I've been looking for a good, active writing forum so I'm very happy to find this! I'm currently developing a new novel idea, this time a gay romance featuring an American soldier in France at the end of World War I, so I expect that I'll probably need to consult here for advice and such. Happy to meet you all!
Hey Smokey, nice to meet you. Who's the guy in your avatar? It looks like a young Jarvis Cocker, but its a bit pixelated and I cant make out.
Hi, smokeylives - I'm one of the forum moderators, and I'd like to personally welcome you to the forum. You say a 'new' novel idea? Does this mean you already have written a novel or two? Or is this your first shot at it? Your idea sounds intriguing ...a gay romance set at the end of WW1. It was a time of huge upheaval and change in Europe, and it set the stage for WW2 in many ways. But in the meantime, there was the Roaring 20s—the 'anything goes' decade. So the times were unique, and a story set there is bound to be fun to read and write. So, you've already got my attention. I meant to ask ...will this be a Romance with a capital R, as in Romance The Genre, or will it be a non-genre love story? Anyway... All that aside, I hope you will read these two links: New Member Quick Start and Forum Rules Taken together, they will help you get oriented and give you a good idea of what we do here on the forum. Also take a look at: https://www.writingforums.org/faq/ This is a site map with links to various areas of the forum you might not notice at first, simply by browsing the Community page. Take your time to get settled. Browse the various sections of the forum, jump into any threads that interest you. Feel free to critique any of the works in the Workshop area—critiques are very much appreciated by the writers who post their work for feedback. We also have monthly writing contests—short stories, poetry, and flash fiction—and the writers who enter really appreciate folks who read the entries and vote on them. Of course you can always enter the current contests yourself, as well. If you encounter any difficulties getting settled in, don't hesitate to contact me via a 'conversation' and I'll do my best to help. Meanwhile I hope to see you around the threads. Let us get to know you while you get to know us. And do have fun. Cheers for now, Jan
You're right! I guess I'll have to resize it, whoops. Thank you! I've written two other novels before that tend to be a mix of historical fiction and romance. The romance is more of the focus than anything else, so I suppose it will be Romance with a capital R.
I'm not a reader of modern genre Romance (I do love and write historical fiction), but I like the fact that the Romance genre is much freer in terms of subject matter and settings these days. The richer, more varied content appeals to lots more people, than the stock Mills & Boon formulaic Romances of the 1950s and 60s did in their day. Today's quality of Romance writing itself is also high in many instances. The only thing 'predictible' today is the outcome of the actual romance itself, which I suppose is what the genre is all about. Love stories don't always have happy endings; Romances do always have happy endings—either Happy Ever After, or Happy For Now. That's what the genre is all about. More power to your arm, as they say in this part of the world (Scotland.)
