My thoughts on: Romfic feat. an interview with Niamh Hargan

Hello and welcome back to my bookshelf! This is the first in what I hope might turn into a series I'm calling 'My thoughts on' where I share my ideas on things I care about. Sometimes that might be bookish things like todays, and sometimes less so. Essay on girlhood and growing up pending... Today however, we are talking about Romfic! Here are my thoughts, I very much hope you enjoy.

Romantic fiction, or Romfic, is one of the best selling genres on the market today. So why do we have people hiding their front covers on the bus? Why are the most widely loved Romfic books not included in prestigious awards? Why are successful Romfic writers not invited to the big name panels? Is it a coincidence that it is a genre mainly written by and marketed to women? I’m going to take a wild guess and say no, it is not a coincidence that something widely loved by women is looked down upon. It is not the first time, and it won’t be the last: see boybands, Twilight, Taylor Swift and Louisa May Alcott for reference. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s first talk about what makes Romfic, Romfic?

What actually is Romfic? At its core it is a work of fiction which is primarily focused on romantic love between the main characters. According to Oxford Reference Romfic could actually predate the novel! Some of the most beloved classic novels of all time are Romfics; Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, The Princess Bride, Rebecca, Anna Karenina, Far From the Madding Crowd… I could go on, but I think you get the point. So what’s going on? These books are all clearly works of romantic fiction but they’re now seen as fairly high brow, cultured books to read. So do we just have to wait about a century or two to accept that they are in fact excellent? Or do we just have to wait for the audience to expand beyond women? I think that is a grave mistake to disregard the Romfic of today. Everyone is missing out on what I would argue is one of the most fun genres to read. I would also like to bring to your attention the disparity between men and women who write Romfic. Being a woman writing a book about love pushes it straight into the dreaded ‘chick-lit’ genre where it loses the chance to be taken seriously. Meanwhile, men who write romance novels such as David Nicholls or Nicholas Sparks somehow avoid that. Take for example, One Day by David Nicholls, it has all the ingredients of a Romfic. A story centered around two main characters falling in love, an ongoing will-they-won’t-they, and the primary stakes of whether or not their love will succeed with all other plot points being secondary. Surely that is no different than a novel like Ali Hazelwood’s The Love Hypothesis, which I would argue is more politically engaged centering around women in stem. So why are these two books perceived so differently? Why are they marketed so differently? Why is one looked down upon as a cheesy book for girls living on book-tok and the other warrants reviews in high-brow newspapers and multiple cinematic adaptations fit for a wider audience. I think we can all agree that misogyny may be to blame for this one (shock). Is there some part of us that doesn’t want to be seen enjoying something so specifically aimed at women? Are we ashamed to be reading a book centered around a woman and her desires? Why are we embarrassed to be so enthralled by love, one of the most powerful emotions humans experience? And why do we only feel that way when the author is a woman?

I have heard critics of the genre insist that it is nothing about gender but rather that Romfic is full of cliches and that it is predictable which is why is taken less seriously. I present to you then, crime fiction. Crime fiction is another genre that follows a similarly predictable structure. Crime happens, crime is investigated, crime is solved. How is that different from; people meet, relationship is explored, relationship succeeds (or fails depending on how quirky the author is feeling)? I would argue that it is not. In crime novels the details of the crime will vary between books but the general structure is maintained. The same can be said for Romfic, the details of the relationships and the various obstacles the characters face can vary hugely between books. Yet crime fiction doesn’t face the same prejudice as Romfic. Furthermore, in Romfic, the stakes are much lower than in crime fiction. There is no murderer on the loose, no maniac running the streets threatening violence if DC PC DSI doesn’t crack the case in time. The only incentive for the reader to continue with a Romfic is to see the outcome for the characters involved. Getting together or breaking up are much lower stakes and yet we race through hundreds of pages desperate to know what happens next. The authorial skills required to make your characters that compelling and that believable is quite substantial. There is nothing to hide behind there. If you cannot create characters your readers really care about and you cannot muster passion onto the pages, a Romfic cannot succeed. It takes so much creative talent to write a successful Romfic that I feel is so overlooked in the literary world.

Like any genre there are good Romfics and bad Romfics. When a Romfic is done right it can be a powerful space for women’s voices and concerns. I think the way they are marketed can often diminish how much potential for feminism Romfics can hold. I disagree with the idea that a female lead ending up in a relationship somehow diminishes her feminist qualities. Being in love and being loved in return is not anti-feminist. The whole point of feminism is for women to have fulfilling happy lives that they choose! Hundreds of pages detailing a woman’s every thought. All the men having supporting roles. The female protagonist’s friendships, careers, passions, fears, issues, desires, anxieties, failures and successes taking center stage? Yes please. Furthermore, because Romfic is such a female dominated space there are female authors carving out space for what matters to them. So many Romfics I have read have covered a plethora of issues from drug abuse to eating disorders, navigating female friendships to family issues, societal pressure and conformity versus feminist guilt, and so much more. Although that list sounds like it has the potential to be highly depressing, Romfics are often spilling over with comedy. Women are so funny! Reading a woman written by a great female author is just divine. To me, a really good Romfic gives its protagonist the ideal have your cake and eat scenario. That is to say, I need the lead to have goals and desires, a fully fleshed out character, friendships and flaws, alongside a romantic interest who I actually like. Okay that sounds like a bit of a tall order but I swear I have some examples of authors and books I love! It was hard to narrow it down but my top three recommendations if you’re looking for some excellent Romfics are:

• Rachel’s Holiday by Marianne Keys

• The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

• The Break-up Clause by Niamh Hargan

This leads me nicely onto something very exciting indeed. After finishing the fabulous Break-up Clause by Niamh I reached out to her and asked if she would consider having a chat about Romfic with me. As you might have guessed, she graciously agreed! 

