ROMANTIC CLICHES - MARGARET TANNER

 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 1^st 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.

My Favourite Romantic What?

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of SciFi and the supernatural with a romantic soul. And I have a terrible confession to make. I am not primarily a romance reader. *hangs head in shame* Yep, you have a traitor in your midst! My home genre is SciFi, or perhaps speculative fiction since I read a little fantasy and paranormal too. A lot of early stuff I read wasn't labelled romance and I didn't recognize it as such until I discovered science fiction romance, but I read as much if not more non-romance.

But since discovering SFR, I've found that stories with romance woven into the speculative elements satisfy me a whole lot more than those without. I want stories that really make me feel something, not just entertain my imagination. The emotional rollercoaster is as important as the world building.

So when I first saw the topic title, I struggled. I definitely have some favourite romantic tropes now. Enemies to lovers is top of the list at the moment (and the theme of my last two SFR releases - Imprint in Tales of the SFR Brigade anthology, and Tethered), but I wasn't sure about what constituted a romantic cliche. Research time!

So I Googled Romantic Cliches and found this list. http://www.queen-of-swords.net/Articles/OverusedRomanceCliches.htm I read it all the way through...and couldn't find a single one that I liked. Maybe because the creator has focussed on the negative ones, or maybe because I haven't read enough romances. *slaps wrist* But I did come across a couple I've used.

"6. The heroine claims she can take care of herself as she steps on a rattlesnake and simultaneously shoots herself in the ear." 

Well, not a rattlesnake, but my heroine did insist she could take care of herself, then ran into an antagonist she really couldn't handle alone. So I guess that is a cliche I like. It's not that I wanted my hero charging in on a white horse to save her, but in this case it was the calamity necessary to get the hero to accept and embrace what he was and master his alien abilities in order to save her. Without that, he would have gone on denying what he could do, and she would have died.

"Nine Months Later…
32. The heroine has a secret child. So first, she most likely hasn’t used contraception. Second, she hasn’t told the hero that she’s expecting his child..."

Okay, I've done this one too. But I did make a big point about the lack of contraception, and reasons why the whole situation came about. I can't go into too much detail as this book hasn't even released yet. >.< But I felt I gave a reasonable explanation for the drama.

So are cliches a bad thing? I guess it depends on how much of a cliche the reader finds it, based on their reading history, and/or whether it's one they particularly hate or love, and how well an author tackles it or perhaps puts a new twist on it. Perhaps they even deliberately seek certain ones out. And maybe next year I'll have learned a bit more about them all.

Are there particular tropes you consider cliches? And are there particular ones you love or loathe?

http://pippajay.co.uk

The Future of Doors

By Judith Ashley

I'm very aware that this month's topic for the Genre-istas is "Favorite Romantic Cliches", after all I'm one of the Blog Queens who came up with this idea.

The only thing that came to mind as I sat down to write this month's post was "It was a dark and stormy night" along with "Time stood still" and "He was tall, dark and handsome". Not much for a 200 - 300 word post.

Doorway at Roslyn Chapel, Scotland

What did pop into my mind more than once was the phrase "When one door closes, another opens." I know those words do not fit the topic: romantic cliches. I'm not sure those words even fit cliche-status. Area they trite? I'm not sure but I do hope they are true.

Why? Because the weekend of September 5 - 7 I'll be working as an After Hours Consultant which translates into I'm a resource for vulnerable adults in Multnomah County, Oregon should problem occur after normal business hours. And, this weekend is the next to the last one I'll be scheduled for. I retire from this work on October 31, 2014.

October 1, I start my nineteenth year in this position - one night a week, one weekend a month (sometimes more if one of the other team members is unavailable).

What do we do? Tonight I was paged because a neighbor was concerned about a disabled woman in the apartment complex where they live.

Last weekend, the four team members split the long weekend. I had the Friday from 4 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday shift. My replacement has been hired and he shadowed not only me but the other team members all weekend.

Friday night a police officer called in with concerns about a man he'd checked on who had a head injury who was refusing medical treatment. When we went to his house the next morning, we found him on the floor, blood caked all over his head, face and upper body. The house was filthy with no electricity or water. The gentleman had no phone and was unable to call for help. I had my phone and called 911 asking for help. The fire department and ambulance responded and he was taken to an emergency room to be evaluated.

A woman who is on dialysis due to renal failure called. She was out of food. That call came in near the end of my shift so the next team member got her some food - enough to last through the long weekend.

One of my favorite places in the world - Depoe Bay OR

I tried to find a woman who was reported to be confused, thinking people lived in an apartment above her (there is no apartment above her, only the roof). She wasn't home.

One of the day staff was worried about an older gentleman whose roommate, who also did some care-giving activities, was arrested. He was managing well because someone else stepped up and made sure he had groceries, etc.

Since I made the decision to close the door on this part of my working career, I've had so many experiences. A dirty home that made it to the top three of all the homes I've ever been in (and that number is well over a thousand); taking police out with me twice in one day due to the reported possible danger I'd be in if I went alone; an EMT in his 20's or maybe his early 30's lecturing me about patient rights (I did not say anything snarky although I know one eyebrow arched and my jaw tightened).

In the last two months,without After Hours interventions, at least three people could have died.

When this door closes, I do expect another door to open. I'm not sure what will be on the other side. I am not picturing fleas, filth, rotten food, cockroaches, sticky floors, squishy floors - well, you get the picture.

The Blog Queens Book Signing - Desert Dreams 2014

When the next door opens, I'd love to see quality time to write, large royalty checks and books signings.
Whenever I offer a workshop or training, people will sign up! I'll have time to spend with family and friends at the coast, in the mountains and at home. In this utopia, weeds will not grow in my yard nor will any plants die.

