{"id":2788,"date":"2015-06-05T07:23:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T14:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/?p=2788"},"modified":"2015-06-05T07:23:00","modified_gmt":"2015-06-05T14:23:00","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-romantic-fantasy-and-fantasy-romance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/2015\/06\/05\/whats-the-difference-between-romantic-fantasy-and-fantasy-romance\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Difference Between Romantic Fantasy and Fantasy Romance?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/bigstock-Embrace-78418940.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2796\" src=\"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/bigstock-Embrace-78418940-300x207.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"207\" \/><\/a>There are few stories that aren\u2019t improved by a strong romance; but this does not make every story a Romance in the sense of belonging to the Romance Genre, i.e. a book that would be shelf-mates with Bodice Rippers and Regencies.<\/p>\n<p>The same distinction coheres to the difference between a Fantasy novel with a strong romance (what we might call a romantic Fantasy) and a Fantasy Romance. The former may be High Fantasy or Urban Fantasy or Epic Fantasy, albeit with a satisfying romantic subplot. The latter is a Bodice Ripper with dragons.<\/p>\n<p>By the way, I intend no condescension by the term Bodice Ripper. My purpose is not pour forth contempt upon the Romance Genre, as a cheap way of making some other kind of book look more sophisticated by implication. I enjoy Fantasy and I enjoy Romance, and I like most ways of combining the two. The distinction is not terribly important to me as a reader. As a writer, however, it is very important, since the genres target overlapping but different readerships.<\/p>\n<p>Genre Romance will have the Romance front and center to the plot. It will usually be the first element introduced and the last element resolved, but even if a subplot appears on stage first, or a battle with the Baddie adds the finishing touch to the climax, the Heroine and Hero realizing their love for one another will be the <em>most<\/em> important and highly developed storyline in the novel.<\/p>\n<p>This means\u2014by necessity\u2014all other storylines will be less developed. In a Fantasy or Science Fiction or Historical novel, that means that if the book is Genre Romance, the worldbuilding, scientific exploration, or historical events will be less complex than in a straight Fantasy, Science Fiction or Historical novel. This is isn\u2019t because Romance writers are idiots who can\u2019t research history, science or mythology, it\u2019s part of the Genre requirements. It meets the needs and expectations of Romance Genre readers.<\/p>\n<p>However, a Fantasy novel, like Enchantment by Orson Scott Card, can still contain a storyline that qualifies as \u201cRomance\u201d with a capital \u201cR.\u201d Enchantment, in my opinion, has too complex and rich a presentation of mythology, history, and characterization to quality as Genre Romance; many readers who prefer more Romance to Fantasy won\u2019t have the patience for details about when the Cyrillic alphabet evolved. And Card eschews traditional roles for his Hero, such as \u201cAlpha Male,\u201d and his characters don\u2019t spend nearly enough stage time pinning over one another (or lusting for one another) to make Enchantment even close to a Dragon Bodice Ripper.<\/p>\n<p>Yet a Romance is still at the heart of the story in a way that will reward the more fantasy-tolerant Romance fan. Even more importantly, Card obeys all the Rules of Big R Romance.<\/p>\n<p>So what are they?<\/p>\n<p>Romance with a capital \u201cR\u201d must go above and beyond a story with a male and a female character who fall in love, a couple in love adventuring together, or a couple in love separated by an external force.<\/p>\n<p>The first set of rules have to do with <strong><em>Conflict During Courtship<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Heroine and Hero must spend most of the novel interacting\u2014not apart<\/li>\n<li>The novel must spend time demonstrating how the Heroine and Hero are strongly drawn to one another<\/li>\n<li>The Heroine and Hero must have <em>internal<\/em> needs or fears that cause conflict <em>between<\/em> them which keep them apart emotionally despite being physically together and being strongly attracted to each other<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This may seem counterintuitive. Hero and Heroine fall in love at first sight\u2014wicked Wizard captures Heroine\u2014Hero defeats minions of Wizard and finally the Wizard to save her\u2014they live happily ever after. Isn\u2019t that a love story? Sure. Isn\u2019t that a Romance? Not in the sense of Genre Romance, no.<\/p>\n<p>Romance in the capital \u201cR\u201d sense must be driven by conflict <em>between<\/em> the Heroine and the Hero. Most Romances will also have an external force trying to pry the couple apart\u2014whether it be a rival suitor, a jealous jade, an evil wizard or a nasty mother-in-law. But a <em>good<\/em> Romance must have an <em>internal<\/em> conflict that keeps the couple apart as well. At least one or both lovers must have some secret need or fear that keeps each from trusting the other. Falling in love isn\u2019t easy\u2014it\u2019s the hardest thing they\u2019ve ever done.<\/p>\n<p>The second set of rules have to do with the <strong><em>Resolution of the Relationship<\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Heroine and Hero must attain a emotional and physical union<\/li>\n<li>The Heroine and Hero must choose to be together exclusively<\/li>\n<li>The Heroine and Hero must live Happily Ever After (HEA)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In a Sweet Romance, the physical consummation of the relationship may be kept behind a closed door. In a Hot Romance, the legal niceties of marriage may less relevant or explicit. And in a Young Adult Romance, both sex and marriage may be more implied as a future possibility rather than explicitly explored. But exclusivity, monogamy, and happiness are all absolutely necessary. This is called the HEA.<\/p>\n<p>By the way, this is often a distinguishing feature that divides Women\u2019s Fiction from Genre Romance. In Women\u2019s Fiction, the Heroine might fall in love with a married man. The Heroine and Hero might not end up together. One or the other or both might die tragically. Or the story might extend far beyond their realization of physical and emotional closeness to a period of time when they are again riven apart, by changing emotions, by time, by death or by fate.<\/p>\n<p>Some examples of extremely romantic stories are therefore not Romance in the sense I mean: <em>Titanic<\/em>, <em>The Notebook<\/em>, <em>The Time Traveler\u2019s Wife<\/em>\u2026. These are fabulous love stories but they violate the <strong><em>Resolution of the Relationship<\/em><\/strong> by either denying their lovers a Happy Ending, or going past the Happy Ending into a bittersweet addendum.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s fine to have a romantic relationship in a story that doesn&#8217;t hit all the &#8220;rules.&#8221;\u00a0But if you do <em>intend<\/em> to put in a Romance that will increase the cross-genre appeal of your novel, it&#8217;s important to understand what notes to hit to make that romance sing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are few stories that aren\u2019t improved by a strong romance; but this does not make every story a Romance in the sense of belonging to the Romance Genre, i.e. a book that would be shelf-mates with Bodice Rippers and Regencies. The same distinction coheres to the difference between a Fantasy novel with a strong [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[180,577],"tags":[643,699,727],"class_list":["post-2788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy-romance","category-writing","tag-fantasy-romance","tag-rules-of-romance","tag-writing-romance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2788\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}