So you've heard of Fifty Shades of Grey, be it snuck a peek in the book or heard about it on the internet - maybe on YouTube videos or book and film reviews. But something about it has your mind spinning: How on earth did a book this poorly written sell so many copies, let alone get film adaptations? How do you write a book with romance, or anything erotic, without following the same steps as the author herself?
If you want to avoid writing the next Fifty Shades of Grey, you've come to the right place. Here, there will be crucial pointers to make sure you don't end up the subject of ridicule like E.L. James.
Before going into this, be sure to check See the Index for writing original works or any genre.
Be Original
One of the biggest issues brought up with Fifty Shades is the knowledge that it started as a fanfiction of a certain popular teen novel, but with drastic differences. Once a Twilight fanfic titled "Master of the Universe" with the same characters, but less vampire and more sex, until somewhere down the line the author changed the names of the characters and turned her fanfic into a legit fic, and the rest is history.If you want to determine how to write a story, it's highly recommended to check out Write a Story for the basics to get started and Be Original in order to learn how to create your own original work from the ground up.
Originality with the genre is also an absolute must for writing. Since this is a discussion on a "romance" novel, it's highly recommended that you look into Write a Love Story with directions to other trope lists such as Romance Novel Plots or Romance Novel Tropes.
Do. Your. Research!
If there's something savvy readers can agree on regarding Fifty Shades, it's that E.L. James didn't do her homework on particular subjects to the point of being called out for her many mistakes.One subject commonly criticized is her inaccurate depiction of BDSM. For proper general information what it's about, refer to BDSM here. If you are not in the scene yourself, you may want to find a sensitivity reader who is.
But to give a summary of the inaccuracies and misconceptions she perpetuated:
- The
Unfortunate Implications: The novel implied that the reason Christian Grey is into BDSM is because of the traumatic and abusive childhood he had along with the psychological issues that came from it. However, this is heavily criticized by actual practitioners and psychiatrists, clarifying that there's no correlation between mental health problems and the interest in the fetish. - Ignoring the Safe, Sane, and Consensual part of the practice: If there's one thing that can't be ignored by readers/audiences regarding Fifty Shades, it's undoubtedly Christian's blatant disregard for the core of practicing BDSM - Safe, Sane, and Consensual. He doesn't practice his fetish safely with Ana, using it solely to punish her to disproportionate degrees. His behavior is argued to not be as sane as the writer (or Ana for that matter) thinks he is, often thought to be a narcissistic disorder. His practice of BDSM and sexual activities with Ana were anything but consensual; not only does he ignore her use of the Safe Word, but he also threatens to - and often does - have sex with her even when she says she doesn't want to.
Another matter that is badly fumbled with is the settings and the nitty gritty details brought up within the story.
For instance, E.L. James apparently got the location of Vancouver mixed up without Googling it, as one passage of the book states that Ana at one point travels south of Vancouver to get to Seattle in Washington when it's actually to the NORTH.
Also, Christian making plans for being first to market with wind-up mobile phones? It was already available two years earlier
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Write Interesting Characters
Among the couples in romance novels, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey are argued to be the worst for a plethora of reasons. Ranging from complaints of the pair being Strangled by the Red String to calling out (and rightfully so) their relationship for its Romanticized Abuse, these two have been the subject of both analysis and criticism since the series came out.While both have been agreed to be Unintentionally Unsympathetic, there are particular highlights of the problems with the characters themselves.
The problems with Ana:
- Horrible Judge of Character: The moment Ana meets Christian, she thinks that she's met the man she wants to be with the rest of her life. The reality is that he is a Jerkass who also is a Control Freak and a Crazy Jealous Guy, something she repeatedly fails to recognize as warning signs.
- Female Misogynist: Throughout the books, Ana demonstrated ridiculous hatred to all women under the belief that they want to hook up with Christian, even at one who is her one friend.
- Informed Ability and Analogy Backfire: Another troubling matter is that the books claim Ana is intelligent enough to major in English literature, but she never demonstrated any solid knowledge of the subjects. This leads into her problematic analogy of Greek mythology's Icarus and Tess from Tess of the d'Ubervilles, characters who have tragic conclusions to their stories.
The problems with Christian:
- Designated Hero: E.L. James presented Christian as the love interest because All Girls Want Bad Boys. However, readers can't help arguing that he's nothing more than a Rich Jerk Manchild with a Hair-Trigger Temper whose justification for his behavior with Ana comes down to everything centered around him.
- Jerkass: The most persistent problem with Christian is his unchecked attitude at anything and anyone, usually Ana. Not only does he demonstrate creepy stalker behaviors on her, but he also perpetuates inappropriate behavior that should've been rightly called out.
- Fetishized Abuser: In spite of all this, he's presented as sexy, and fixable with Ana's love.
Check Your Writing
It can't be stressed just how important it is to check your writing before you make your book, be it professionally published or self-published.Alternative Ideas
Suggested Themes and Aesops
- Safe, Sane, and Consensual: If you're writing about BDSM, this is of utmost importance - show that there's nothing unhealthy about the practice as long as the people involved are responsible and respectful about it.
- Make the love interest confident, charismatic, and subversive of outdated traditions while keeping them a decent person. That way, they'll have the appeal of the "bad boy" (or girl, or non-binary person) without the actual bad behaviour.
Potential Motifs
Suggested Plots
- The protagonist gets into a relationship that involves BDSM, and instead of the conflict stemming from psychological issues in their partner, it stems from others getting the wrong idea. Maybe someone wants to protect them at all costs from something they perceive as unhealthy.