My belief that when one door closes another opens is soon to be tested.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with one door closing and another opening. Please share!

For more about my books check out my website at
http://judithashleyromance.com   and my author page at
http://windtreepress.com

Swimming Upstream, or Bucking a Romantic Cliché

Here’s the thing…

Romantic clichés come under two headings: what the uninformed THINK romance stories are about, and what they EXPECT romance stories to be about.

The THINK part is easy, and pretty much goes across all romance genres: ripping bodices, sex, handsome men, sex, flawless heroines, sex, exotic settings, sex, fantastic fashions, sex, and then ~ there’s the sex. And always guaranteed is the Happily Ever After, cheesy or not.

The EXPECT part gets a little narrower, especially when it comes to Historical Romance (which happens to be what I write). Here, you get the Regency period (which, I don’t write) with British words like “Ton” spoken by rakish dukes, innocent would-be duchesses, nasty earls, and grasping uncles. Think Jane Austin on steroids.

Or, you have countless kilted warriors (which, I don’t write either): tall, muscular Scots with long red hair, impervious to cold and rain, swashing around with their longswords (pun intended) and dropping the T from the end of “Not” with their thick brogues, calling everyone “lassie.”

Catch any clichés there? *wink*

The reality is that there ARE stories that fit these clichés. Good ones, even. They are popular in part because they are familiar and comfortable ~ and what many of us cut our romance-reading teeth on. After all, America was very heavily populated by immigrants fleeing from, or being thrown out of, England, Scotland and Ireland. We speak (mostly) the same language, and generally have the same cultural values.

But there are a lot of us who have broken away from this mold, and taken our historicals from the Bronze Age through World War II. We also moved them out of England and Scotland in the process, placing our characters on other continents and in less-well-known cultures. Places not as familiar to the average American reader.

What an uphill battle this has proved to be! Who knew? Not every reader is willing to step out and try something different. Those who do, however, are reaping interesting and imaginative rewards by the pageful. Dark-eyed Indian Rajas from Mumbai, powdered and beautifully coifed Geishas from Japan, muscular Roman soldiers building a wall.

Though I cannot prove any Norwegian ancestors directly, my DNA is “100% Northern European” ~ and with four grandparents with English, Scots, Irish, and German surnames I figure I am most definitely Viking spawn. As if the Scots and German weren’t enough, throw in some Norse and I can be a bit stubborn. No, really.

So, dang it, I am going to succeed with my Norwegian heroes. Big, blond, buff and beautiful, with eyes the color of seawater, and the blood of their Viking ancestors flowing through their veins.

Can you feel it?

It’s time to buck a few clichés. Go on, swim upstream. You’ll see ~ the water is wonderful.

Romantic Cliches- Love them or hate them? by Paty Jager

This month the queens of this blog picked an interesting subject that I've never really thought about. I don't think about romantic cliches when I write a story. I had to look them up on the internet to see what exactly they were.

I found one site that listed these as Romantic Cliches to avoid when writing romance.
Evil other woman
Evil ex-wife - Or I guess husband?
Evil relatives - (I'm seeing a pattern here) Avoid evil anyone other than a real evil person in a suspense or thriller maybe?
Country mouse theme - Did you get lost too? This is where a powerful woman from the city goes to the country and becomes meek.
Naive virginal heroine - I'm sorry but writing historical romance, I have to keep my heroines virginal or give them a really good reason for not being that way. My heroine in my contemporary action adventure had a good reason too.
The Duke of Slut! - This one made me chuckle. This is one cliche I can do without. I don't like this kind of hero so it definitely wouldn't be a favorite.
The Will stipulation - I think we've all read at least one book where the hero and heroine are brought together by a will. I've never been a fan of those either.
I guess I'm whittling down the list of what I don't like. ;)
Amnesia plot - Another one I've never been a fan of.
Silly Big Mistake - I don't care for this one either. When the conflict can be taken care of if the two just sit down and talk...

Then I went to a site that listed the Romantic Cliches in romantic comedies.
Small pond escape - This is where a person from a small town moves away to a big city and then comes back and falls in love.
Frenemies - need I say more.
Meet Cute - Where the hero and heroine meet usually because they are klutzy. (I didn't know this term until I watched The Holiday with Jude Law, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, and Kate Winslet. Wonderful movie and they use the Meet Cute in the movie.  So I like this cliche. ;)
Dream Dismissal- One character gives up their dream job.
Movie Makeover- Turn an ugly duckling into a swan.
Make ex jealous - they kiss or carry on to make an ex jealous and end up falling in love. There are several movies I've watched like this. I kind of like this one.
Career gal regret - wanting to start a family/ get married.
Just friends -
Hidden agenda- I like hidden agenda. I used that in Staking Claim. And I think it might be my favorite romantic cliche.

Staking Claim

Book Two – Halsey Homecoming Trilogy – Colin’s story

Deceit, contradictions, and lies.

On a ship bound for America, Colin Healy encounters a contradictory woman, whose beauty and grace intrigue him.

Livie Leatherby boards the ship as an imposter to get the information she needs to save her family. Befriending Sir Colin Healy is easy with his chivalrous tendencies. But she soon realizes discovering his past marks him for death.

Forced together to stay one step ahead of the Lord set on killing Colin for his estate, can these two get beyond the lies and deceit that has brought them together before one or the other meets their demise?

Buy Links:  Amazon / Nook / Apple / Kobo / Windtree Press

Do you have a favorite cliche that you like to read about? As a writer do you notice if you use a favorite cliche in your stories?

You can learn more about Paty at her blog; Writing into the Sunset  her website; http://www.patyjager.net or on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/#!/paty.jager , Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005334.Paty_Jager  and twitter;  @patyjag.