How to Write a Good Fanfic

9. Romance - What is it?

"Well, he protects her, so he must be romantically attracted to her."

The comment sent a shudder down the spine of another person nearby. Day in and day out they listened to the subjective nature of their friend's criteria for determining whether two characters would work out as a couple. In particular, this one took the cake. Nickie refrained only a few minutes before speaking, her tongue clicking at the roof of her mouth. "No, it doesn't."

"It doesn't what?"

"The fact he protects her doesn't mean he is romantically attracted to her."

"Nuh, uh. Why else would he protect her?"

"Because there is something called duty."

"Well, duh. It's a guys duty to protect the girl he's in love with."

"Gah! You don't get it!"

...

What is romance?

A few people may be thinking the question I just asked is an easy one to answer; romance is about a very intimate relationship between two people. However, I'm going to turn this idea upside down. I'll start by saying this; when you categorize something as Romance these days, the story definitely involves two characters who form a couple with each other. To really understand what a good romance is, one needs to first dive into what a romance is, but also understand that what we now call romance is actually a subset of what really is romance.

Romance is in itself a strong, passionate feeling for something, but contrary to popular belief isn't always about a love affair, or two people romancing each other in a coupling. In literature, there are actually three types of romantic tales. The first two types have nothing to do with romantic couplings, only the third. Yes, a romantic coupling may show up in the first two types, but in the same regard said coupling may not show up at all. The type which specializes in romantic couplings is actually the newest of the three but is also the type of Romance most people are familiar with.

One of the things I've seen because people are most familiar with the third type is to see people confuse the three, thus conflating certain traits found and extolled upon within the first two as definite signs that a romantic coupling is actually occurring within the series. What however are these three types? Here are the definitions for each from Merriam-Webster.

1. Romance – a medieval tale based on legend, chivalric love, and adventure, or the supernatural
2. Romanticism – a prose narrative treating imaginary characters involved in events remote in time or place and usually heroic, adventurous, or mysterious
3. Romance – a love story especially in the form of a novel; a class of such literature

A few people may be thinking as they read those definitions that the first type of romance and the third type of romance are the same thing. The first definition, after all, includes the words "chivalric love", which is the same thing as saying a "knight in shining armor" or a "romantic couple". However, while "chivalric love" does mean a "knight in shining armor, this does not mean a "romantic couple". Chivalric love simply meant a knight who upheld the code of honor knights were expected to keep, which included protecting women, children, and anyone who could not defend themselves.

One of the reasons the term "knights in shining armor" came about has it's rooted in the Lancelot tale, where Lancelot manages to steal away King Arthur's wife, and many girls find this to be romantic in nature. However, this tale was not the only tale among the tales of Camelot. However, this has led to the confusion in modern times that to protect someone means to be romantically interested in them, when in reality protecting someone is something anybody would do. Mothers protect their children, siblings protect their other siblings, the strong protects the weak.

On the flip side, whether a male protects the female in a relationship is also going to depend on their personalities. Some men are more inclined towards a relationship where they protect the female, but others are going to be more interested in a relationship with equal footing in regards where both take on the role of protector. Add to this, showing a sign of affection towards someone does not equate romantic feelings either. Strong friendships may have two people acting like siblings, or in a very close manner, and siblings may act in a close manner as well. In part, personality comes into play, but so does a person culture.

Since Romance doesn't mean necessarily romance between two couples, what does it actually mean?

This is where the second type of Romance comes into play, Romanticism. In Romanticism, the goal is to romance anything, and sometimes this "anything" ends up being a woman, but other times it does not. Romanticism is about the love of one's country, or the love of nature, the love of friendship, the love of honor. Romance simply describes a very strong feeling between a person and another thing.

Thus one of the key elements to Romance is emotion, but realistic emotion at that. The reader needs to be able to believe the emotions going on between the two characters, rather than feeling as if the relationship is superficial. A writer gets to this place by giving the proper character development in a romance, but also by building upon the canon material. Characters should never act out of character, relationships shouldn't be jumped into at the beginning of the story with no setup. Romance isn't just about getting the couple together, but portraying the feelings in a manner that doesn't break willing suspense of disbelief.

Here though is the other thing one can take from the first two types. One of the mistakes fanfic writers make in regards to romance is to believe the genre is plotless, that one can get away with not having any plot. However, there is no such thing as a good story which is without a plot. A good strong romance will not just build upon the relationship, but other plot elements. A bit more on this later, though, as this is something which I wish to expand upon over a few chapters rather than just one.