FAVOURITE ROMANTIC
CLICHES – MARGARET TANNER
I write historical romance, so maybe my
take on this topic is different.
I like –
Love lost and found
The rogue makes good
The poor girl and the rich man
The soft sweet heroine taming the
ruthless hero. (This is a particular favourite of mine and one I use a lot).
Then there are the three “Rs” – Revenge,
retribution and redemption. (I use that a lot too.)
There again, what about the clichés used
in the romance novel. You know what I mean, those overused phrases:
Crushed her against his hard maleness
Her heart fluttered like a caged bird.
The night was as black as ink.
A million stars twinkled
She ran like the wind
He covered her face with hot kisses.
His warm breath fanned her cheeks
I have to confess to having used them
myself, but in all honesty, I doubt that there would be one romance author who
could say she hadn’t used these lines at some time or another.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see anything
wrong with using these clichés, I think they set the scene very well. Many
editors don’t like them, of course. The secret is – use them sparingly.
My take is this: If you want to use clichés be selective. If
all else fails you can invent a few of your own.
Margaret writes historical romance set
mainly in Australia. Her latest release, The Loves We Left Behind, is a 3 book Combo
(three separate novels, all stand-alone stories in the one book.) This is a special release to mark the centenary
of the 1st World War.
It tells the stories of three different
women who triumph over loss, heartache and betrayal.
THE LOVES WE LEFT BEHIND:
A hundred years ago, from the far
flung corners of the British Empire, young men rushed to fight for Mother
England. They left their wives and sweethearts behind. Many of these brave
women waited in vain for their men folk to return. How did they cope with the
loss and heartache? Could they ever hope to find happiness with another man? Three
full novels, each telling a brave young woman’s story of triumph over tragedy
and adversity. Allison’s War, Daring Masquerade and Lauren’s Dilemma.http://amzn.com/B00MASTCHM
Available in Print also from your
favourite on-line bookstore.
3 comments:
I will admit to using "time stood still" which is not necessarily a cliche only used in romance. This is how I used "time standing still" in "Sarah's Ankh" one of my short stories in "Love and Magick".
"It was the old cliche of time standing still. But it did. Or perhaps it was the contrast of the rolling waves, the grasses dancing in the wind, the seagulls swooping in the sky, the clouds gliding overhead - all that movement except for the two of them."
Will you be going to Europe for the WWI Centenary Events?
You said it well, Margaret: use cliches sparingly and judiciously. dYou do a wonderful job of that.
I really enjoy your stories, Margaret. The list of cliches were all ones I've heard before. Some I have used. (blushing). As far as the cliche story lines go, I heard a lecture once on writing and the speaker said there are only so many story lines. How you as an author make your story unique is the key to a good novel.
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