Good Writing & Romance: Julia Quinn

Too often romances and other pieces of genre literature get accused of "bad writing." And the truth is, there is a lot of bad writing out there--it just doesn't obediently keep itself to paperbacks and sci-fi/fantasy. It shows up everywhere, including in so-called literary fiction. 

These posts will address good writing in romances (and, using the broadest definition of "romance," some other genres).

Quinn, Julia is a sweet & steamy romance writer who is now best known for her Bridgerton Netflix series. I have read a number of her books. I will likely try the series but may not finish it. It sounds as if the books have been turned into a kind of Downtown Abbey/Upstairs Downstairs drama, and I honestly don't watch those types of shows (despite numerous people being absolutely convinced that I do--I confess that I do watch The Crown but only after a full season has been released; I can get through it in one day and get back to my murder mysteries). 

This is the Colin from the series--not a bad choice!

One of my favorite Quinn books is Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. The main characters are members of the gentry. They are also writers, and the novel includes one of the best discussions of how to write descriptively that I've ever read (see below). It is the ultimate show-don't-tell argument in which Penelope praises Colin for using sensory adjectives and similes to put the reader in the moment. She explains, possibly better than any creative writing instructor ever has, why a simile needs to be creative and common rather than clever and "literary." 

"I could feel the water," she says. "It was so clever of you to describe it the way you did. Everyone knows what a bath feels like a half hour after it has been filled." 

The story is interesting overall because the tension between the hero and heroine is not only the classic tension in romance of one party wanting to protect the other but artistic jealousy, which the hero needs to overcome if he is going to prove that he is as upstanding a guy as Penelope thinks he is.

Quinn Excerpt