It's no surprise that I'm a terribly sentimental romantic. Or, well--it shouldn't be a big surprise for anyone who's paid attention. That said, I stop just short of writing grocery-store plot lines because I truly feel there must be more to romance than fantasy. It can't just be the hero sweeping in to rescue the dame; it shouldn't need some hackneyed time period or overplayed backdrop to keep the story interesting. Setting's important, and characterization is important but, beyond all else, there should be an immediate and passionate sense of authenticity. When I read romance--the type that truly affects me--I want to believe in the possibility of that kind of love. I want to believe that relationships like that really do exist.


So what's "that" anyway?

Well, now-a-days people consider "Romance" to be those books with Fabio on the front cover. However, that isn't where "romance" started. True romance, as a literary genre, likes to reference a bit of chivalry. You can find it in the "Courtly Love Tradition" and in tales of Arthur's knights; you can sigh over it in Orlando Furioso. There are often elements of the fantastic and, indeed, many of the oldest romances would probably fall under "Fantasy" fiction by today's standards. In fact, Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is sometimes referred to as romance. And then there are the women--or the female protagonists, I should say, who show us those courting rituals from an entirely new perspective. Austen's Pride and Prejudice comes to mind for an example. However, all of these texts seem to share a few common threads: there is a hero, the improbable becomes probable, and plot adventure makes for great twists.

And yes, it's also true that I love literary romances. I'm big into epics and traditional fantasy, I adore Chaucer and Beowulf and Arthur. Jerusalem Delivered stirs something in me. But the time for grand epics has slowly passed into the history pile, and fantasy literature has taken an urban and existential sprawl.

Which leaves us with romantic fiction and Fabio's cascading hair.


Romantic Fiction

Romantic fiction, generally coming in the form of a romance novel, focuses on the relationship--the loving, romantic relationship--between two people. Also, in keeping with the theme of the improbable becoming possibility, most romance novels tend to have a vapid--er, I mean--a pleasant, optimistic, happy ending in which the guy gets the girl. Indeed, one of the appeals of romantic fiction is the want to live vicariously--to see a working, long-shot love in action in order to satisfy some emotional fantasy or secret, aching desire.

And boy does it satisfy. Romance novels share the largest portions of the literary market, selling the most books and spawning the most movies. In fact, romance novel exports remains one of the steadiest economic international trades in recent years. There are groups and clubs and associations, not unlike the Romance Writes of America, and there are even "rules" to help protect and preserve this rather lucrative type of writing.

Indeed, romance novels are expected--almost required--to have the happy ending discussed above. They are classic for the good guys getting rewarded and the bad guys getting punished, and they often (if not always) follow the beginning of a relationship to its pleasant, committed end--using modern courting rituals, plot twists, and conflicts to show how one goes about falling in love (and staying in love) with someone else.

And that's all fine and good, but sometimes I wonder if it can be different.


Drama

Some people believe that romance has to have a happy ending. Some people say it doesn't as long as the majority of the story revolved around a loving relationship. Some say romance, as a genre, should be protected only to include heterosexual pairings. Some say that is ridiculous and incorporate or consider homosexual pairings as well. But, at the end of the day, romance wants a budding relationship and a happy ending.

But happy endings don't always happen in the real world. Does that mean that some of the most romantic relationships--some of the best themes of sacrifice for another or loving enough to walk away don't deserve an honest shot? I don't think so. Again, the romantic fiction I appreciate the most are the ones that feel authentic. I don't really think you need a happy ending as long as there is still the hope for a happy ending or a resolution that borders on both parties being separate-but-content. A romance can have an understanding--a recognition--that being together isn't always the best way you can love and have a relationship with another person. There can be tears--and not just the happy kind. Sometimes, the bad guy can win right alongside the hero.

However, I am also fully willing to admit that much of that strays away from the underlying purpose of the fantastic--of overcoming the adventures together and sharing that loving, satisfying last-a-lifetime relationship. It might, just by its suggestion, be spitting in the eye of the entire genre.

I just hope it doesn't.


Where does that leave you?

Well, I want to see some decent romantic fiction--or, well, I'd like to see some decent fiction with romantic elements. I want to see the beginning of the relationship, or the middle--the first kiss or the first time or the first time after the first fight. I want to hear about the end--happy or sad, satisfying or impossible. Show me how relationships are born and built, how they work in the real world--what modern-day, authentic, realistic romance can be. Push beyond the vapid "love conquers all" divide and tell me how love happens around you. It need not be candles and flowers and chocolates. The star might not be handsome and debonair and the lady might hardly be a lady. But ordinary people fall in love in extraordinary ways all the time, and I'd like to see you tap into that.

In the end, just let your story offer some sliver of hope that, while it may not last forever, that forever-feeling sort of love is still possible in this cold, cruel, cynical world. Satisfy my need that love is still bigger than all of us--a concept worth sacrificing for, a person worth dying for.

Just make sure it's not between parents and children, siblings, pets, or adults preying on little kids, okay?


The Challenge

Write a romance between two people. It can be happy, sad, serious, funny, true, untrue, and anything in between. Just make sure it focuses, beyond all other plot elements, on the romantic relationship budding, growing, being sustained or remembered between the two main characters.


The Rules

Anyone can enter. You need not be a "writer" to apply.
Entries should be a new deviation or scrap uploaded on or after 1 September 2008.
Poetry and prose are accepted.
Poetry should be no longer than 40 lines.
Prose should be no longer than 5,500 words.
Entries in languages other than English are permitted.
All entries should be noted to `GeneratingHype no later than 12:00AM GMT on 30 September 2008. Please entitled your note "ROMANCE" to avoid confusion.


Remember: this is supposed to be FUN. Don't think you can write a romance? Well, why not give it a try? There's no shame in writing about love; it's one of the oldest themes of humanity. And don't worry: we're not going to compare you to Danielle Steel. Most romance novelists don't consider her a romantic writer anyway.