Don't Kill the Dog

 So...this post (or at least the title of it) is a little personal to me, at the moment. We just had to put my grandson's dog to sleep last week (and when I say "we" I mostly mean my daughter-in-law, but it's been hard on all of us). Especially since I lost one of my dogs last year, and the other the year before that!. They'll probably get a new dog in the not so distant future. Me? I'm not so sure. I'm still pretty broken.  

Also, we're feeding birds in the back yard and community cats in the front...yes, I'm aware that's both stupid and a massive rationalization. But so far, so good. 

Also, my husband has befriended a squirrel, which is a whole 'nuther story. 

But I digress...

So, one of the first "writing rules" I learned when I was starting out in romance is: Don't kill the dog. Which I promptly disregarded by having one of my characters have to put her dog down when it gets mauled by a bobcat. (Oberon, Book Three: Sound of a Voice That is Still). 

A decision I still defend, btw. But it got me thinking about other rules that I bend (or make sure not to break, etc). 

RULE #1: Make sure your characters are on the same page--literally.

Yeah, I blew this one right off the bat with my very first book. In a romance, the story is the relationship between the two main characters. If they're both off having adventures on their own, their relationship is mostly stagnant. BUT in Scent of the Roses, the H/H don't come face to face until approximately halfway through the book. In this case, however, there was a reason. It took me that long to commit to the fact that I was writing a romance, NOT a cozy mystery. 

RULE #2: No one likes a character who's too good--or a villain you can't relate to. 

Okay, I don't even know why I included this one in this list. I love flawed characters. To the point where there have even been a couple of readers who got confused as to who was the hero and who was the villain. So, I guess my point is: you can go too far with this rule. I thought I really loved morally gray characters, until people started falling in love with fictional mafia dons. 

I ran afoul of this one when with a villain who had no redeeming qualities. I'm not sure how I feel about that, to be honest. Some people aren't redeemable. A lot of people, actually. lol

RULE #3: Story is more important than accuracy. 

Which I guess goes hand in hand with the last one. Maybe unredeemable people don't belong in romance books? Hard to say. I have a lot of problems with this rule. On the one hand, I kind of agree with it. It's called fiction for a reason--right? But on the other hand, as a reader, nothing bugs me more than books that aren't accurate when it's a place or subject I know about. Like those fictional mafia dons--if they were accurately portrayed no one would be swooning. 

RULE #4: Don't use slang--unless it's historical slang and you're writing an historical book--because it will date your book.

And...here's another of those slippery, gray rules. I love using slang even though--yes, yes. It dates things terribly. I just got finished annotating the twenty year old Oberon series and OMG. But I stand by my use of slang. And I think not using slang when your characters absolutely would, make the book feel dated NOW. I can't tell you how many books I've DNF'd over the past few years because the AUTHORS sound dated. And I should know! When your twenty-something character starts referencing songs and movies someone my age knows, loves, and remembers...it's annoying. Because either you have to create a plausible reason for why they're referencing things older than they are--a grandmother they used to watch movies with, or who used to be in a band and taught them to shred to  classic rock songs. And too many of the excuses are, "I guess I'm just an old soul." Which, honestly, runs thin. 

So, those are mine. Now show me yours.