How to write romance in science fiction?

[Joshua Jones]

The death star isn't a dragon - it has no personality or will. It is an enormous device, there isn't much like that in fantasy.

"Princess", "Knight", "Soldier" are things we have in the modern world, as well as all their analogs - President, Commander, celebrity, etc. They aren't peculiar to fantasy.

Luke isn't a peasant. He's a pilot, adventurer, student and technology technician who owns his own speeder. He is relatively affluent.

This sounds more like forcing round pegs in square holes than what the actual story presents.

Yeah, I am going to go with @Jo Zebedee and say we will have to agree to disagree on this one for now. Maybe in another thread, this topic can be discussed further, but as the genre status of Star Wars is pretty off topic, it doesn't seem like substantial argument on the matter is appropriate here.

 

[Toby Frost]

Back on topic, I've no problem with romance provided that it is an organic and logical part of the story. However, sometimes (especially in films) a romantic subplot feels like something that's been dumped on the story to make up the running time and perhaps give the audience a bit of nudity. Because of the formulaic ways that romance often works out in fiction, I'm usually more interested in stories where there isn't a romance between two characters on the same side. Mad Max: Fury Road is a good example. The same goes with novels.

On the subject of formula, I think there are two sorts of romance: the sort that is just part of the story, and the sort where the point of the story is Romance. In the latter, no matter what the setting is, it appears that the readers will expect certain things to happen at certain points, the way that readers of a cosy whodunnit will probably expect the suspects to be called into the drawing room when the murderer is revealed. A while back we discussed the idea of people hating each other at first sight and then ending up together: it doesn't really happen much (if at all) in real life, but it's very appealing to some readers. Of course, it may not be easy to tell which sort of book it is until you're reading it unless it says so on the cover.

If I was going to say what makes romance convincing, rather than enjoyable wish-fulfillment, I'd say that characters should remain true to themselves, and not be diminished by being squashed into a romantic subplot. If that means that personalities clash or don't mesh perfectly, that seems realistic to me, especially with older characters who already have established lives. For some people - especially, perhaps, the kinds of violent loners and adventurers in SFF - forming a proper relationship would be hard work.

 

[The Big Peat]

Here's a thought -

Joshua, if you want to show a couple going through the travails of life after marriage, why not just start the book with characters who are already married?

 

[Joshua Jones]

Here's a thought -

Joshua, if you want to show a couple going through the travails of life after marriage, why not just start the book with characters who are already married?

I do. The majority of the people who are in relationships at the beginning of my story are already married, some become widows/widowers over the course of the story, and some of these remarry. Still others are significantly less savory in their "relationships", if such a term may be used. Only a handful of protagonists actually start single and develop relationships, and one of them does so begrudgingly. Needless to say, this relationship subverts and inverts many Romance tropes... but does so because the tropes are so idealistic, they cannot bear the weight of realism.

So, anyway, that is why I was curious about realistic, post marriage relationships in SF. It seems like there are some, but there is significant room for expansion in this field.

 

[tinkerdan]

If you are looking to read something then perhaps Michael Flynn's Firestar Saga::
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812542967/?tag=id2100-20
::It offers an interesting relationship that is doomed to fail in a number of ways; however the couple do fall in love and marry--it struck me, at the time, as being somewhat realistic.

Keep in mind I've been married three times so my realism might be slightly a-kilter.

 

[Joshua Jones]

If you are looking to read something then perhaps Michael Flynn's Firestar Saga::
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0812542967/?tag=id2100-20
::It offers an interesting relationship that is doomed to fail in a number of ways; however the couple do fall in love and marry--it struck me, at the time, as being somewhat realistic.

Keep in mind I've been married three times so my realism might be slightly a-kilter.

Thanks for the suggestion; I'll take a look at it.

And, realism is whatever you find persuasive, but you have stirred my curiosity in it being "doomed to fail in a number of ways". Sounds like it could be an interesting read.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I don't think you have to stick to already published science fiction stories to get a background on interactive/romantic relationships in a science fiction story. It's a popular subject. The plot is driven by the characters interactions and the background for many of these stories is simply a disposable background. If the interactions of the relationships are that well written, many readers would probably be satisfied with that alone. I don't know how many are looking for originality vs a formula that underscores their personal understanding of what makes people tick.

The background or setting of the story ranges from a generic local town/city/place that is no more than a background to a highly detailed time in either real or imaginary history which grabs the reader's interest and won't let them stop reading.

If you are interviewing people, I don't see how you could avoid talking to everyone. Young to old, different backgrounds, different economic positions, all of that slips into how people are able to respond to a situation regardless of what they want to do or believe they should do.

For me, the science fiction fantasy aspect of the story should have some kind of scientific, social, or political relevancy that I can relate to or incorporate into my way of thinking that is either new to me or changes how I understand something. That means I'm not looking for social interactions based on ordinary human emotional drives. That also means I'm in the minority, or stuck in the literary past.

