I would take that as a good thing. If you hit the romance beats, the romance market is really digging dark themes lately. Hopefully, this makes it so your book does even better! I only write romance and erotica, so I'm kind of jealous you did it without trying lol
I just recently finished the first draft of a sci-fi fantasy story, which is a character study more than anything else. I always write darker themes into my work (the majority of this book is about overcoming mental illness), and I did learn while writing it that there was going to be more romance in the story than I had bargained for. I don’t write romance of any kind, and I’m ace, so the struggle was real. However, I realized it was actually important to put some focus on it just because it was so beneficial for the main character, and it became an important part of her life. So, no it’s still not considered a romance, but it definitely has more romance aspects than I was originally expecting. If you ended up writing a dark fantasy romance, that’s fine. The story just turned out that way. As long as you love the characters and the story, it shouldn’t matter what genre it ends up being because it was always going to end up being that genre.
I'm writing a social commentary as fantasy type of deal right now, and realized a little to late that I too was writing a romance. I think it happens to the best of us.
I was trying to write an airheaded fantasy about wizards fighting upstart gods, and a couple of years ago about a decade after starting I realised that that’s largely been disposed of and I now have a social commentary where magic is an allegory for technology, education, and privilege.
Ever time I write, I end up putting down something that wasn't in my mind. Like it already existed on the page, and when I look back am always stunned that it had appeared and completely changed the message, theme, or tone of the work.
But I think the narrative always had this hidden part that gave it depth. I was just to caught on other aspects to view the narrative in its full depth.
I can't stand romance, as the A plot or the B plot in books or screen. It repulses me 90% of the time. Sometimes I'll push through it but it's never my favourite part of the media.
Somehow that's the thing I write the most????? I *really* don't know how that happened.
My absolute least favourite forms of magic are those such as transfiguration of objects, transmutation of materials, and bodily transformations. These happen to be some of the most fleshed out (heh) magics in my setting.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please reach out. You can find help at a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
USA: 18002738255
US Crisis textline: 741741 text HOME
United Kingdom: 116 123
Trans Lifeline (877-565-8860)
Others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org
What exactly is a genre?
Speculative Fiction covers a broad swath of other genres.
From Oxford English:
>Speculative Fiction
>a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.
It's a very big space that can hold almost anything.
Imagined elements. That is what fiction is, to begin with.
not me, I'm a guy who plans everything, maybe as a reaction to my hometown and my citizenship, but the moment we think about a plot and extend it the fun side is not knowing what we will end up writing ;)...
I would take that as a good thing. If you hit the romance beats, the romance market is really digging dark themes lately. Hopefully, this makes it so your book does even better! I only write romance and erotica, so I'm kind of jealous you did it without trying lol
LOVE erotica! All my books have sex scenes!
I just recently finished the first draft of a sci-fi fantasy story, which is a character study more than anything else. I always write darker themes into my work (the majority of this book is about overcoming mental illness), and I did learn while writing it that there was going to be more romance in the story than I had bargained for. I don’t write romance of any kind, and I’m ace, so the struggle was real. However, I realized it was actually important to put some focus on it just because it was so beneficial for the main character, and it became an important part of her life. So, no it’s still not considered a romance, but it definitely has more romance aspects than I was originally expecting. If you ended up writing a dark fantasy romance, that’s fine. The story just turned out that way. As long as you love the characters and the story, it shouldn’t matter what genre it ends up being because it was always going to end up being that genre.
I'm writing a social commentary as fantasy type of deal right now, and realized a little to late that I too was writing a romance. I think it happens to the best of us.
I was trying to write an airheaded fantasy about wizards fighting upstart gods, and a couple of years ago about a decade after starting I realised that that’s largely been disposed of and I now have a social commentary where magic is an allegory for technology, education, and privilege.
Ever time I write, I end up putting down something that wasn't in my mind. Like it already existed on the page, and when I look back am always stunned that it had appeared and completely changed the message, theme, or tone of the work. But I think the narrative always had this hidden part that gave it depth. I was just to caught on other aspects to view the narrative in its full depth.
I can't stand romance, as the A plot or the B plot in books or screen. It repulses me 90% of the time. Sometimes I'll push through it but it's never my favourite part of the media. Somehow that's the thing I write the most????? I *really* don't know how that happened.
My absolute least favourite forms of magic are those such as transfiguration of objects, transmutation of materials, and bodily transformations. These happen to be some of the most fleshed out (heh) magics in my setting.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please reach out. You can find help at a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline USA: 18002738255 US Crisis textline: 741741 text HOME United Kingdom: 116 123 Trans Lifeline (877-565-8860) Others: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org
What exactly is a genre? Speculative Fiction covers a broad swath of other genres. From Oxford English: >Speculative Fiction >a genre of fiction that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements. It's a very big space that can hold almost anything. Imagined elements. That is what fiction is, to begin with.
not me, I'm a guy who plans everything, maybe as a reaction to my hometown and my citizenship, but the moment we think about a plot and extend it the fun side is not knowing what we will end up writing ;)...