Screenshot of this morning’s email from one of my fave places to shop online:
*snerk*
*snort*
*gigglesnort*
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
About a month ago I posited the question as to who wrote the most romancey tales in the m/m genre? Were they females, males, GQ/T* people, who?
The majority of commenters believed gender and/or sexuality had no bearing on the level of romance and sex in a story, yet the generalisations continue; for example, the rumours Sean and I are one in the same because his books are ‘too romantic’ to have been written by a boy.
Given this, I decided to conduct a poll on the subject to see what readers would say if they had the opportunity to comment anonymously.
The poll is in the side bar and will be up for about a week.
I encourage you all to participate, and to pimp it *pretty please* in order to get the views of the broader m/m community.
So, with that in mind, I’ll leave you with one of my responses from the last post:
“I think it is very true to say that your personality and interests would come through in the style of your writing and in the story building as well.
While gender and/or sexuality may have played a role in the development of your personality, it doesn’t mean that you actually write with your genitalia, etc.”
Truth.
If you’ve been lurking around the place the past month, you’d probably be aware there’s been a lot of bitching about the crap flooding the shelves at ARe.
I only caught the tail end of the ranting due to my version of the megrims.
Which was a bit of a bummer cos I we could’ve had some serious fun with it.
It seems, though, during a hunt for treasure within the deep dark cavities of PWP, I was aware enough to have taken these:
*snerk* Maybe we can have fun after all.
I promised myself no more shit storms for at least six months.
I promised myself I wouldn’t post about this latest crap to hit the m/m community.
Seriously though??
What. The. Fuck.
Yeah, based on the things I’ve read, it definitely seems like this situation is beyond the suck.
But can someone tell me when I suddenly became Ren and couldn’t dance any more?
And I thought I was Teh Cray-Cray one around here.
Geezus.
Ain’t that the truth.
Damn it.
*sigh*
The concept of conflict in romance was raised a number of times in the comments of the true romantics of m/m.
This was a lovely happenstance as it was a topic Sunita (Dear Author), John (Dreaming in Books) and I had discussed in relation to m/m romance and something I wanted to post about.
The truth is I’ve become so curious about ‘conflict’ I now have a number of posts planned.
No, I can’t resist. Like any of you are really surprised by that. 😛
So, where to start??
Let’s talk about sex babee, let’s talk about you and meee GLBTQQ issues being one of the main means of creating tension in m/m romance narratives.
I’m sure there are probably some out there who are rolling their eyes and saying ‘well, no shit Kris’, but think about it.
Set aside the idea of authors ‘writing what they know’ (one of those other posts) and your own preferences with regard to internal and external conflict and what that means (another of those posts), and really think about the use of GLBTQQ matters as conflict in m/m romance, gay fiction, etc.
You with me? Okay then.
Let me ask you this; do you think there is an expectation from both readers and authors that m/m romance should deal with problems faced by GLBTQQ people?
Perhaps in a similar way to when a reader picks up a book on social, ethnic, cultural, religious, etc themes and assumes these will be dealt with in some way, shape or form in the story?
Now, there is absolutely no question at all that these are very real, very serious concerns GLBTQQ people face in their day-to-day lives. They can also make for extremely compelling and thought-provoking stories, but… there’s always a but…
Are the authors of m/m romance relying on our expectations as well as the impetus provided by GLBTQQ issues to build conflict?
Are these ‘easy fixes’? The subject matter which can be instantly added if an author is struggling with plot development or if an editor or publisher asks for ‘more tension, dammit!’?
Or is this something which is perfectly natural to be incorporated in stories in this genre? The realism many readers demand?
What do you think?
In 140 characters or less, we’ve shared thoughts on a number of issues. Such was my interest that I begged and pleaded with them to let me post about some of the topics here. They agreed. Naturally.
One of the first things I’d like to talk about is the theme of romance in the m/m genre. No, I’m not kidding. Stick with me here.
We’ve all read our fair share of m/m romance certainly; however, how many of these have really been romances in the ‘classic’ sense? How many of these involve two ‘out’ protagonists simply falling in love? How many focus on the ordinary, every day challenges of a developing relationship without any of the internal and external conflict associated with the couple being gay?
Well?
Let me put something else to you…
Of all the so-called classic romance stories you’ve read in the m/m genre, how many of those books were written by female authors? How many were written by male authors? How many by authors who identify as GQ/T*?
It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
It also reminds me of a situation in which Sean Kennedy and I find ourselves.
In a nutshell, there are some in this community who believe Sean and I are one in the same person. In other words, Sean Kennedy is apparently the pseudonym I use for publishing my work and, yes, I’m well aware of the irony.
When asked why people perceive this, one of the main responses is ‘that his work is too romantic’.
‘Too romantic’? The fuck?? Are these people suggesting a gay author can’t write ‘real’ romance? Because that’s what it sure as hell sounds like to me.
It was this, together with my conversations with Sunita and John, which got me wondering about what others thought.
So?? Who do you think the true romantics of the m/m genre are?
Boris: She’ll never find me here! MWAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!
 | Kayla on tasting ‘a note in the… |
 | Marcus Roche on maybe it’s me, but… |
 | ouaqquwcgk on my confession |
 | dkmhwgijnw on random awesomeness |
 | Kris on maybe it’s me, but… |
Kris + Books = Good. *Sometimes*. 