by James Scott Bell
@jamesscottbell

I’m no expert in the romance genre. I do know it’s the best selling slice of the fiction pie and is dominated by female authors (along with some guy named Sparks).

And I’m pretty darn sure of this: there’s a romantic relationship in these novels. (Check me on that.)

Reasons given for the popularity of romance novels include deep emotional connection, vicarious pleasure, escapism, and the satisfaction of a “happily ever after” ending.

Which is why the romantic subplot is so often utilized in other genres. Everyone (or almost everyone) loves a love story. Whether that’s the subject of the book, or merely an aspect of it, love and its machinations draw readers in and connect them to the characters in a singular fashion.

Someone who I’d say has a handle on this is Nora Roberts. She’s published a few books (I think the number is 225 right now, but may have just ticked up). Most of them landed at or near the top of the NYT list.

I was going through one of my many binders full of clipped Writer’s Digest articles (dating from 1988) and came across a profile of Roberts from 2001, back when she’d published “only” 130 novels.

The reason I saved it was three-fold. First, because of her work ethic. For most of her career she’s held to an 8-hour writing day, five days a week. She says she had an advantage in being educated by nuns. “I was raised with discipline and guilt—they’re wonderful writer’s tools.”

Also of interest to me is her method. Her practice is to “pants” a “short” first draft. It gives her the basic story. Then she goes back to the beginning and adds elements to fill things out. Then there’s another pass (a “polish”) and she’s done. (I do think that’s a fine way to write a novel. I would call that short first draft actually a very long outline! That’s one way to “discover” your story.)

And third, she gave her thoughts on what makes a successful commercial novel:

Your characters have to jump off the page. They have to appeal to the reader in some way. If you don’t care about the people, then it’s all action, and who cares about that if you don’t care about who drives the action or who the action happens to? It’s all about who these people are.

(Horn toot: there’s a book out there on how to write “jump off the page” characters.)

Roberts says, “Character is plot. Character is everything and the story wraps around them.” I’d add that plot is also character, in that the story wrapping around them has to challenge them to the max, and force their true character to be revealed and, in most cases, transformed.

A romantic subplot, as I mentioned, is a powerful way to add flavor to a novel, in any genre. All my series—Kit Shannon, Mallory Caine, Ty Buchanan, and Mike Romeo—have a romance element. I’m a sucker for love, too.

There’s another, equally potent plot device which I call the “Care Package.” It refers to a relationship the Lead has before the book begins, one where the Lead cares deeply about someone else. Katniss Everdeen has her mother and Prim. Luke Skywalker has his aunt and uncle. Dorothy has Toto.

The bottom line is that we always root for a) people who fall in love; and b) people who care about other people, with no thought of personal gain. We want decent people to succeed.

That’s how an author can romance the reader. And readers who fall in love with your book will be anxious to buy another one.

Comments welcome.