ROMANTIC CLICHES AND STORYLINES - MARGARET TANNER

THESE ARE MY FAVOURITE ROMANTIC CLICHÉS AND STORYLINES – MARGARET TANNER

I write historical romance, so maybe my take on the cliché and storylines is different from that of contemporary romance authors.

I like to base my stories around:

Love lost and found
The rogue makes good
The poor girl and the rich man
The soft sweet heroine taming the ruthless hero. (This is a particular favourite of mine and one I use a lot).

Then there are the three “Rs” – Revenge, Retribution and Redemption.

There again, what about the clichés used in novels. You know what I mean, those overused phrases:

Crushed her against his hard maleness

Her heart fluttered like a caged bird
The night was as black as ink.
A million stars twinkled
She ran like the wind
He covered her face with hot kisses
His warm breath fanned her cheeks
Cold as ice
The blood flowed through her veins like molten lava.

I have to confess to having used them myself, but in all honesty, I doubt that there would be one romance author who could say she hadn’t used some of these lines at some time or another.

My real favourite is the one that Barbara Cartland, the queen of romance, used for her hero in nearly everyone one of her romance novels. “He was a rake who had lived a life of debauchery.”  

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see anything wrong with using these clichés, I think they set the scene very well. Many editors don’t like them, of course. The secret is – use them sparingly.

My take is this:  If you want to use clichés be selective. If all else fails you can invent a few of your own.

Margaret writes historical romance set mainly in Australia. Her latest release, The Loves We Left Behind, is a 3 book Combo (three separate novels, all stand-alone stories in the one book.)  This is a special release to mark the centenary of the 1^st World War.

It tells the stories of three different women who triumph over loss, heartache and betrayal.

THE LOVES WE LEFT BEHIND:

A hundred years ago, from the far flung corners of the British Empire, young men rushed to fight for Mother England. They left their wives and sweethearts behind. Many of these brave women waited in vain for their men folk to return. How did they cope with the loss and heartache? Could they ever hope to find happiness with another man? Three full novels, each telling a brave young woman’s story of triumph over tragedy and adversity. Allison’s War, Daring Masquerade and Lauren’s Dilemma.

 http://amzn.com/B00MASTCHM

Available in Print also from your favourite bookstore.