Monday, July 28, 2014

The Difference Between Writing Fantasy and Writing Contemporary Romance



{Google Search Terms}


CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
"airplane seating plane"
"most embarrassing situations"
"most romantic date ideas"
"university orientation"

FANTASY
"mythological creatures"
"list of supernatural abilities"
"types of weapons"
"traditional fae lore"

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CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Main character's love life / friendships / career.

FANTASY
The fate of the world.




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Writing fantasy and writing contemporary romance have been quite different experiences.
I thought contemporary would be easier, but honestly, it hasn't been.
They both have different challenges. And I've enjoyed them both :-)
It's good to have a break from one genre and try out another.
What do you think? Are you a writer who hops between genres?
A reader who hops between genres?

8 comments:

Lee Strauss said...

I'm definitely a genre hopper :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I haven't hopped yet, but it could happen.

Cathy Keaton said...

I very much hop between reading genres, even if I stick with fantasy/sci-fi most of the time.

What challenges have you faced with writing contemp compared to fantasy? I'd be interested in knowing, since I'm kind of wanting to write some contemp romance in the future. Will it really be harder?

Natalie Aguirre said...

I can see how contemporary would be a real challenge. I'm not a genre hopper, at least yet.

Mark Murata said...

Another difference is the woman has to get her man at the end of a romance. In a fantasy, the man may die at the end, he may turn out to be an evil being, or things may just remain unresolved.

erica and christy said...

AS a reader I hop between genres, and tend to write the opposite of whatever I'm reading at the time. If I read a great dystopian, you can bet the next day I feel inspired to get lost in writing a new contemporary. Christy

Shelley Sly said...

I liked this comparison. :) I've mostly written contemporary, but I did write some fantasy/magic realism several years ago.

Winter said...

I don't genre hop in terms of what I write; I mostly write fantasy.

However, I do sometimes genre hop when I read, though I mostly stick with fantasy/sci-fi.