In August 2021, I could not study. I had just had a miscarriage—my second within six months—and every time I picked up a novel, I would become disoriented, the words jumbled up, almost incomprehensible. I complained about this to a friend of mine. “I don’t know what to do,” I said. “It’s like my brain has changed. I can’t even read my favorite books again.”
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He asked what I was reading. I was trying the new Ishiguro.
“Have you tried…romance?” he asked.
Throughout my adult life, I consumed literary fiction almost exclusively. As an English Literature major, my idea of light reading was PG Wodehouse. For me, books were (are!) livelihood, more than entertainment; Many people value religious texts. Especially as a writer, I read books not only to learn about other lives and worlds, but also to learn How Write. I didn’t think I was making any decisions by excluding other genres, I just read for a very specific purpose – which I assumed romance couldn’t accomplish.
But I was desperate, and so we went to one of my favorite Chicago bookstores, Women & Children First, and my friend bought me a starter romance book: read the beach By Emily Henry. I was reading the first 20 pages of this Clara and the Sun For two weeks, but I finished Henry’s novel within 24 hours.
A few months ago, I arrogantly thought that I wouldn’t get to learn much from him, but he taught me a lot.
First of all, it’s a blast book — smart, funny, empathetic — and, given that it’s about two writers from the Midwest, one that was basically engineered in a lab for me. But more than that, for someone who was experiencing such a profound loss of control, this book gave me exactly what I needed: certainty. What I sought again and again as I consumed dozens of romance novels over the coming weeks was the knowledge that no matter what happens, the couple will be together. I knew they would meet in the first 20 pages. Resist the attraction or have a fight immediately afterward. Kiss halfway. Sleep three quarters of the way in with each other. Separate before the final task.
When I became pregnant with my daughter in October, I kept asking the doctor if he could tell me everything would be OK, but no one can promise you that, except in the pages of these novels.
During my pregnancy, I was getting my first novel, divorcedReady to submit, but I’ve also started writing something new. For years, I had wanted to write a novel set during a wedding weekend, and so I began picturing a remote island where guests would be taken, describing the history of the bride and groom, their desires, and secrets. When I write, I have books that I re-read obsessively; They act as the North Star. For this nascent idea that would eventually become my second novel, softnessi keep opening susan minott Evening and james wright the branch will not breakBut then I’ll think about all the romance books I’ve read. A few months ago, I arrogantly thought that I wouldn’t get to learn much from him, but he taught me a lot.
First of all, don’t be afraid of clichés. Literary fiction writers live in fear that someone will say that their writing is clichéd, that they are following a formula. Calling something original is an incredible compliment, but I think it might scare us away from the basic building blocks of drama. For softnessI started crafting a character who was the bride’s best friend since college, but I was worried that it was too predictable for her to fall in love with him. Reflecting on the romance novels I’ve read, I realized that I often wanted the predictability of the setup: the character’s return to her hometown, the introduction of an extremely attractive professional rival. It doesn’t matter that I read them first. What was important was the texture and nuance of these set-ups – how the author made them his own.
Literary fiction writers often decry the idea of writing for the market, and I still agree with that in many ways – write your weird book, the book only you can write – but I’ve started to think of my novels as conversations with readers.
Second: Sex scenes are excellent opportunities to learn about the characters. It is rare for a literary fiction writer to create an extraordinary sex scene. It’s not that literary fiction avoids the topic, but it’s often the site of trauma, or mentioned in exposition, or the sex scene itself fades to black as a character is removing his belt. There are undoubtedly excellent literary sex writers – Jennifer Egan and Brandon Taylor immediately come to mind – but we admire them because they are the exception, not the rule. Romance writers understand that sex isn’t just the culmination of desire (although in itself, that’s reason enough to depict it!), it’s also an opportunity to understand characters, and if a book has a romance, e.g. softnessIf you always leave out these moments you are telling an incomplete story.
Third: Even if your ultimate goal is to destroy them, you have to understand the audience’s expectations. When I was younger, I never wrote to get published, it was just a way of processing the world. As I started taking writing workshops, I responded to comments and criticism, but I thought of it as a way to hone my craft, not necessarily as a way to better satisfy my readers (even the idea of readers was new to me). Literary fiction writers often decry the idea of writing for the market, and I still agree with that in many ways – write your weird book, the book only you can write – but I’ve started to think of my novels as conversations with readers. with softnessI thought deeply about what my audience would expect from a marriage book and a love triangle, understanding that if I chose not to include predictable scenes or confrontations, I would need a very good reason for these decisions.
After giving birth to my daughter, I tracked the books I read during maternity leave in my notebook. This is a good reflection of what I’ve just read: Patricia Lockwood and Ali Hazlewood, Katie Kitamura and Talia Hibbert. after finishing softnessI sketched out an idea for a romance novel, but just as it took me years (decades!) to learn to write literary fiction, it would take me many more years to be able to write a compelling book in that genre. At the moment, I am still a student and learning everything I can from them.
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softness by Rowan Baird available from Flatiron Books.
