The Language of Love

When we talk about romantic prose, we refer to a romantic style of writing, not
producing heaving bosom books (cheap romance paperbacks).

There is an art and craft in romantic writing. Its power is in using descriptive
language to trigger emotional responses in your readers. What you say is not as
important as how you say it. Your goal is not simply to convey a thought or
message. When you are writing romantically, you want to choose words that get
emotional reactions. You want to paint vivid pictures in the mind of your reader.
 
The power of the written word is in descriptive language. You don't have to be
William Shakespeare to master the art of descriptive language. It is important to
understand basic sentence structure, but, it is far more important to broaden
your vocabulary.

Adjectives are descriptive words. They embellish sentences. They are used to
describe people, places, and things. Adverbs are also descriptive words. They are used to describe actions-- they modify verbs. They add more detailed information to verbs-- hence the name, adverb.

Using adjectives and adverbs enables the romantic writer to better illustrate a
scene when painting that mental picture in your reader's mind. Basic
descriptions, of course, convey a message or tell as story, but, the romantic
writer wants to paint such vivid pictures in the reader's mind that his words
evoke passion.

What is Romanticism?

Romanticism, according to the Yahoo!® dictionary, is defined as follows:

"An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 1700s
and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the
individual's expression of emotion and imagination..."

For our purposes, we want to concentrate on the "heightened interest in nature"
and "individual's expression of emotion" which provokes "imagination" in the
reader. The expression: "the mind's eye" refers to imagination. Using descriptive language enables you to create vivid mental imagery in the reader's imagination. That imagery is what triggers their emotional reaction to your writing.

Painting Pictures with Words...
 
The two examples below illustrate the difference between writing a description
of a waterfall and doing the same thing in romantic style.

Basic Description:

Going down a long stairway, we heard nothing but the sound of Brandywine
Falls. It is prettier in late summer than in springtime. The water was low and
clear. I like it.

Romantic Description:

Descending the long, steep stairway, one leaves the sounds of the world behind.
City noises are washed away by the music of rushing water. Brandywine Falls is
running low this time of year. While the flow of water is not as powerful now, it is far more beautiful. In early season, the grandeur of Brandywine is its raw power. Now, it is the sweet song of cascading waters tripping over the rocks in a
symphony that only nature can provide. I am spellbound.

In the first example, the writing is pragmatic and does convey the story, but
there is little emotional reaction to it.

In the second example, it is clear that there is a long stairway. Once down there, the sounds of the world are gone and all you hear is the waterfall. The sound is like a symphony to a nature lover. The waterfall is beautiful. The experience is almost hypnotic.

Clearly, the second account is far more beautiful than the first. The second will
trigger the emotions the way we want. The first will not.

You Can Do This...

This blog will help you learn the art and craft of romance-- that is writing love poems and love letters. It's all about painting pictures with words.