  Fantasy
This week: Edited by: Robert Waltz  
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Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, While loving someone deeply gives you courage.
- Lao Tzu
Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze.
- Elynor Glyn
Men always want to be a woman's first love - women like to be a man's last romance.
- Oscar Wilde |
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Romance
No, you haven't opened the wrong newsletter by mistake. This is still the Fantasy newsletter, and I'm still interpreting the genre broadly enough to include other speculative fiction.
This past weekend, I attended a science fiction / fantasy / gaming convention in Richmond, Virginia known as RavenCon. It's not a big one or an important one as cons go, but it has the distinct advantage of being close by, so I go - mostly for the writing workshops, but I tend to dip my toe into other waters while I'm there (and spend WAY too much money at the dealer's tables.)
One of the panels that interested me enough to get me to attend was about the specific genre crossover of romance and science fiction - something about, "The future of SF?". There was much discussion about demographics (they say 75% of book readers are women, and it's mostly women reading romance) and surprisingly little war-of-the-sexes stuff.
But, like many good discussions, it got me thinking - that is, when I could tear my eyes away from some of the panelists. Who knew that author and former physics professor Catherine Asaro was so dang hot? Not me. But I digress...
Point is, I was a bit surprised that the discussion was even necessary. See, genre only has one purpose in the literary world: it's a marketing tool. If you label your work "science fiction" then you've decided to market to folks who read science fiction. If you label your work "romance," there's a different target audience. Of course, you have to actually write those things to call them that, but within each, there's a lot of leeway.
Or is there?
I could be way off base here - I'm not a romance reader or writer - but it seems to me that to qualify as a romance, there has to be a plot line involving two people meeting, interacting, and falling in love. (I expect there's a happy-ever-after aspect to such things, but there doesn't have to be). Traditionally, this has been a man and a woman, but perhaps there's a market for gay or lesbian romances as well. Again, I don't know. Doesn't matter - what I'm getting at is that whatever else is going on in the story, those plot elements have to be there.
For something to be science fiction, however, the only real requirement is that it introduces science or technology that is new to the reader.
Note the difference: for romance, you have required plot elements. For science fiction, the requirement is one of setting.
There is absolutely no conflict between a plot requirement and a setting requirement.
While I'm talking about science fiction here, the same applies to fantasy (which has a different setting requirement). The difference I see is that in fantasy, it's far more natural-seeming to include plot elements of a romance. Unless you're J.R.R. Tolkien. Which you're not. (Okay, most Fantasy-genre stories have the "heroic quest" plotline, but that's certainly not a requirement, and even that lends itself nicely to a romance crossover.)
With science fiction, it's not quite as natural-seeming - but ultimately, science fiction is about humans and a human response to what is unfamiliar to us; and love is one of the most human things around.
And actually, science fiction (and fantasy) writers have the opportunity to extend the romance thing - if they're willing to break a few taboos - to interspecies romances. When you think about it, we're all alien to each other, and there's lots of opportunity for allegory here.
But as they pointed out at the workshop, a science fiction / romance crossover could increase your readership by pulling in fans of the other genre -- or it could doom your book to the trash heap as neither demographic will touch the other.
What do you think? Do you include elements of romance in your speculative fiction? |
So, can we combine science fiction with romance? These picks come from both "Sci-fi" and "Fantasy" works on writing.com, and all include "Romance/Love" as a genre.
And maybe some ideas for your own:
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Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
https://www.Writing.Com/go/nl_form
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Last month, in "Fantasy Newsletter (March 17, 2010)" , I talked about Spring.
Angelica Weatherby-Star on top  :
Punmaster: Yey- Hehe Maybe I just read your mind unknowingly. :-d Lemme think, what are you thinking now... Anyway great newsletter. 
If you knew what I was thinking, would you be so light in your banter? I don't think so.
Tadpole1  :
Hello Bob,
Loved the newsletter. The part about being a guy and only knowing about roses for forgiveness was great. Isn't that also a new beginning? An opportunity to make up and restart the cycle, ending with more roses?
lol,
Tadpole1
That just gets expensive, and wouldn't you prefer we spent the money on a trip to Belize?
A request for material:
Next month, if the stars align, I would like to feature longer items. But when I search for longer items, I find many, many incomplete stories - novels, campfires, interactives, and so on. Or I'll find one chapter and won't know if the whole story's finished or not.
So I have this request: If you or someone you know has a completed longer item, such as a novel or novella, posted on the site, send it to me using the form below.
What I'm looking for is this:
1) Completed work. No "more to come," no "should I continue with this?" - ONLY completed items.
2) If you only have one or two chapters posted here as a teaser, I'll accept that - PROVIDED the story is complete and there's a way for people to view the rest of the story.
3) 18+ Content Rating and below only, to meet newsletter guidelines.
4) Acceptable genres: anything normally featured in this newsletter. Fantasy (of course), science fiction, dark fantasy, supernatural, vampire, or the like must be one of the listed genres.
5) Growing, shrinking, vore, etc. stories will only be considered if they have some literary merit beyond sexual fantasies. I don't have a problem with such things, but that's not what this newsletter is about.
6) Don't worry if it's not a final draft - that's why you get feedback. But I won't use anything that's obviously not been spell-checked.
Many people won't read or review longer items - short attention span. So if your story's chosen, hopefully the exposure here will get you more readers.
If I don't get enough submissions (at least three or four), I'll pick another topic. I may even make puns. So it's in your best interest to submit something if it meets the above guidelines.
And that's it for this month - tune in next time, when I May have something different to say! Until then,
DREAM ON!!! |
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Fantasy: April 14, 2010 Issue [#3667]
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