Can Men Write Romance Novels?
I wanted to share this article I came across about an age old topic: Can a man write a romance novel?
Since romance novels are generally written from a woman's perspective the question is can a man REALLY capture the female perspective? Over the many years I have been in this business it seems that readers always know when a romance novel is written by a man.
Of course there are exceptions like Tom Huff who very successfully wrote as Jennifer Wilde, Mike (I forget his last name) who wrote as Vanessa Royale and then there is Harold Lowery who write great romances for Leisure as Leigh Greenwood. But I think they are the exception and most men who have tried their hand at writing romance have not been very successful.
I am just passing along the article not passing judgment and I would love to see the BBC series planned for this fall.
Carol Stacy
Publisher
P.S: Here is another article on the subject with seven women authors contributing.
Since romance novels are generally written from a woman's perspective the question is can a man REALLY capture the female perspective? Over the many years I have been in this business it seems that readers always know when a romance novel is written by a man.
Of course there are exceptions like Tom Huff who very successfully wrote as Jennifer Wilde, Mike (I forget his last name) who wrote as Vanessa Royale and then there is Harold Lowery who write great romances for Leisure as Leigh Greenwood. But I think they are the exception and most men who have tried their hand at writing romance have not been very successful.
I am just passing along the article not passing judgment and I would love to see the BBC series planned for this fall.
Carol Stacy
Publisher
P.S: Here is another article on the subject with seven women authors contributing.
posted at 3:21 PM
12 Comments:
Carol
Maybe you should try my books. :-) Just kidding.
After reading romance for more that 30 years of my 45 years, I believe I can write romance in the true sense of the word. One of the comments that I get often for readers is that the can believe a man wrote the story. Though I'm a man, my two releases are written from both the male and female perspective and I hope I've been able to tap into the heroine's sensibilities.
I believe that the lack of success of male romance authors lies in the simple fact that some of the man who try to write romance don't know the genre. The writers you mentioned above are not only romance authors but readers. And that make a lot of difference.
Wayne
Good point Wayne.
Carol
Look up Dr Elliot Mabeuse. He as a couple of Erotic Romances/Fiction @ Ellora's Cave. His website: www.mabeuse.com (The Cabinet of Dr Mabeuse) has links to several free stories and other things.
I think a lot of men actually write romance but may not be labeled under that catagory. Nicholas Sparks is a very romantic writer, think of all the screenplays written by men that are all about romance.
As a male who has had four romance novels published under a female pseudonym, it's hard for me to believe that this old myth continues to flourish. It's like arguing that women can't write mysteries. Why didn't somebody tell that to Agatha Christie? And for anyone to drag Jane Austen into the discussion is the height of absurdity. With the possible exception of PERSUASION, Jane never wrote a romance novel! She certainly gave no details of dress or appearance, and her characters do not register physically at all. Romance is about the heart, and I can assure you that men have them too--whatever some women may assert to the contrary!
I don't see why a male writer couldn't write a great romance novel if he wanted to! After all, women write in male POV both in the romance genre and other genres more widely read by men. I think a talented writer of any gender can be a sucessful romance author.
Let’s not forget the men who pen romance novels for other men. Yes, I’m talking about gay romances, written by and for men, read also by a slew of interested women.
Scott Pomfret and Scott Whittier have a very successful line of romance novels, called Romentics.
I agree with Anonymous. Asking this question is like asking “can women write thrillers?”
I agree. What makes a woman think she can capture the essence of a man and yet a man cannot? I believe it takes an observant person, who pays attention to those around him or her and learns what makes a person tick. Perhaps a psych major could develop strong characters. I'd be curious to know how many men actually read romance.
Saying that most men who try to write romance novels are not successful is, of course, irrelevant, because most women who try to write romance novels are also not successful.
As there are far fewer men who try to write romance novels, it's hardly surprising that fewer succeed. Personally, I would love to see more men writing romance.
While men may not have a good reputation for writing romance, men wrote some of the best love stories of all time. Romeo and Juliet was written by a man, but it is not a romance because of the tragic ending. As a love story, it is hard to beat. Where the Red Fern Grows is about a boy's love for his dogs, but it is a love story rather than a romance. I think that part of the reason why we do not see more successful male romance novelists is because many of us view the importance of the love story differently. As someone above suggested, I suggest that you look at my book. I have written a book call Searching for Mom. The primary story is about a girl who has no mother and goes looking for one. I told the story from the point of view of the girl and a woman. I could have written it as a romance novel in which we see the story primarily from the point of view of the potential mother. I chose not to do that because I liked the idea of getting away from the more frequently used ways of telling a love story and I did not want to force myself into having a happily ever after ending. I felt that I could elicit more of an emotional response from the reader by using the approach I used.
Man is more romantic than woman, and he has more ideas. If a man want to write something about romance it would be more popular than woman;s books.
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I hope to be joining the men who are published. I will use a psuedonym because my own name is already in use by a prolific crime novelist. I will be publishing my first soon, but have 2 more in waiting, 2 more in progress, and a scifi and crime in progress.
My current self-published works are comedy and political intrigue fiction. Find me on Amazon and Lulu.
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