Romance novel – Page 3 – Write on the World

Do you consider The Hunger Games a romance novel? | The Hunger Games (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have been a member of GoodReads for two years but have only recently started using the app on my phone. A few weeks ago, I began adding books I have read to my profile. A lot of them have been dystopian novels, as I have been reading a lot of that genre as part of my research for my own novel projects. When I went to check out my recommendations to determine what to read next, I was surprised to find that GoodReads was mostly recommending that I read romance novels.

I don’t get it. It’s been a while since I have read any romance novels, and I hadn’t added any to my “read” shelf. Why would this app suggest I mostly read romance novels if I hadn’t indicated that I had any interest in them?

It’s not that I never read romance. Don’t tell anyone, but I have a secret stash of Harlequins in my bedroom closet. I pull one out whenever I am in need of a quick escape that requires little to no thinking. I suppose the fact that I haven’t read one recently says good things about my current life. At my worst, I would lay in bed and read an entire romance novel in one night. But I won’t get into my dysfunctional ex-marriage here today. Continue reading “Why is young adult dystopia classified as “Romance?”” →

Uncategorized

When words get in my way

July 6, 2012July 5, 2012 Mandy Webster

Are you over-educated? Do you ever feel like your over-educated mind gets in the way of you enjoying activities that you used to love? Does it seem like your brain analyzes everything you read whether you want it to or not? Believe it or not, this happens to me. I used to love to read, but I have recently found myself incapable of finishing a book due to my brain’s insistence on over-analyzing every word I read.

Before I returned to school to pursue a master’s degree in professional writing, I used to be able to read four or five books a week. I could tear through each book and really enjoy each one without giving much thought as to how well-written they were. But these days, my over-educated brain seems to get in the way of me enjoying a hobby that used to be my favorite way to pass the time.

For example, I recently decided to read 50 Shades of Grey to see what the hype is all about. I knew going into the experience that the book wasn’t likely to be very well written. I didn’t buy the book because I was looking for an example of good writing to follow. No, I bought it because I occasionally enjoy a nice, trashy romance novel and thought this might be an entertaining read. Continue reading “When words get in my way” →

Random Writing Rants

History is written by writers

January 3, 2012 Mandy Webster

“They” say history is written by the winners of wars. But really, history is written by writers. Writers often write to observe humanity and preserve a space in time. Seconds, minutes, years, all can be preserved by the pen. Seconds may be experienced as hours, hours as minutes. Time can be manipulated by the skilled writer, shortened and expanded at will.

And so too, can humanity be manipulated. A writer’s work leaves a mark. Whether a history book, a trashy romance novel, a dollar store paperback western, or a classic tome, all tell the story of the time in which they were written, as well as the time which they are written about. All writing serves a purpose. Sometimes our writing serves the purpose we intend. Continue reading “History is written by writers” →

Novel Writing

It’s time to narrow my focus

October 13, 2011 Mandy Webster

So, I’ve decided to choose one specific story to write and devote the rest of the year to getting it done. My next step is to narrow it down to just one. Which story do I really want to tell most? I have several manuscripts in various stages of unfinish to choose from. How to decide?

These are the stories I am currently contemplating:

A trashy, cheesy romance novel that is fun to write, but not exactly what I want to do with the rest of my life. It’s one of those things I pull out and work on once in a while when I feel like having fun without working too hard to write the next great American novel; the type of thing I would definitely publish under a pen name! Continue reading “It’s time to narrow my focus” →