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[RokofAges75]

I agree with what Steph said.  Romance, like a lot of genres, tends to follow a certain formula, and there are only so many basic premises.  Boy meets girl, love triangles, love/hate relationships, on-again-off-again relationships, opposites attract, two people from different worlds falling in love, star-crossed lovers, the forbidden romance, the summer romance, the whirlwind romance, love at first sight, good girl falls for bad boy, rich girl falls for poor boy, old cougar falls for young stud, etc. etc. etc.  It's all been done before, but what sets one story apart from the next are the characters and the situation they're in.  A talented writer can take an overdone storyline and revitalize it by creating fresh characters, putting them in interesting scenarios, and telling their story in an engaging way.  That makes it easier to look past the cliches.

[Rose]

Holy essay Steph lol. I was definitely thinking plot cliches, which are more common in romance than anywhere. That, and the forum was quiet, and nothing gets discussion like romance . I do agree, it's definitely about the characters. Unfortunately, not many can do that, to where it's the same story, only the names and faces change.

[Sakabelle]

I was bored lol plus I figured since I've written a lot of it I could write a lot about it!

[Alexsgirl_ritz]

I agree with Steph and Julie.... In the Philippines, 90% of published books by Filipino writers are romance novels. And the publishing company/editors gave the formula for a good manuscript. Boy meets girls, they fall in love, then there must be some conflict (which could not be solved just bt merely talking to each other), then they will get back together again for a happy ending. All the plots have been used before, but a good writer can re-tell the story without boring the readers.

[FrickingKaos]

What is one fanfic you've read that surprised you? What made you click on it in the first place? Was it something you would normally read?

[FrickingKaos]

Romance is a tough genre to write in, like Julie said...you need to keep the story fresh so people don't get bored because a lot of the plots have been used before. It's difficult unless you're a really good writer.

[RokofAges75]

What is one fanfic you've read that surprised you? What made you click on it in the first place? Was it something you would normally read?

Save a Prayer surprised me.  From the summary, I thought it was going to be similar to the old fanfic Survivor, which was about BSB competing against NSYNC on a celebrity version of Survivor the show.  I loved that story, and I love Steph, so I clicked on Save a Prayer, thinking it would make a light, fun read.  I probably would have enjoyed it if it was just what the summary suggested, the Boys against New Kids on a reality show, but I loved the twist it took with the plane crash even more!  I love survival stories, and Steph definitely delivered.  I was surprised at how gory she got!  I had never read anything like that from Steph before, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise to know she had that in her! LOL

[shark_carter]

How do you feel about the cliches in romance? Are they too well known to get around them, or do you feel a lot of authors rely on them to tell the same story but with different people?

When I think cliches I always think words or phrases that are overused, that kind of thing. I hate when those pop up regularly in books/fanfic. As far as overused plots go is anybody really writing anything these days that is totally original?
If they are then they're "one in a million" haha I think romance only has so many possible ways to tell the story because it's so true to life. Most people can probably relate to a romance in some way so in order to make it believable you have to use real life situations.
It bugs me actually when romances get so overdramatic that they aren't believable anymore but I don't get bored of the same stories told in slightly different ways so long as its well written.

[Rose]

When I think cliches I always think words or phrases that are overused, that kind of thing. I hate when those pop up regularly in books/fanfic. As far as overused plots go is anybody really writing anything these days that is totally original?
If they are then they're "one in a million" haha I think romance only has so many possible ways to tell the story because it's so true to life. Most people can probably relate to a romance in some way so in order to make it believable you have to use real life situations.
It bugs me actually when romances get so overdramatic that they aren't believable anymore but I don't get bored of the same stories told in slightly different ways so long as its well written.

Actually yes, there's ideas now and then that I've never seen before. Or a twist or new spin to make an old idea new with that put in. And even so, romance has more commonly used cliche plots than any other genre. I don't think anyone would debate that. Real life situations come into everything, even in fantasy or sci-fi because otherwise people can't relate. Honestly I think a lot of people relate to romance cause it taps into fantasies.

Maybe I'm just picky, but if a well written story is the same story over and over, it's still boring lol. The characters need to be captivating, or something has to be new. Slight differences do nothing for me LOL.

[shark_carter]

Actually yes, there's ideas now and then that I've never seen before. Or a twist or new spin to make an old idea new with that put in. And even so, romance has more commonly used cliche plots than any other genre. I don't think anyone would debate that. Real life situations come into everything, even in fantasy or sci-fi because otherwise people can't relate. Honestly I think a lot of people relate to romance cause it taps into fantasies.
Maybe I'm just picky, but if a well written story is the same story over and over, it's still boring lol. The characters need to be captivating, or something has to be new. Slight differences do nothing for me LOL.

It's alright to be picky! After all, that's why it's so great that there are so many options out there for everyone.
I think that most fiction taps into fantasties, not just romance and that's one of the things I love about reading. I love if I've had a crappy day to be able to step outside my world for a while and get into somebody else's. Maybe it's a fantasy of a life I could never live, or a place or time I could never visit but I think much of writing/reading has an element of fantasy to it.
I didn't mean before that the characters didn't have to be captivating and so on, that's what I meant by well written. But I truly believe that literature has been around for so long that at the root of every story there is an idea that has already been used.
Look at love triangles... Gone With the Wind and A Tale of Two Cities are both stories about love triangles but the authors made them original by making them their own. That's what I mean by each idea having a root in another idea. I can't recall seeing much that is completely fresh, that no one has ever done before, but I'd definitely read it if I came across it!

[RokofAges75]

^ Good points.  I agree - at its roots, no idea is truly original; it's what you do with it and the way that you write it that makes it unique.  And the ideas that are the most overused/cliched usually are because people enjoy them, because they do tap into either a fantasy or a nightmare.

[Rose]

^ Good points.  I agree - at its roots, no idea is truly original; it's what you do with it and the way that you write it that makes it unique.  And the ideas that are the most overused/cliched usually are because people enjoy them, because they do tap into either a fantasy or a nightmare.

I was gonna say, nightmares are a good part of it too LOL.

That said, I hated Gone With The Wind lmao .

[FrickingKaos]

See now I disagree with that, I don't think most romance stems from fantasies of the author. If the writer has good, intriguing characters and a refreshing storyline, the fact that it is a romance shouldn't play a part in whether I read it or not.

Not all romances are the same. I like ones where romance is laid in subtly or isn't even the main genre. I started out as a romance writer, and now I have branched out....but the romance stories I read usually have comedy or drama laid in. I love stories like that, they keep me interested.

[Rose]

I will point out I never said all, a lot are however. But I'm just speaking about when it's the main genre. In fanfic, it does tend to stem from fantasy, especially if it's an author with similar plots. There's definitely good romances out there, they're just rare lol.

I love romance when it's not the main genre. I feel it can add a lot as a subplot, in fact I feel it adds more when it's a subplot than it does when it's the main genre. Like in Undead, I really love the Nick/Riley story and how I've managed to write it since it's the most romance I've written in years. (I also love how Julie's developed Brian/Gretchen).

[FrickingKaos]

Oh no I wasn't saying you said all of them were lol just that was how I felt. I like romance as a subplot myself