Writing Magazine March 2020

http://www.writers-online.co.uk AUGUST 2018^43

FICTION FOCUS

AUGUST 2017 43

with Juliet Greenwood

I wish

I’d known...

‘T

here are so many things I wish I’d

known when I started out on my

journey towards publication.

‘The wisest thing I’ve ever read

about the process of writing was comparing it to

learning the ’cello. You wouldn’t expect to play to

packed audiences at the Last Night of the Proms in

Royal Albert Hall after playing for a few weeks – or

even a few years. You’d expect to have to practice

eight hours a day for years, and (unless you were

very lucky) to build up slowly, gaining experience

and developing a reputation. I so wish I’d heard this

comparison when I started, and also understood

that this is the best way to develop your own style,

confidence and much-needed resilience as a writer.

‘I say this because the truth is that being

published is the most amazing, but also the most

terrifying, rollercoaster ride imaginable. I’ll always

be thankful I’d gained so much experience through

writing short stories and serials for magazines that

when the dreaded second novel got to a sticky

point I had proof (to myself!) that I could actually

write. I’m also glad that my first full-length novels

were published by a small publisher, the amazing

and supportive Honno Press. It was exciting to see

them race up the UK Kindle charts into the Top

Five, but also overwhelming suddenly to have so

many people reading my books, some of whom

(thankfully not many!) hated them. Resilience was

definitely required.

‘I’m particularly glad of that resilience now as I

embark on my new adventure writing two historical

family sagas set in Cornwall for Orion, to be

published in the next couple of years. I’m thankful

to be able fall back on all that experience and all

those frustrating years when I didn’t quite make it. I

didn’t realise it at the time, but those were probably

the most important years of my writing life.’

http://www.writers-online.co.uk MARCH 2020^43

we present the Romantic Novel
Awards to the very best romantic
novels of the previous year, and
in 2020 we’re introducing two
new awards. The first is the Jackie
Collins Romantic Thriller Award
which will recognise and reward
authors of romantic thrillers and
romantic suspense. We’re delighted
to be presenting an award under
such an iconic name, and it’s
great to be celebrating the role of
romance within suspense, mystery,
action and thriller stories.
‘The second new category
recognises one of the most
successful sub-genres in commercial
fiction – the saga. These are stories
celebrating communities, are often
centred on female friendships, and
tend to be set during the mid-
20th century. At the moment, they
are hugely popular with readers,
and they almost always feature
a romantic thread amidst the
tangle of family, friendship and
workplace relationships that they
explore. We’re looking forward to
recognising the huge success of
these novels with our inaugural
Romantic Saga Award.’
So, as Alison points out, romantic
fiction is just about the broadest
of literary churches, covering all
kinds of stories in which a loving
relationship between adults over the
age of consent is the engine that
powers the central story.
What about sex, my creative
writing students sometimes ask me.
When I’m writing romantic fiction,
do I need to write about people
having sex?
No, dear student, you don’t.
But your story must deliver
emotional satisfaction, and it’s
essential to remember that if the
aforementioned loving relationship
were to be taken out of the novel,
there wouldn’t actually be a story.
Also, don’t forget that in fiction,
as in life, a marriage of minds is
just as important and desirable
as a union of bodies. Readers of
romantic fiction like to be assured
that your lovers stand at least a
sporting chance of making each
other happy, even if in some stories
fate, circumstances or even tragedy
intervene and make a happy-ever-
after ending impossible.

I’ve talked about big questions

in previous Fiction Focus columns,

and some of the big questions in

romantic fiction are: do the lovers

end up together, or do they part? Do

they live, or do they die? Secondarily,

and this is important, too – are they

young, old, pretty, plain, clever,

challenged? I can’t overstress the need

for your characters to be appealing,

and you should always remember

that appeal doesn’t rest solely on

what people look like, whatever the

cover art on much romantic and

relationship fiction might suggest.

Of course, a loving relationship

often needs time to develop, and it’s

fine if your central protagonists start

off hating, disliking or merely being

indifferent towards each other. You

can give them plenty of dilemmas to

face and obstacles to overcome.

Alison mentioned the New

Writers’ Scheme, which is for

authors who are not yet traditionally

published. This scheme has been

a springboard to success for many

bestselling novelists, most recently

Lorna Cook, author of the The

Forgotten Village.

The RNA welcomes non-members

to its meetings, parties and annual

Conference. So, if you feel romantic

fiction in any form might be for

you, why not attend a meeting or

two before you commit yourself?

The Conference has been a life-

changing experience for many new

writers, who have made friends with

published and yet-to-be-published

authors, met publishers and literary

agents, and – most importantly

• found out how the publishing
  industry in the UK really works.
  More information about the
  RNA, its activities and awards can
  be found on its website at https://
  romanticnovelistsassociation.org.

NOW Try this

Do you identify as a romantic

novelist – or not? Maybe

check out the website to

see which novels have won

awards and prizes in the

past. You might find yourself

somewhat surprised.