I feel as though I have been reading romance,
and especially romantic comedies, all my life. Rom-Coms are still among my
favorite type of movie, even though they are only now becoming more recognized
in theaters (although, not so much at the Oscars). When I was in High School, I
joined the Literary Guild and devoured all the romance books they had available
and have been reading them ever since.
Given my past predilection to the romance
genre, it should come as no surprise that it is my go-to genre for what I
write. And, although my content editing clients are varied in almost every
genre, romance is still my favorite to edit because it can encompass so many
other genres, but also have a guaranteed Happily Ever After as a bonus.
And if you can get me to laugh while loving the
story, it is the chocolate on my salted caramel. I am not a stand-up comedian
by any stretch of the imagination, but I do love it when readers let me know
that they enjoyed the humor in my books. At a table read for one of my
screenplays, I was relieved (and gratified) when the group laughed throughout
the reading – sometimes in places that surprised me.
They thought that was funny!
Am I better at this than I thought?
Did Nora Ephron ever suffer from these same
insecurities?
I happen to love writing rom-coms because I
believe that laughter truly is great medicine.
But writing isn’t easy. And writing rom-coms is
the subtle art that fuels and nurtures your baser insecurities. You, as the
writer, might find your story hilarious. But does that humor also translate to
your audience?
My mood is heavily influenced by what is going
on for me at the time I’m writing. I have been known to randomly start talking
with an English accent or a Scottish brogue depending on the audio book I’m listening
to in my Libro.fm library (yes, that was a blatant plug for the indie audio
company that supports indie bookstores!). I get very strange looks from my
coworkers.
So, when I want to be sure my romance has
humor, I put down my Suzanne Brockmann, J.R. Ward, or Laura Kinsale and I delve
into some of my favorite rom-coms (hello, When Harry Met Sally and Steel
Magnolias) and read romantic comedy authors like Kristan Higgins, Christina
Laurens, and Molly Harper. Then I let the mood of humor come out in the flow of
my writing.
The bottom line in all of this is: Love what
you are writing, and it will show in the end result. If you’ve naturally added
humor to your already brilliant romance, kudos to you! If you haven’t, don’t
sweat it, and definitely don’t force it because that will show. As with
everything, you do you, and see what happens.
Julie Cameron is an award-winning author
and screenwriter of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. She sits on the
Boards of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW), and Writer's Guild of
Astoria. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), the Rose City
Romance Writers Chapter of RWA, Willamette Writers, and Oregon Writers
Colony.
As
a content editor, writing coach and instructor through her company, Landon Literary,
Julie is also a member of Independent Book Publishers Assn. (IBPA), Colorado
Independent Publishers Assn. (CIPA), Editorial Freelancers Assn. (EFA), and
Northwest Editor’s Guild.
When
she isn’t writing or working with clients, Julie enjoys spending time with her
family, friends, and fellow authors in the literary community.
