(Music. LOGO)
Hellooo, everybody! Sorry for missing last week's video, I took a mental
health day because clinical anxiety is garbage. It's officially February, the month of looove!
Or the month of feeling bad about yourself and comfort eating discounted candy. In honor of
Valentine's Day I am releasing a bunch of videos all about love and lust and romance and fiction.
Some of these "love topics" will be a bit of a reach, so you're gonna have to play along.
It’s my channel, I do what I want. But today I'm covering the basics of romance. I am answering
the ten most popular questions I receive about the romance genre, romantic subplots, erotica,
all that good stuff! But first, a word from our sponsor. Skillshare has generously partnered
with me for today's video. I am so appreciative of their support because they make it so much easier
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I take their classes, and I think they're a huge asset for pretty much anyone who's trying to
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something extra special just for you guys, I will get to that at the end of this video. First, I
am answering your top ten questions about writing romance because you keep asking, and I'm tired of
repeating myself. Number One (1): What is romance? Romance is a genre of fiction that revolves around
a romantic relationship, typically between two people. It may revolve around more than two people
if this is a non monogamous relationship, like for example a polyamorous relationship. It follows
the love these characters have for one another and ends in a happy, uplifting, emotionally satisfying
way. Number Two (2): Does a romance novel have to have a happy ending? Yes, it does. It's literally
a qualifier for the genre. Just like science fiction requires some element of science or
futurism, a romance requires a love story that ends in a happily ever after or a happy for now.
That means if your love story and in a horrible breakup or a murder, it's not a romance novel.
“But Jennaaaa! What about Romeo and Juliet?” What about Romeo and Juliet? Romeo and Juliet is not a
romance. It's a tragedy, always has been, always will be. Most love stories that end in death are
labeled as tragedies or dramas. It's perfectly fine if you wanna write a love story that ends
in tears. Just be sure to label it properly or you're gonna have a ton of angry readers beating
down your door. Number Three (3): What if I want to write about a dysfunctional relationship? If
you want to write about an unhappy relationship that is your prerogative, but again, it's not
a romance. In this case, your story would be more accurately labeled as a drama because dysfunction
is dramatic, not romantic. Remember, just because there's a romantic relationship in the story,
does not mean it fits the romance genre. If your story is about the destruction and pain
of an abusive relationship, fantastic. That sounds like a very powerful trauma or contemporary piece.
But if you're insistent on writing a romance that starts off with assault, please don't,
just stop. Number Four (4): Are romance and erotica the same thing? No, they are not. A
romance is a story that revolves around a romantic relationship. And erotica is a story that revolves
around a sexual relationship. In short, romance is about love, erotica is about getting laid. That's
not to say a romance can't feature sex, it most certainly can. But the story is not about the sex.
On the flip side, erotica can definitely feature love, but the story is about the sexual fantasy.
A lot of people confuse these two genres because romance often comes with sex, and sex often comes
with romance. But the fact is, two people can be madly in love and never have sex. And also
two people can have tons of sex and never be in love. Romantic attraction and sexual attraction
are two different things. Likewise, these are two different genres. Number Five (5): Does my romance
have to include a sex scene? No, it doesn't. Like I already mentioned, romance revolves
around romantic relationships. It most certainly can include sex, but it is by no means a genre
requirement. I recently read a romance novella where the two main characters didn't even kiss
until the last page. So don't for a second think you have to write about bumping uglies, cuz you
don't. Number Six (6): Don't people look down on romance novels? I mean, some people do. But
some people also look down on fantasy and sci-fi. People are dicks like that. All genres have their
haters, but the vitriol surrounding the romance genre is usually of the sexist variety, because
the world is trash. Romance is also sometimes seen as cliche and it totally can be, but so can every
other genre. Basically, if you love romance, there is nothing wrong with that. And if you
don't like romance, that's fine too. But if you turn your nose up to any genre just because you
feel it's beneath you, you might be an elitist asshole. Regardless, romance writers are laughing
all the way to the bank because romance is the number one most popular fiction genre by far,
there is quite literally no competition. Romance outsells all other genre fiction by a landslide.
Number Seven (7): What's the difference between a romance novel and a romantic subplot? A romance
novel is about people falling in love, that itself is the plot. A romantic subplot is a teeny tiny
love story that coexists alongside the main plot. Your characters are battling aliens or saving the
world, but a few chapters here and there they also manage to suck face. If you're not sure if
your love story is a plot or a subplot, think of it this way. If you were to remove the love story,
would your entire plot be completely ruined? If yes, then you're probably writing a romance novel.
However, say you remove the love story, and sure you may have to rewrite a couple of scenes, and
maybe the story is a little less interesting, but it can still be told overall. If that's the case,
the relationship is probably a romantic subplot. Number Eight (8): If I have a romantic subplot,
do I need to label my novel as romance? No, please don't do that. Lots of novels have romantic
subplots and none of them get labeled as romances. If you labeled your novel based on every subplot,
you'd have, like ten genres, and that's stupid. Your novel’s genre is reflective of the main plot
of the story. That's it. Number Nine (9): What if my main plot contains a romance and
something else, like a murder or a ghost story? That means you're writing a multi-genre book,
a multi-genre book basically means the plot fits equally into more than one genre. And
lots of books are multi-genre, whether they include romance or not. Mystery thrillers,
sci-fi adventures, paranormal erotica, these are all multi-genre. Say for example, your book takes
place on another planet, and it follows a love story between two aliens from rivaling tribes.
This book would be categorized as a sci-fi romance because it fits equally into both of those genres.
And Number Ten (10): Do I have to include romance or a romantic subplot in my book? No,
you don't. A lot of writers feel pressure to include a romantic subplot because it's very
popular, but popularity is not law. You are not required to follow trends or public opinion. If
you don't want to feature a romance or a romantic subplot just wouldn’t makes sense for your story,
then don't write it. No one is holding a gun to your head. It's your book. Do you. So that’s all
I got for you today. Romance is the number one most popular fiction genre and thus,
this is the genre I get asked the most questions about. People are confused by love and seduction,
does that surprise anyone? Not me. Hopefully this cleared shit up for you guys. A huge thank you to
Skillshare for sponsoring today's video. If you are looking to expand your creativity or turn your
creativity into a lucrative business, definitely check them out, you will learn a ton! Premium
membership is super cheap, and annual subscription is less than ten bucks a month. However,
Skillshare is offering two months of Skillshare premium for free to the first 500 people who click
the activation link below. Do the thing. Click the link. You will have access to over 25,000 classes
for two months, and you don't gotta pay a dime. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post
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