Are romance and erotica the gold mine they are believed to be? Should writers try to build a career in romance or erotica under a pen name?
It might be harder than you think.
Tag: Romance
Episode 3.6 – Romance and Sex in Other Genres (Part I)
Content warning: this episode includes coarse language, (terrible) descriptions of sexual acts, and discussions about sexual assault in literature.
Sex and physical intimacy in literature is a slippery slope. Inclusion of those elements for shock value alone is counterproductive and generally seen as gratuitous. What we discover through our conversation is that the inclusion of sex in stories must have value to the characters and plot. We also issue a warning: stop using sexual assault as a character-building trope in speculative fiction. It is a terrible thing to do.
We also went quite a bit over time in this episode’s recording, so the episode is split between 3.6 and 3.7, so tune in next week for the second half of the conversation.
Episode 3.5 – Romance, Erotic Romance, and Erotica
This month, Write Right will dive into discussions about romance and erotica. That being the case, we are going to flag the episodes for February as explicit. If these topics aren’t your cup of tea, join back up with us in March when we change themes.
Are the romance genres a smooth spectrum, or are there clear lines between romance, erotic (or steamy) romance, and erotica? Are there well-established rules for the form? Mariëlle Smith joins us for our exploration of the steamier side of popular fiction.