IT'S THE JOURNEY.

Today at Romancing the Blog, Maili Ryan has a very thoughtful, interesting post about sexual tension (or the lack thereof) in romance novels. She says, in part:

"Like all readers, I enjoy well-developed characterisations, solid plots, fantastical storytelling, vivid descriptions and - my favourite - dialogue. But all genres have those. So, what is that thing that separates the Romance genre from other genres? I think it’s sexual tension. The kind when - from the moment you realise that there’s something about this man that gets you - he walks into a room and all your senses come alive."

In comments about Maili's post, Sharon Long prefers to call this intangible element under discussion "chemistry," while Alison Kent says that she doesn't think it's sexual tension at all that's often lacking in today's romances, but, rather, emotional tension.

What's my own take on all this? Well, I think all these ladies have got a piece of the puzzle. But I believe there's a still-bigger picture.

I would agree with Sharon that the best word for this intangible element is indeed "chemistry." Why? Because I think the word "chemistry" covers more than just sexual tension. Sexual tension is, in fact, an important part of all good romance novels. But as Alison notes, in many romances, the hero and heroine fall into lust (and bed) right away, which dilutes the sexual tension, but leaves plenty of room for the development of emotional tension.

Several of my own books, in fact, begin with a love scene, and the entire novel after that is a flashback leading up to that moment in time. Why? Because one of my publishers liked having a love scene in the early pages of the book---and I never thought it was very realistic to have a historical heroine falling into bed with a man she hardly yet knew (it's different for a contemporary heroine, because times and social mores have changed).

Introducing the first love scene in the opening pages of my novels to satisfy my publisher not only freed me to write the books the way I thought they ought to be written, but also allowed me to concentrate on what I call "the journey"---and of which the chemistry between the hero and the heroine is a major component.

What is "the journey"? It is, just like life itself, a series of events that the hero and the heroine experience both separately and together, during which they not only grow as individuals, but also grow as a couple, all the while discovering the chemistry between them.

During these events, the hero and the heroine may---or may not---have sex. But either way, there must be sexual tension between them. With nothing more than a chaste kiss at the end of the novel, Jane Austen does this brilliantly in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE---which is why this otherwise sweet romance is often pointed to as a masterpiece of sexual tension. It's because we as readers are always cognizant of the underlying physical attraction between Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy---from their initial disdain of each other's looks to their gradual awareness that although neither's looks have changed, they have still grown very dear and much sought after.

But sexual tension alone is not enough---because lust alone never sustains any real lasting relationship (Kathleen Winsor's FOREVER AMBER, for example, has a heroine, Amber St. Clair, who is so "in lust" with a man that it blights her entire life). So, at the same time that the sexual tension is growing in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, so, too, is the mental tension. What do I mean by "mental tension"? I mean that while Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy seemingly begin mentally poles apart, they gradually reach a meeting of minds, realizing that they not only actually have a great deal in common and want the same things from life, but also have learned from each other---and in a way that has brought out the best of each. (One of the reasons, in fact, why we as readers grow so impatient with Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's GONE WITH THE WIND, for example, is because of her stubborn refusal to recognize that she has no meeting of minds with Ashley Wilkes, as she does with Rhett Butler.)

But even sexual tension coupled with mental tension is not enough to sustain any real lasting relationship. For that, we do indeed need emotional tension. When we come to the scene in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE where Mr. Darcy fervently insists to himself that he shall conquer his feelings for Elizabeth Bennett, we do not make the mistake of assuming that his frustration is due to his inability to get her into his bed. No, we understand fully that this is a man in the grip of a terrible emotional torment at the thought of losing the woman he has come to love so deeply that he wishes to share the rest of his life with her. The same is also true when Elizabeth Bennett confronts Mr. Darcy's aunt. We know completely that Elizabeth is not intent on obtaining for herself any of things of which Lady Catherine de Burgh accuses her of wanting. Rather, Elizabeth is in the grip of a terrible emotional torment at the thought of losing the man she has come to love so deeply that she wishes to share the rest of her life with him.

This is what I mean by "the journey." It begins with that fleeting moment in which the hero and heroine first become aware of each other's existence, and it ends with that moment in which they are so deeply and lovingly committed to each other for life that the thought of the other's loss is like having half their soul torn away---and we as readers believe that. If we do believe it, it is because the author has engaged his/her hero and heroine at every level: body, mind, heart, and, finally, soul.

It sounds simple enough. But just as in real life, it's not easy to do. It's also what sets romance apart from all other genres---and why readers get so angry at romances they perceive to be "wallbangers." In a nutshell, the journey didn't go the way they wanted it to.