A Great Romance Novel – Guest Nancy Warren
Nancy Warren is one of those charming and energetic people who is impossible to dislike. She's both prolific and bestselling, so is perfect candidate to tell us the elements of a great romance novel. Please welcome guest blogger, Nancy Warren.
Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 40 novels and novellas for Harlequin and Kensington publishers. Her next novel will be out in November from Harlequin and is called POWER PLAY. 
What Makes a Great Romance Novel?
As a romance author, I've been asked many, many times some version of the formula question. The variations are something like: So, does Harlequin send you the formula when you become a writer? Or: I guess it's pretty easy to bang out a romance novel when you write with a formula. As insulting as it
is to a novelist to have a reader or aspiring writer assume there is some magical blueprint that makes writing a romance similar to constructing a model car from a kit, the truth is that of course there's a formula.
Here it is.
1. A man and woman meet (or boy and girl, vampire and high school student, some version of hero and heroine).
2. Sparks fly (some emotion is elicited, there is initial attraction, or they hate each other on sight, but they are never neutral).
3. Conflict keeps them apart (whatever prevents them from falling in love and getting married is conflict. This can be war, they are from different times, they are competitors of some sort, they are on the run from danger, a romantic rival exists, etc).
4. By trusting each other and growing as individuals they earn each other's love and end up happily ever after.
Think of your favourite romance novel and you'll see this formula at work. Pride and Prejudice is my favourite novel, so let's try that one. Elizabeth and Darcy meet, he's too proud to dance with her and slights her in her hearing, naturally, after this she detests him and is all too willing to believe any slander she hears about him. Meanwhile, he falls deeply in love with her and is rebuffed. Now he must swallow his pride to earn her love, while she must see beyond her blind prejudice to the man he truly is. The result? Happily ever after and a perennial best seller.
But what sets a truly great romance novel from a forgettable one? That's the heart of this topic and a subject many aspiring authors would love to understand. There are novels that take the world by storm, others that are forgotten as soon as they are read. Yet, both follow the above formula. The late screenwriting teacher, Blake Snyder, talked a lot about primal emotion in his books and lectures. Love is of course primal. We need love. We crave it. We will die for love, kill for it, pluck our eyebrows and wax our legs in hope of it.
As many times as I've read Pride and Prejudice I can never put it down. Apart from the brilliant writing, I am caught up in the suspense. Will they end up together? The story world Jane Austen creates would be a sorrier, darker place if they didn't.
What makes a great romance novel? I, the reader, have to care, deeply and passionately what happens to these lovers. That's what keeps me turning the pages and coming back to a well-loved book again and again. Character is important. I want to identify with the heroine and fall in love with the hero. An interesting plot definitely helps, but in the end, what I think makes a truly great romance is that the author has made me believe that these two are meant to be together and their love will make them stronger and the world a better place.
That's what keeps me reading, and writing, romance.
9 thoughts on “A Great Romance Novel – Guest Nancy Warren”
I think that Nancy is travelling today (do we see a pattern here?! Something about October puts me and my guest bloggers on the road!) but I’ll ask a question anyway. With any luck, Nancy will be able to log in today or this weekend.
So, Nancy, you mentioned that Pride and Prejudice is your favourite novel, and that it’s a romance. Who are your favourite contemporary (i.e. not dead) romance authors and/or what are your fave romance novels which were marketed as romance novels? (Jane Austen was marketed as fiction, her work being published long before the romance genre was defined as such.)
Just to keep things hopping on the blog in case Nancy can’t stop back in – everyone else, what is your fave romance novel? Why do you love it so much? Do you agree with Nancy as to what keeps you reading?
I have to go browse my shelves to decide upon my fave. It’ll be hard to pick just one!
d
Hola! I’m typing this from Cadaques, Spain, so hope I get through okay. HI Deb! And everyone. Favourite romance authors for me seem to depend on my mood. I’m a big fan of funny authors like Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jenny Crusie, I think Jo Beverley writes wonderful historicals. You, of course, and another Canadian author I enjoy is Susannah Kearsley. She’s kind of a modern Mary Stewart. I try to read my colleagues at Harlequin on a regular basis, and I have too many fave HQ authors to name. The wonderful thing about romance is there are so many sub genres from romantic comedy to romantic suspense that you can always find something to suit your mood.
