Few things are more popular than romance—in books, movies, or stories of any kind where people are involved. Adventure stories, mysteries, thrillers, historical drama, war stories, any kind of backdrop can be the right backdrop for a romance.
While it’s true women make up the majority of book buyers, there are enough action adventure movies out there with a romance thrown in to make me think it isn’t only women who want a romance in their escapism. Movies or books that contain a romance offer an added layer contributing to the happy, satisfying or (as Romance Writers of America puts it) an optimistic ending.
According to Romance Writer’s of America (RWA), 74.8 million people read at least one romance novel in 2008, and the number was probably more in 2009.
How does the romance genre compare to other genres? Here are a few statistics from RWA:
Romance Market Share Compared to Other Genres
(source: Simba Information estimates)
* Romance fiction: $1.37 billion in estimated revenue for 2008
Religion/inspirational: $800 million
Mystery: $668 million
Science fiction/fantasy: $551 million
Classic literary fiction: $446 million
But my guess is, if you need any of the above to convince you to add a romance to the stories you want to tell, then writing a classic romance probably isn’t for you. Romance should be in a novel because it’s fun, because romance can capture emotions we’ve all felt somewhere along the way, in one form or another, and are exciting to relive even vicariously. There is also something about romance that has the flavor of youth in it—and I don’t mean chronological age. It’s a flavor of newness, fresh and invigorating.
The whole idea of a romance that works is how to keep the hero and heroine apart—realistically—until the very end. It may seem formulaic to some, but there is an art to using a classic theme with a new twist, one that puts new characters into a mix of situations and somehow captures the feeling that it hasn’t been done before, even if it’s the classic boy-meets-girl story.
I have a feeling most of my readers expect a romance in my stories, and at this point I have no intention of leaving this aspect out of any future novels, either. To me, the happiest endings have a “love conquers all” element, one that I think reflects God’s plan. Because if you’ve read many of the predictions on God’s intention to end evil, that’s exactly what happens. God wins, and His love really does conquer all.
Thanks for reading through my acrostic posts for THANKFUL. That’s just what I am – thankful for all the blessings God has brought to my life. The New Year seems just the right time to be reminded of that, don’t you think?
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