Are you trying to write stories where the science fiction provides a very unique and intriguing background or is an important component of the story and would be interesting enough to follow without the character development. One that drives the characters or puts them into situations where they are forced to make what would be considered to be unusual emotional choices. One interesting use I have found for the E-readers is that I can easily skim over parts of stories in a matter of seconds that I consider to be a side story to the main story I am following in a book without missing anything.

 

[janeoreilly]

I am going to throw my 10 pence worth in, as someone who writes SF with a romantic subplot. I think part of the problem you've got here is that what you want to write is not romance, so looking at Hallmark and romance novels is not going to help you. What you're asking is how to write believable female characters and believable social interaction, so relationship stories.

I would suggest having a look at some feminist, female gaze scifi - left hand of darkness, woman on the edge of time, the female man etc for hardcore female POV. I would then have a look at some of the more character driven scifi women have written, so as has already been suggested, vorkosigan saga, perhaps Emma Newman, Octavia Butler. It would then also be worth looking outside SF at some of the big hitting women's fiction writers - authors like Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy, Jill Mansell, Alice Hoffman, who write a lot about women living through different stages in their lives for a female perspective on those.

Then when you start writing, you need to make sure that the development of the relationship ties in to your main plot arc and the character development. It should fit in with the overall theme of the story, so that it drives the character forward just as much as the SF elements of the story do.

 

[Joshua Jones]

I am going to throw my 10 pence worth in, as someone who writes SF with a romantic subplot. I think part of the problem you've got here is that what you want to write is not romance, so looking at Hallmark and romance novels is not going to help you. What you're asking is how to write believable female characters and believable social interaction, so relationship stories.

I would suggest having a look at some feminist, female gaze scifi - left hand of darkness, woman on the edge of time, the female man etc for hardcore female POV. I would then have a look at some of the more character driven scifi women have written, so as has already been suggested, vorkosigan saga, perhaps Emma Newman, Octavia Butler. It would then also be worth looking outside SF at some of the big hitting women's fiction writers - authors like Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy, Jill Mansell, Alice Hoffman, who write a lot about women living through different stages in their lives for a female perspective on those.

Then when you start writing, you need to make sure that the development of the relationship ties in to your main plot arc and the character development. It should fit in with the overall theme of the story, so that it drives the character forward just as much as the SF elements of the story do.

Great response; thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think the term discrepancy owes back to my belief that genuine romance is the development of the relationship at whatever point it is, rather than just the moments where feelings are the strongest. In other words, I am more interested in the romance of the everyday than the romance of exceptional days, and I find particularly interesting how this would play out in a futuristic setting. So, I think you correctly identify what I am looking for, though I still like thinking of it as romance.

I am definitely going to look into the books you suggest, and you are absolutely right that the relationships must drive forward the characterization and storyline. If not, they are rather pointless. Although, sometimes it isn't the actual relationship, but the loss of the relationship or subversion of expectations which drives the narrative. But, yeah, it would seem that a good editor would cut out everything that didn't drive forward the plot, so it all must tie in. Thanks for bringing that up!

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

 

[The Bluestocking]

I agree with @janeoreilly and would recommend you read Ann Bishop's THE COURTYARD OF THE OTHERS which is a 5-book series. The romance between Simon and Meg develops very gradually and organically. It's very low-key and does not take over the main storyline in any way. Bishop also develops all the non-romance relationships extremely well.

I am going to throw my 10 pence worth in, as someone who writes SF with a romantic subplot. I think part of the problem you've got here is that what you want to write is not romance, so looking at Hallmark and romance novels is not going to help you. What you're asking is how to write believable female characters and believable social interaction, so relationship stories.

I would suggest having a look at some feminist, female gaze scifi - left hand of darkness, woman on the edge of time, the female man etc for hardcore female POV. I would then have a look at some of the more character driven scifi women have written, so as has already been suggested, vorkosigan saga, perhaps Emma Newman, Octavia Butler. It would then also be worth looking outside SF at some of the big hitting women's fiction writers - authors like Marian Keyes, Maeve Binchy, Jill Mansell, Alice Hoffman, who write a lot about women living through different stages in their lives for a female perspective on those.

Then when you start writing, you need to make sure that the development of the relationship ties in to your main plot arc and the character development. It should fit in with the overall theme of the story, so that it drives the character forward just as much as the SF elements of the story do.

 

[Toby Frost]

I haven't much to add to this except hats off to anyone who can write convincing romance because it's really difficult!

 

[The Bluestocking]

I haven't much to add to this except hats off to anyone who can write convincing romance because it's really difficult!

Even within the romance genre and community, not many authors can pull it off convincingly.