On
24th August, Elizabeth Allen led a workshop on Romantic
Fiction in preparation for the final competition of the year. Having
contrasted the genre to its more elevated cousin, romance, she asked
everyone to note down what they considered the key elements of the
genre to be. We went on to look at two broad categories, contrasting
the generally exotic and glitzy Mills & Boon approach with the
more everyday Women's Weekly style. Although we acknowledged
Mills & Boon novels now range from the traditional heart-warming
weddings of doctors and nurses etc. to more 'hot and spicy'
encounters, one avid romantic fiction reader among us pointed out the
sexual politics haven't moved on that much! We discussed the elements
of the romantic novel: characters, setting, plot and prose style,
with credit being given to Sophie King's How to Write a Romantic
Novel. The group's choices of a suitable location for a novel
ranged from libraries through the Scottish Highlands to the gondolas
of Venice, and characters' names spanned the mundane to the highly
exotic. We wait for the entries to be read out on 21st
September.
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