All my best,
Nancy
SPAIN! Nancy, I’m jealous. I’ll bet it’s gorgeous there. Please have some tapas and red wine for me. 🙂
d
A favourite romance novel? I can’t argue with Pride and Prejudice, but there are a lot I’ve read several times over.
So, I’ll mention the one that woke me up to all the possibilities in writing a romance. It was a life-changing book for me, in terms of writing.
Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard. I got it at the downtown Toronto Simpson’s store where she was doing a panel in, oh, 1986 for Valentine’s Day. I can still recall the shock of that plot: the fabulous characters, the snake on her shoulders…her reaction to the blood…the way she dug into her satchel and pulled out an amazing array of vital “junk” they desperately needed.
A romance! An adventure! A romp! and really bad guys in hot pursuit. What fun, and I realized then that my wonky, wild imagination would be free within the genre.
Great blog and I think you’re such a brat for mentioning Spain. Sigh…Italy’s on my list, too.
All best! And Deb: LOVED Kiss of Fire – thanks for the great read.
Bonnie Edwards
Is Pride and Prejudice (P&P), in a way, following Beauty & the Beast in that the nasty hero is “reformed” or, rather, the heroine’s and our perceptions of him change through the course of the story? Of course, the only thing Elizabeth “changes” about Darcy is his flippancy/sarcasm: he’s a bit nicer to others after she tells him off and he realizes she’s right. That always struck me as true to life–you can’t “change” the person you love (a cad is a cad as, I hope, Lydia figures out) but you can both learn, grow, do/behave better.
I worry with teen vampire stories that we are teaching young women that if they hang on long enough they can change the beast into a kinder, gentler partner. (Last week, I heard a girl on the sidewalk say “He only hit me once…”)
I also love P & P; I only saw the first episode of the British TV adaptation (?3-5years ago?) but that seemed to be quite true to the text and well-done.
Interesting point, IEW. I don’t read vampire romances – they’re just not my thing so can’t really comment on your core point. I read the Anne Rice vampire books and enjoyed them as fantasy novels – Lestat is a great character but not a romantic hero for me. I don’t really “get” the popularity of vampire romances, but it’s a definite market force.
Bonnie, you always make me laugh. Simpsons downtown. Well, it has been a while since you caught the romance bug. I can believe that story would work for you in a big way, and now you’re published too. Great to see you again in Seattle, thanks again for moderating my workshop, and I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed KISS OF FATE. Now, Quinn, he’s hero material for me.
d
Okay, I’ll bite on the favourite romance novel question.
With me it always comes back to Lavyrle Spencer’s MORNING GLORY. I adored that book, both the hero, Will, and heroine, Elly, were in such dire straights when they met; two loner/outsiders with (in their eyes) nothing to give and nothing to lose. Love brought them hope, and that hope transformed their lives. A stunning book!
This was the book that converted me to romance reading. It’s truly a classic, and I think anyone even thinking about writing a romance should consider reading it.
(In Spain, Ms Warren? I am green with envy.)
Wow, Spain, Nancy? Lucky woman, you! 🙂 Okay, favorite rom novel…a difficult choice, but I’ll go with LaVyrle Spencer’s Years and November Of The Heart. And of course, what would reading be without classic romances like Wuthering Heights or Rebecca? Back to current authors: The Thorn Birds, Time Traveler’s Wife and SEP’s Dream A Little Dream. Each and every book hooked me through the conflicts, emotions and realism of the characters.
Happy travels!
One of the funniest moments in my life was running into a bullfighter in Spain (outside of the ring, of course). He was hilarious – putting on this act for his fans. He entered the airport with his entourage exactly like I’d seen him enter the ring: nose high in the air, shoulders back, pronounced strut. That was over twenty years ago and still makes me laugh. I wish you some incident as wonderful, Nancy.
Loved your mention of P&P. My all-time fav is Devil’s Cub by Georgette Heyer. The moment when Vidal breaks his cousin’s fan, is the most understated moment in romance history and one of the most memorable.