Comments on: Writing the Romance Novel: Purple Is (not) My Favorite Color

By: Janice Olson

Janice Olson — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:30:41 +0000

Good article.

By: Georgiana Daniels

Georgiana Daniels — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:29:20 +0000

…recognize turns of phrase or word constructs and respond with a deep emotional connection to the story and the characters. In fact, they posit, the reader looks for these constructs, wanting to relive these emotions with each book they read (21).

Surely this isn’t referring to cliches, right? What exactly are the turns of phrase and word constructs that they’re referring to? Great post!

By: PatriciaW

PatriciaW — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:55:56 +0000

Interesting post. Because just this morning as I snatched a few moments for reading a Christian romance novel, I was struck by the well-worn phrases that were incorporated in an otherwise fresh and delightful book. And I wondered whether it was done on purpose or whether the author simply had a slight tendency toward common phrases/cliches.

Last Saturday’s craft post on The PlotMonkeys was on dialogue. One thing that stood out was how to take a well-worn phrase, like “not for all the money in the world” and turn it on its ear by inserting a different word, for effect.

For example, “not for all the Jimmy Choos in the world” might be appropriate for a heroine who has a thing for shoes and finds herself in a comproming spot. Perhaps this is a way of using the cliche but making it new again?

In general, I hate purple prose, which is why I find it difficult to read some sub-genres of romance, like Regencies, which tend to have more of it.

By: Eileen Astels

Eileen Astels — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:15:57 +0000

Sorry, I haven’t time to do the conversion, but I did want to stop in and say Thank You!

I hadn’t really understood the term “purple pros” before. Now I know that it is tantamount to what I call “flowery writing”. It’s definitely poetic, but not my style, either, too over the top for me.