Why do you write clean romance?

In our newsletter this week, we featured clean or “sweet” romances and talked briefly about why authors choose this genre and the value it brings.

We initially started out asking authors from this genre to give their thoughts on the why and how of writing clean romance novels. We got such a great response that we wanted to share them on our blog!

Linda Mooney

“Sometimes you want a romance that titillates your heart, and not so much your loins. Look at the popularity of the Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas movies! You want feel-good stories you don’t mind sharing with younger family members.

A lot of people think romance stories are sex stories. Well, some are. But the true purpose of a romance is to give you hope of a Happily Ever After. I write the full spectrum of sweet to sensuous because that’s what I, as a reader, want to be able to choose from. Some stories don’t need the bedroom scenes to get across a couple’s devotion and everlasting love for each other.

When I start writing a book, I’m not looking to tell a G-rated or an R-rated story. I go where the story takes me. I “listen” to the characters, I “watch” their interaction, and if, in the end, the story ends on sweet but satisfying note, they’re happy and I’m happy.

(As an aside note, I’ve also written sweet/clean stories, but because my readers asked for it, I offer the consummation scene as a free and separate chapter they can only get on my website. It’s not included as an alternate ebook version, or in the print edition. Those books are clearly marked on my website.)”

Christina Lorenzen

In answer to your question ‘why do you write clean/sweet romance?’, long ago, before I was writing fiction (I was a freelance journalist for 20+ years), I was an avid Debbie Macomber fan.

I admired the way she told page turning stories that appealed to all ages – from teenagers to octogenarians. Having long believed a story doesn’t need profanity or explicit scenes to be good, I knew that when I finally started writing fiction, I wanted to tell stories that appealed to women of all ages. I wanted to write books that I would be proud to have my child, aunt, mother and grandmother read.

My tip/technique for writers who want to write sweet/clean romance is that I focus on developing a hero and heroine that will appeal to readers. I also treat my setting as if it were a character and love to enable my readers to ‘see’ where the story takes place. Small, wholesome towns are at the heart of all my sweet romances.

Cate Parke

As an author, I feel uncomfortable writing graphic scenes. I don’t like writing them and don’t feel that I do it well. As a reader, I prefer to skim over them. So why bother? Love stories can be written beautifully without the intrusion of graphic sex.

Language, however, is problematic. There are moments in life where even the nicest, most educated, most articulate person belts out with an expletive she wouldn’t otherwise be proud of. Stress will have pushed the character beyond her limits. It’s the rarest occurrence—but it happens. Neither I nor my characters are pleased about it, but we (I feel a bit like someone with a split personality here) feel that God forgives our human weaknesses. (Which is to say, we fervently hope so.)

Margaret Brownley

Why do I write sweet romances? Though sex is important in a relationship, I believe that romance is what happens before a couple hits the sheets. Romance is all about wanting and that’s what creates sexual tension. It’s the sexual tension that keeps readers turning those pages.

Think back to some of the popular TV shows of the past like Moonlighting and Castle. Once the couples consummated their relationship, the shows came to an end. The sizzle was gone, and viewers lost interest.

I’ve written both sexy and sweet romances and find sweet more challenging to write. The yearning and wanting must be made clear through every touch and every look. Even dialogue can reflect want, but has to be carefully crafted so as not to seem too overt.

There must also be a good and believable reason why the couple can’t go to bed together. This might make the couple deny their attraction to each other, and this creates the kind of conflict and emotional turmoil that will turn a sweet book into a passionate one.