Late Winter Cons | ConDFW Dallas

Spring is on the way, and that means convention season is starting again as I emerge from my winter cocoon. In February, there was ConDFW in Dallas. The fun thing about conventions is that they give you a chance to discuss books with other readers (and writers who happen to be readers).

When something is popular, it's far too easy for it to devolve into a cliche -- something we've seen so many times that it's nearly impossible for it to come across as original. That was the focus of one of the ConDFW panels -- the cliches of supernatural romances. The panel included authors Julie Mandela, Rachel Caine and me, as well as librarian Frances May. We also got some lively discussion from the audience. I was moderating the panel, and it's tough to take notes while leading and participating in a discussion, so let's hope this makes sense!

One of the first cliches that just about everyone agreed upon in the genre is the covers. Does everyone dealing with the paranormal have to have tattoos? Audience members mostly complained about covers that don't seem to fit the books, like some "cartoony" illustrations on books that aren't fun or humorous. The covers aren't something that authors control, and cover trends are driven by what's selling, so if a book with a particular kind of cover sells well, you can look forward to a lot more books with similar covers.

Rachel Caine brought up the fact that the supernatural guy is always hot. They don't seem to make average or unattractive supernatural guys. But Julie Mandela, reminded us that guys in all romances are hot. "You're not going to get, 'Ooh, look at the fat guy,'" she said.

My nomination for worst cliche was the "Alpha jerk" -- the overbearing guy whose behavior should be grounds for a restraining order, but somehow this behavior is okay if he's paranormal. Audience members added that this guy is usually tamed by the love of a good woman.

Another audience nomination was for the heroine always falling in love with a paranormal guy. Why can't she ever go for a normal guy? Rachel said she's done that in one of her series, but there's still a subgroup of readers that wants the heroine with one of the vampire guys instead. I brought up the idea of soulmates, the people who seem to have nothing in common and who don't even like each other, but who are somehow destined to be together.

However, these tropes got to be cliches because people responded strongly enough to them for them to be successful to the point of being overused. So, what makes these story elements so popular? Frances May brought up the vampire trend that seems to be unkillable. Julie said one of the reasons for its popularity is the idea of living forever. "Our culture is youth-oriented," she said. "We want to look good forever." Audience members said another aspect of this is the fact that if you're both living forever, you'll never lose someone you love. You can always be together.

Rachel said the vampire appeal is different for teens. They want to grow up, not stay like they are forever. "For them, it's the hidden power of the outsider," she said. "They're fitting in, but they're secretly powerful."

As for the Alpha jerks that I dislike, Julie reminded us, "The dangerous, forbidden things we fantasize about aren't always the things we want to have happen in real life." I mentioned that I've noticed that my friends who are married to nice guys are far more into the fictional bad boys. Meanwhile, I run into too many jerks in my dating life, so I fantasize about the nice guys. Audience members said the nice guys don't throw you against the wall and ravish you. They also said that the self-confidence of the Alpha jerk can be appealing, even if it's often a facade or an overcompensation to hide his inner vulnerabilities.

The appeal of the soulmates trope seems to be the conflict of predestination vs. choice -- a love that is inevitable. You know it probably will work out, even if it will take some effort. It's like a marriage arranged by someone who really knows what they're doing.

We're probably not going to get rid of any genre cliches, but looking at the underlying appeal of these tropes does make them feel less like cliches, and maybe writers can try to find new ways to convey these concepts.

Shanna Swendson writes "Fairy Tales for Modern Times" and is the author of the Enchanted, Inc. series about a Texan in New York City, a magical NYC. Visit her website or blog for more information.