Well, actually some of it is what you think. Erotic romance is a story about the growing love between well-developed main characters in which the characters have sex --very much like life for most people. In the case of erotic romance versus traditional romance, one difference is that the bedroom door is left open during those sex scenes and the reader gets to participate in the experience. Generally in erotic romance, the sex scenes are described in detail using non-euphemistic language. Not a "throbbing member" in sight. And there may be a lot of sex scenes, depending on the author and publisher. So these are the things you think of when you consider the differences between erotic and traditional romance.
But i would submit to you that the main difference between an erotic romance and a traditional romance is that the erotic romance is NOT so much about sex. What? Right. Erotic romance is not as much about sex as traditional romance. How can i say this? Angela Knight in her book Passionate Ink which talks about how to write an erotic romance, says that the job of the author in traditional romance is to keep the main characters apart for as long as possible. Through a good portion of the book in traditional romance the reader is fixated on "will they or won't they" and when in the heck will they have sex? In other words, the focus and the principal plot device is all about sex.In erotic romance, the "will they or won't they" question is a forgone conclusion. They will and they do often. Depending again on the author and the publisher, they may hold off having sex for one chapter or half the book. During that time the erotic romance author can use the "when will they" plot device to good effect. But at some point, certainly no further than half way through the book, the characters do have sex. At that point the author no longer can tantalize the reader with will they or won't they have sex. Instead, the book has to be about something else. Will they or won't they fall in love? Will they or won't they be able to overcome the many internal and external obstacles that the author has created for them in order to have a happy ever after. Sometimes, the author is so successful in the creation of these obstacles that the reader may doubt for just a moment that the characters will be able to overcome them. And then, of course, they do. And we all take a deep breath and smile.
Anyone who ever thought that writing an erotic romance is easy or about stringing a bunch of sex scenes together has never read a good erotic romance. When sex scenes have another purpose than "to have sex", the author is writing on many levels. But that's another subject we'll talk about soon.
Thank you so much for coming by today. I have a special guest, Rosanna Leo, on this blog on Monday with a wonderful contest, so plan to comment to win. And i love blog followers. : )
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Great post, Tara - part of the fun of writing erotic romance is all the different internal and external reasons the characters might be having sex, and what they tell themselves about why it couldn't/shouldn't be love.
ReplyDeleteAdriana
I agree, Adriana. In our world today, having sex is seldom the subject of a whole books worth of conflict. Falling in love, on the other hand, is! : )
DeleteI agree. You explained the topic very well. And in contrast with erotica ...lol... that a subject for later. GRIN
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming by, Eliza. Ah yes. More topics to come. : )
DeleteFabulous post, thank you, Tara. You've captured why I love erotic romance. :)
ReplyDeleteMe too, S. J. I love making the internal and external conflicts of the characters the center of the story and the sex just enjoyable background. : )
DeleteGood post, Tara. Until now I'd never thought of the difference between erotic romance and traditional romance in this way, but you're right.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add that when an author finally allows her characters to have sex in a traditional romance, it's about sex. It the surrender to the urge and the release of tension (for characters and reader). But in erotic romance, sex is usually about something else. It has meaning beyond the physical, it moves or plays into the plot, it reveals something about the character's character, it highlights an aspect of the relationship. While more graphic than traditional sex, erotic sex is also more symbolic and metaphorical.
Thank you, Cara. Excellent ideas. I'm teaching a workshop in March on erotic romance and you are stimulating new thoughts. ; )
DeleteI never thought of it that way, but you're so very right. I love it when the question gets turned around and you look at it from the other side and suddenly it all makes sense. Thank you for all your wonderful books.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comments. : )
DeleteI never thought of it that way, but so true. Thank you for sharing this insight!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Buffy. : )
DeleteAnd that's what makes erotic romance and erotica different from porn. By taking away the stigma of 'will they or won't they' the characters and the story is allowed to develop into something deeper. Sex is the icing on the cake. Yummy. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Amelia. So true. : )
DeleteThanks for sharing these insights...so true
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting. : )
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