I've been reading Harlequins for 25 years - I'm a trope junkie. The problem with genre publishing right now (IMHO) is authors and publishers thinking trope is all they need - never mind the pesky details like character development, compelling conflict and an actual plot. - ThreadSky

superwendy.bsky.social • 5 days ago

I've been reading Harlequins for 25 years - I'm a trope junkie. The problem with genre publishing right now (IMHO) is authors and publishers thinking trope is all they need - never mind the pesky details like character development, compelling conflict and an actual plot.

Reposted from Jenny Hamilton

what if tropes, but too much?

(in my latest for @reactorsff.bsky.social, I wrote about how romantasy publishers are feeding me so many tropes I feel like Bruce Bogtrotter with the chocolate cake.)

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louisfoxe.bsky.social•5 days ago

As someone who has read a lot of fanfic, and written both original (not published) and fanworks, I have to wonder if it has to do with newer writers having cut their teeth writing fanfic, where all that "getting readers invested in the characters" stuff is not something they have to worry about. 1/

storylibrarian.bsky.social•5 days ago

I'm a fan of fanfic, but I also have a lot of side-eye for what has escaped that universe and turned up in mainstream publishing (number one being bloated word counts)

superwendy.bsky.social•5 days ago

OMG, yes! No romance should be 500+ pages unless it's a family saga, there are at least two continents, there are pirates involved and at least one kidnapping.

blackjackgabbiani.bsky.social•4 days ago

See I think "bloated word count" and what comes immediately to mind is Charles Dickens, who got paid by the word.

storylibrarian.bsky.social•4 days ago

FF writers have to meet the demands of their readers clamoring for more installments. That definitely lends itself to padding

storylibrarian.bsky.social•4 days ago

...and they're not even getting paid!

blackjackgabbiani.bsky.social•4 days ago

As someone who writes mostly one shots, can't relate

louisfoxe.bsky.social•5 days ago

And then when they try to publish their own stuff, no one really pushes them to develop that skillset. Publishers don't care because it's still selling, and until there's a backlash, newer writers may not really realize that it's even a problem. 2/2

superwendy.bsky.social•5 days ago

This, this, this. Publishers see "oh they already have a built in following" and stop looking beyond that.

elisemeyers.bsky.social•5 days ago

This is exactly how I feel! I need more conflict- not tropes and vibes.

kaurifish.bsky.social•3 days ago

A book being a vehicle for tropes is as bad art as a movie being a vehicle for money shots.

readingtheend.bsky.social•5 days ago

exaaaaaaaactly. it's so discouraging! it's like the monkey's paw wish version of what I wanted!

superwendy.bsky.social•5 days ago

😂Monkey's paw - so true!

whiskeyinthejar3.bsky.social•5 days ago

Character development, plot, and my number one, what I read romance for, emotional depth. I want two (or more!) individuals falling in love together, not separately or singularly.

whtabtpineapple.bsky.social•5 days ago

I can overwhelmingly say I agree with this.

mariaslozak.bsky.social•5 days ago

Heartily agree. With a few notable exceptions - Heba Helmy's A Viscount for the Egyptian Princess was a recent win - I've never had so much trouble finding romances that engage me as these last few years. And I've been reading the genre since the late 1970s.

superwendy.bsky.social•5 days ago

Oooh, I have that Helmy title buried in my TBR - I'm glad to hear you liked it! I'm so behind on my Harlequin Historical reading, it's obscene.

mariaslozak.bsky.social•5 days ago

I found it so appealing and refreshing - articulate, emotional, intelligently anchored in a rich cultural and historical setting. All but the first chapter takes place in Egypt, and the circumstance that the hero and heroine come from different religions is neither sidelined nor obfuscated.

gabrielart.bsky.social•5 days ago

As a fellow trope junkie, I would like to add that too many authors also seem to not understand the trope they’re supposedly employing or what the appeal of the trope is to readers.

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