Lesson 1: What exactly is a historical romance?
A historical romance is essentially a romance set in a different historical period. There is no rule about which period—Ancient, Medieval, 18th century, Regency, Victorian, Gilded Age—but choose carefully, for reasons I’ll explain in the research section.
More important than a particular period is the commitment to writing a ROMANCE. If you’re already a reader of the genre, you know what that means:
- Love is the fundamental object of the story
- Your two protagonists (sometimes more) must have a happily ever after (hereafter abbreviated to HEA), or happy for now
This is distinct from historical fiction with romantic elements. Many/most stories contain some element of romance, but to be truly classified as a historical romance, your story must revolve around (for the sake of argument) two people falling in love and eventually being together.
In essence, if your goal is to elucidate some principle, bring a little-known historical figure to life, explore social and political movements, then you’re probably not writing romance.
Romance as defined by Romance Writers of America
Although somewhat embattled recently, this organization is still the best source for information about the romance genre and its subgenera.
Here’s what they say:
Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.
A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as they want as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel.
An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.
Romance novels may have any tone or style, be set in any place or time, and have varying levels of sensuality—ranging from sweet to extremely hot. These settings and distinctions of plot create specific subgenres within romance fiction.
If you reach this point and realize you aren’t actually writing a romance, or you don’t wish to learn about the craft of romance in order to deepen those aspects of your historical fiction, please contact me to discuss a refund.
More than one kind of couple
While heterosexual Regency romance is often what springs to mind immediately, more than a little research reveals queer history in different periods, and gender-bending characters were not unheard of from ancient times on. Basically, as long as you’re within the conventions of the genre, you can give your protagonists any kind of sexual preference.
That leads into the fact that historicals can be as sweet or steamy as any other sub-genre. This course doesn’t cover the very difficult task of writing really effective sex scenes, but many readers love them, and they can be open-door or closed-door, just as in any other novel. That’s not to say sex isn’t always in some way implied as the ultimate outcome.
Embrace the joy
Writing a romance should be a joyful, affirming experience. A huge challenge, but so rewarding. Writing a story that gives readers a positive glow, a way to escape the trials and disappointments of life and sink into a different world where everything ends happily is a noble ambition.
Now let’s get started!