Interview with Niamh Hargan

Grace: Why do you like writing Romfic? 

Niamh: In a best case scenario, writing a romcom feels similar to reading one – in other words, it’s a joy! I can sometimes find the same kind of pleasure in constructing that snappy back-and-forth dialogue, or in writing those big payoff moments, that I can find in reading them. That’s not going to be the case the whole way through writing, editing and publishing a book, sadly – but even when I’m not necessarily feeling the love myself, I do find it really motivating to imagine that I’m ultimately going to be giving someone else the sort of buoyant, fun, escapist read that I’m always searching for as a reader.

Grace: What do you think makes a successful Romfic? 

Niamh: Well, I know there are lots of different subgenres within what’s broadly considered romantic fiction. The only one I can talk about with any authority is romcom, as that’s what I’ve written (and it’s also the form of romance I’m typically most interested in reading/ watching). A romantic comedy, at a fundamental level, has to be romantic and it has to be comedic. A lot of books and movies billed as romcoms either are only one of those two things, or are actually neither! For me, the scenario isn’t hugely important - I don’t mind a semi-ridiculous, high-concept plot, but I’m also completely fine with what we might call a ‘quieter’ premise. If the author can make me laugh and make me believe that these two fictional people are meant to be together forever, then I’m sold. 

Grace: Do you think Romfic gets the respect it deserves in the literary world? In terms of awards, recognition at major book events etc. 

Niamh: I think things are improving, but – bearing in mind how many people buy romantic fiction – I'd still like to see the genre get more space in national newspapers, be featured more at book festivals and be more prominently placed in bookshops etc. A key issue seems to be whether we actually call a novel romantic fiction. Arguably that's what Normal People is. Arguably that's what Atonement is. If we call it something else, that does seem in many ways to broaden a novel's readership and its scope for success. However, if the core thing that readers are responding to within a novel is whether two characters who seem meant to be together are ultimately going to make it, then, to my mind, that's romantic fiction. 

Grace: Do you think the fact that women dominate the Romfic space contributes to the way it is viewed as being FOR women when compared to male dominated spaces such as crime fiction which is seen as being for everyone? For example, we have lots of crime fiction book festivals, such as Bloody Scotland, but not many comparable Romfic events despite them gaining similar yearly sales figures. 

Niamh: I think that's probably true, yes. If we think about romantic fiction when it's written by men - let's say David Nicolls or Mike Gayle - I do think there's a greater sense that those books might be enjoyed by anyone (versus even a hugely successful female writer like Marian Keyes, whose books are viewed much definitively as 'women's fiction'). I don't know whether current data backs up the general proposition that woman have no hesitation in reading books written by men, but men are often reluctant to read books written by women. However, I think there's still a perception that that's the case (and in publishing, as in life, perception often creates reality!).

Grace: Do you think the way Romfic is marketed pushes it towards a specific demographic? How do you feel about that? 

Niamh: It's certainly female skewing. However, I do think that, if we compare current offerings to the stereotypical image of what a romance novel is, or who a romance reader is (i'm thinking the shirtless lothario on the cover etc, or the pink curly fonts) we've made some progress. Marketing campaigns do now make it much more clear than previously that people of different ages, heritages and sexualities can find a book they'll love within the genre, which is great. 

Grace: Should more effort be made to encourage men to read Romfic? 

Niamh: I don't think it's about encouraging men to like romantic fiction – I do think lots of them probably would like it, if they read it, but you will never ever find me in a pub trying to convince a man to read my books, or any other romantic fiction novels! My view would be more along the lines of 'okay, let's imagine no men like this, or ever will. But we know for a fact that many women do. Is that, of itself, enough to make even a bit more room for it, in literary supplements and at literature festivals and on prize lists and in bookshops?' If it's not – if we have to wait for men to like it first – what does that say about the world we live in and how we apportion value?

Grace: What do you think needs to be done to encourage a wider Romfic readership? 

Niamh: I'm sure there is lots to be done at a systemic level, and someone who works in publishing could give you a better overview there than I can. On an individual level, recommend the books you like (to your friends and family in person, and online). Suggest them for your bookclub. Ask for them to be stocked in your local bookshop. Review them on sites like Amazon (where the star rating really matters). Pre-order books from authors you like. All of this helps hugely to encourage visibility of romantic fiction and to grow people's understanding of what the genre actually is.

An enormous thank you to Niamh for agreeing to chat to me for today’s blog post. I hope you enjoyed reading and let me know if you decide to give any of the books I’ve recommended here a try!

Love, Grace xx