Here's something that makes me crazy!

I belong to a writers group, well - two actually. And, for the most part the folks in the groups are outstanding (I can't say "ladies" because each group has a man apiece - and one is dedicated to romance writing.. .that's YOU Al!).

Okay, back on track...

I love my groups, I do, I do, I do... the members are talented writers, empathic yet stern, they're great at catching when I 'tell' instead of 'show' or when I get off track and my stuff is ((*gasp*)) DULL.

Yesterday though, something happened that got me steamed, and where better to rant and rave then HERE?

A (former) member of one group came back to comment on some work. In that comment was this quote:

"All very short precise sentences that pull this piece onto the firm land of good writing and away from anything that even smacks (horror of horrors) of the much loathed romance novels."

ARGH! Why is it that many other writers think writing romance is EASY? Or that romance writing is bad, or sub-standard? Granted, I may not be writing "Of Mice and Men", but to be honest, I HATED that book (and Steinbeck's stuff in general, but that's a discussion for another day).

I work hard at what I write to make it clear, grammatically correct and intriguing. I've found very few "literary" novels that interest me (though one of my groupmates has written one that is, from what I've read thus far, one that I could read from beginning to end with great interest and enjoyment).

I do agree that many books in the romance genre are really bad. Cheesy. Poorly plotted. Lacking real conflict. But, many books in EVERY genre are that way as well.

So, for crying out loud, JUST STOP IT! We romance writers work just as hard, love our work just as well, enjoy reading just as much, have IQ's just as high (if not higher) than many 'literary' (i.e. "good" or "legitimate") writers out there.

Phew. I feel better, though will probably still rant to anyone who gets near me for the next couple of days.

What think you?