Romantica: The Case for Writing Erotic Romance

Romantica is simply put a romance with highly descriptive sex scenes; the kind of explicit scenes you might find in traditional erotica. The difference is that unlike traditional erotica there is often a happy ending, the lovers have an emotional bond, and in many cases they are monogamous, although not always. In addition, romantica novels and short stories have a plot, in fact having a plot and an actual story outside the sex scenes is key to writing successful romantica.

If you peruse the many e-book and print publishers such as Ellora’s Cave, Loose Id, and Changeling Press, which publish romantica you will discover a plethora of different stories. Romantica has few boundaries when it comes to what is acceptable; you will find stories which mix romantica with mystery/suspense, science fiction, horror and fantasy. In fact this is one of the reasons women are buying up these titles by the boatload, because finally there are writers writing the kind of stories women want to read about.

So, why should you not write romantica? The truth is if you are uncomfortable writing about sexual situations you shouldn’t write romantica. If you would be afraid of your relatives and friends finding out you write romantica, then you should probably stick with traditional romance, or science fiction; any other of the typical genres. Another reason you should not write romantica is because you’ve noticed that the current writers are making good money doing so.

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t want to make an income from writing romantica, but if that is the only reason you are doing it, you are going to burn out fast. There is a large demand for these types of books and if you are good at it, the demand goes up. If you only do it to make a little money and for no other reason, how are you going to continue cranking stories out? That being said, let’s look at why you might want to write romantica.

You should write romantica if you think sex between two people who have a deep emotional bond is beautiful, and is something that should be celebrated. This is one of the best reasons to write romantica. If you have already been writing romance stories but have felt stifled by what until recently you thought were the rules, and want to add some steamier scenes to your book, then this is another good reason.

Also, if you are an author who likes to mix genres such as romance and science fiction, or romance and fantasy, there is a demand for these kinds of stories now, particularly in romantica. Another possible reason is that like some of us, you’ve found traditional erotica a little too flat and dry, and you want to try your hand at writing something that actually has a plot and turns the reader on at the same time! This is the reason why some writer’s break into romantica writing.

So, now you know what romantica is and what it is not. You know why women read romantica, and you know why writers write romantica. You also know why not to write romantica, because this indeed can be a deep hole to fall into if you write for the wrong reasons. So armed with this information you can make an educated choice as to whether or not you want to write romantica.