We tend to define a genre by what we call the “elements” of that genre. A lot of these elements are plot points or “furniture” that such stories have in common. Defining a genre is a way of helping readers find new fiction similar to stories they’ve read before and enjoyed. For example, and to be rather simplistic about it, if you have liked previous stories that you have read that have spaceships in them, you’re likely to enjoy reading new stories with spaceships in them.

At the conclusion of my last essay, I said that I’d discuss how I see Romance as a genre fitting into my “flow of acceptance” diagram. As a reminder, the point I made last time is that there is a hierarchy of acceptance when it comes to genre. If a story has elements of both science fiction and mystery, readers will tend to think of it as a Science Fiction story more than as a Mystery story. So those who identify themselves as science fiction readers are more likely to read and enjoy a science fiction mystery than those who identify themselves as mystery readers.

Where does this hierarchy come from? I think reader acceptance of genre elements has to do with one simple concept: realism.

When readers pick up a so-called Mainstream story, one that perhaps we can pigeonhole as “non-genre” if there is such a thing, those readers have certain expectations when approaching that story. In essence, they expect a story set in the real world, in which only real-world things happen. These events may be improbable, or even outlandish, but they wouldn’t violate the natural order of the world as we believe it to exist.

By definition, a science-fiction, fantasy or (supernatural) horror story is not set in that same sort of world. To properly enjoy the story, the reader has to practice what is called “willing suspension of disbelief.” I know that zombies don’t really exist, the reader thinks, but I’ll suspend my disbelief long enough to enjoy, say, The Changed by B.J. Burrow.

The Changed

And not every reader is equipped to suspend their disbelief this way. Tastes differ, and some readers just don’t enjoy reading tales of the fantastic. For them, any story with elements of science fiction, fantasy, or supernatural horror would be right out. A story with mystery elements would be more acceptable, because crimes do happen and mysteries do get solved in the real world.

But as for romance…ah, as the poet might say, romance is what brings us all together.

Even more so than mystery, people expect that romance will be a part of everyday life. Therefore, if you write a story without any fantastic element in it, but with romance in it, it’ll be more palatable to the non-genre reader.

Let’s look at my “flow of acceptance” again:

Mainstream > Mystery > Science Fiction > Fantasy > Horror

If I were inclined to include the Romance genre, I would revise the flow of acceptance to look like this.

Mainstream > Romance > Mystery > Science Fiction > Fantasy > Horror

I’ve already explained why a science-fiction story with romantic elements in it would not be considered part of the Romance genre. But what makes a Romance story different from a Mainstream story? Why isn’t every Mainstream story with a romance in it considered part of the Romance genre?

To answer that question, believe it or not, I turn to the writer’s guidelines for Analog magazine. You may not think there’s a connection between hard science fiction stories and romance stories, but in my opinion, there is.

For many years, the Analog guidelines have tried to define the type of science-fiction story they’re looking for with the following piece of advice:

“Basically, we publish science fiction stories. That is, stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse. Try to picture Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein without the science and you’ll see what I mean. No story!”

I Remember the Future

To me, that can also describe the difference between a Romance story and a Mainstream story. From my point of view a story would only fall into the Romance category if the romance is so integral to the plot that to remove it would cause the story to collapse.

Which, in conclusion, explains why I haven’t applied to join the Romance Writers of America, despite my having joined SFWA, HWA, and MWA. Although many of my stories have romances in them, I don’t think of those romances as being as integral to the plot as they might be. Until I get around to writing that Romance novel, I’ll just have to satisfy myself with the other three genres.

Michael A. Burstein won the 1997 Campbell Award. His short fiction, mostly in Analog, has been nominated for ten Hugos and four Nebulas. He and wife Nomi live in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is a Library Trustee and Town Meeting Member. He has two physics degrees, and attended Clarion. See www.mabfan.com.

In November, 2008, Apex Publications released Michael’s first collection of stories titled I Rememeber the Future: The Award-Nominated Stories of Michael A. Burstein.