbara, I totally agree-it really takes a lot of work to make a book flow so people find it easy to read.
DeleteAs for urban fantasy, I love it! And while I haven't read any of Jim Butcher's books, I did watch the TV series based on one of them.
You make a good point. No writing is easy to DO. We hide the hard work just as a hostess doesn't serve a gourmet dinner in her work clothes. It's the end results that are commendable and memorable.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great analogy, Julie. Thanks for dropping by!
DeleteHi Julie, that's a great analogy with the gourmet dinner! You're right, we don't let people see how hard we've worked in the kitchen - we just want them to relax and enjoy their meal, and remember it. Thanks for dropping in and the great comment!
ReplyDeleteOh, Helena, yes your books are easy to read and to identify with your characters. I think "easy-to-read" also means easy to understand why the characters do what they do and and the consequences or solutions make sense. Sometimes we don't agree--right now I am screaming at Kate Hemingway in your latest book to wake up and be happy with Paul!!! Grrrrrr.. That girl. Alright I care about her and that's also the result of your hard work in creating such an interesting and worthwhile character. Enjoyed your blog post. Keep writing those sweet romances with HEA.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great point, JQ. And I totally agree that Helena does a marvelous job of letting the reader identify with the characters.
DeleteSorry for my late reply, JQ - I've been away from home for a few days. Lovely to come back to your great comment. I try and give my characters believable motives for their actions. I've never forgotten the advice of my mentor at the Romantic Novelists' Association: "Keep asking yourself why your characters are acting as they do. It's not enough to just say, 'Oh, that's just how they are.' Keep asking, Why?" I'm so glad you say that their motivation makes sense. I work very hard on this aspect, and I'm so glad my hard work delivers something "easy to read." Thanks for dropping in, and for your great comment!
ReplyDelete