Remember What The Romance Genre Truly Is

Lately, I have seen a ton of stories claiming to be romance, but in reality, I would just classify most as just fiction. Is there "romance" in these stories? Sure, I guess... Is there a happily ever after? Sure, I guess... IN reality, these stories are really a series of events that involve romantic elements to an often forced HEA.

Romance, like most genres out there, have parameters. To be a romance, it needs to check off all of these boxes. OK, let me address those of you who are screaming that you don't want to be categorized, or you are a different breed of romance. When I hear this, I always remind people of other things we categorize that you don't seem to have any problem with. Consider Baroque music. It has to meet specific criteria to be called Baroque. Architectural styles? Champagne? I can go on and on. 

And romance is no different.

First of all, this is a building relationship story from nothing to the HEA. The ENTIRE storyline follows the building of the romance. However, a lot of the current plots are nothing more than episodic scenes of argue, tension then make-up sex. The characters are not growing a relationship, but just filling up time and word count until someone says, "let's do something different."

Just because the story is romantic, does not make it a romance. I get a lot of authors (I will say, mostly men) who write stories about a happily married couple and telling their story. Is it romantic? Sure. But this is not a building romance. 

There IS a Happily Ever After. I want you to consider this phrase for a second. This is not a happy moment, but we are talking about the ever after part. We have to know that be confident that the relationship will continue once we close the book. However, if you look at some of the characters in these current stories, they have shifted their mood and life direction non-stop (and yes, even in the backstory). There is never anything in these stories that show that after the author has written THE END, these trends are not going to continue.

Romances may or may not include sexual encounters. A romance can range from very sweet to steamy. Please note that authors cannot just say:

• "There is not sex so therefore this is women's fiction."
• "I have the characters in a lot of sexual encounters so it is a romance."

Now, are there cross over stories? Sure. We have historical romance, romantic suspense, romantic comedies, inspirational romance, romantasy... But if you want to call it a romance, the romance needs to be the central storyline and those other elements are just the backdrop.