Liana Brooks, in her 11/29/2017 blog post “Writing Romance… is it really that hard?” gives some interesting tips on why romance & “happy” books are harder to write than thriller & “action” books.
Anger. Hate. Rage. Fear. <– negative emotions are the easiest to write because they rely on primal instinct programmed into the human brain by thousands of years of evolution.
To write a thriller, urban fantasy, or horror, all you need to do is tap into the universal fears – such as death – to pull a reader into the story.
Romance is much harder, because the “happy” emotions are not universal. Yes, people love things, but not the same things.
Read the article above – again the URL is: https://www.lianabrooks.com/writing-romance-is-it-really-that-hard/
WRITING EXERCISE: Write a negative-emotion scene and a positive-emotion scene. Does not have to be the same characters or situation. Which came more naturally to you? Which do you think have the stronger reader impact emotionally? Comment below.
My Attempt: Moon Reflections (4/25/2021) has a very angry and scared man. Pizza and Movie Night Part 2 (3/7/2021) is an attempt at showing non-sexual physical affection.
The Pizza and Movie Night series, which has a lot of action, but at its core, it’s about a platonic loving relationship between the two main characters. Relationships come more naturally to me than anger and I think that comes through in a stronger reader emotional impact. I write “fluff” because I think the world needs more happy.