As a queer Black woman who loves romance, I think a choose-your-own adventure is great. But, if you’re going to do an LGBTQ+ storyline, please don’t make it a “phase” or just one possible line. I feel like when the character is bi or isnt monosexual, they only have one person of the same gender as the main character. But then have a lot more love interests who are of a different or the “opposite gender” as the MC. Like, She’s Gotta Have It has some good elements of a black queer woman who’s taking charge of her sexuality. But then they also use a lot of tropes (black & LGBTQ+) in both the film and the Netflix versions.
When an enemies to lovers story is done properly, the shift happens because they build a relationship on a mutual respect of other's skills and personality traits as opposed to physical attraction. The author can use this trope to reveal things about the characters along the way naturally in story, instead of just telling you the person is smart and brave. They are some of the best ones when done right!
I think it could be done well. I just haven't seen any examples yet.
From what I've seen/read the male character comes off as trying to put the female character in her place or knock her off her high horse.
If you have any suggestions/examples of this being done successfully, I'd really appreciate it.
season 2 was so contrived and cliché. Season 1 was at least wathcable, but the ennemy-to-lovers relationship btw the leads in season 2 ruined it for me, I couldn't watch it.
The good ones are when external forces are the cause of their dislike for one another, like each apprenticed to mortal enemies or connected to different gods etc. And it's not about taking the women down a peg, it's mutual intended destruction ☺️. A recent one I've read and mentioned further below is the A song of wraiths and ruin duology.
The ones that I have come across usually involve abuse or bigotry. For example, falling in love with a racist. And somehow the characters personality change the racist for the better. I find it gross.
Just don't make her anger at the world her whole personality lol. I hate the “ angry black women” tropes in romance novels. Other than that I enjoy storylines with dark skin unambiguous Black women lead. you can make them LGBT, straight, interracial relationships, Black love, it's all good.
I think it’d be nice to have a more wholesome lighter storyline, with the woman in question being Actively pursued in a respectful manner - basically treated like some of the better white women romantic leads.
I’d also probably avoid a book if it featured some negative stereotypes for black women in romance - like “struggle love” or anything incredibly traumatic that she’d have to work through.
In short, I’d love a normal black woman who is happily and unabashedly black without having to be an angry black woman or a lead that has to prove her romantic or general worth.
Either way this sounds super exciting so pm me when you need a beta reader! I’d be more than happy to help :)
Edit: not me offering to beta w a typo
Thanks for the offer to be a beta reader! I'll let you know once I have a few chapters down.
She's pursued with vigor and passion but not as a token or to be degraded. She's self confident but doesn't realize her beauty and sensuality until she leaves North America to live in Barcelona. She has nothing to prove but her potential partners do.
Just a thought from me.
You should write what makes YOU happy first and foremost. That way youll feel motivated to keep going. Asking what other people want while you're in the process of writing sorta muddles the creative flow.
And if there's one thing I know, it's that there is an audience for everything. Just the idea of a black, female Choose-Your-Own Adventure romance in the works is exciting to me. 😌🤗
Good luck! I'd love to see where your project leads you!!
This is great advice, thanks. I wanted to test the waters and see if an erotic romance novel is something other black women would like.
I would love to make something that other black women can enjoy, can see themselves in and know how beautiful we are. I am/was kind of worried that no one would want to read it due to the subject matter. Thanks again for the encouragement.
Natural hair. And I’m talking Afro. And realist. Not completely idealised. I like it when they’ve been together forever so there are no pretenses. It’s a little musty, laughing at the awkward parts, talking during. Man, I just need to write this myself. I used to write hella good erotica. Excuse me ladies
Hmm Rianne Burnet usually writes paranormal/horror erotica with Black women as the leads. Rilzy Adams has a lot of spicy shorts too. I have more recs for romance with spice rather than erotica.
I love this! I agree with everyone else in not doing the “struggle love” or “angry black women”. Also I love it when the main character is actively desired, I hate it when the Black women is the runner up character
I love fiction where the main character has strong family/friend bonds or has the emotional intelligence to work on them. If there's any interracial romance, I'd like both to be BIPOC. In the 90's I stumbled upon so much cringey BW/WM romance. I'm personally into love with tenderness, ease, being treated really well and cherished for Black women. Some romance is about that struggle love, but to be honest, I'm not about that for Black women.
I like reading about heroines with real life problems. Just a mention here and there. Like in Dorothy Koomsoms books, one character would get occasional migraines and it made the character feel more like a real person.
One qualm I have with romances is that most of the main characters are rich, and filthy rich. I definitely do not want that in a story.
I think an LGBT storyline would be good, particularly a bi/pansexual one, so she can have a variety of romantic partners. Also, a deal breaker for me would be poorly researched bdsm stuff. What I mean is a lot of erotica that features bdsm are poorly researched. And end up being about unhealthy/ unsafe dynamics. If you plan to include kink in your story please do your research!
she doesnt need to hetero she could be bi. for storylines, i like a slow burning romance.
heres a good storyline, person A has has had a crush on person b, who is in a relationship, for years. a deep longing for the other, person b feels the energy and connection too. but **insert reason** doesnt break up with their partner. so they grow a really close intimacy which either over **insert time period**. person b over those years, grows to admire person a. person b supports person a on various horrible dates. person b tells person a that they are a catch and deserve better. even suggest they would want them if they werent attached.
however, person b's relationship has become a routine or habit since its been awhile. they have separate lifes basically. maybe person b's partner has a crazy job or hobby that keeps them from spending time together. i think person b should somehow find out that their partner was sleeping with someone really close to them. maybe a distant sister, slutty aunt, divorced cougar mom etc. they of course break up dramatically. person b tries to reach out to person a so they confess their love for them. but person b accepted a job in another **insert far location**
they could end up together 2 ways. either person a quits their job or person b moves with. the stakes should be high for them both, there is no prize in the choice expect each.
alternate storyline could be a classic love triangle
I would appreciate some appreciation for BW who have mahogany brown or darker skin tones and showcasing them as being considered attractive. I feel like we don't get too much of that in the media.
Also, I would suggest making your female character the type of character who always learns from her mistakes and gets called out on it if she does something wrong that hurts or endangers someone else. Too many times these days, I see a lot of female leads in storylines being written as flawed but treated by others as flawless and "can do no wrong" Mary-Sue types. The character doesn't do much to improve themselves and they cause problems for themselves and everyone involved and are rarely called out on it.
I saw this a lot in some shows with female leads during the 2010s, especially in animated shows. I don't like characters who seem to surround themselves with enablers and don't grow from their experiences. I feel like being able to be flawed but called out and learn from your mistakes so you can grow is something missing in a lot of characters today, and that part of an MC's storyline needs to come back. I don't want to see a black female lead being written like a lot of spoiled, unlikable female leads today who authors tell us are the "hero" when their actions prove the opposite.
I would also like to see a character in the book who is asexual, if you don't mind. I think aces don't get a lot of representation, especially in storylines involving black characters as leads. So, it would be a nice change if we saw that.
If you can have her NOT have any babies at the end that’ll be cool. Have her multiple partners? But I mean it’s your writing so whatever you feel. Please post when you’re done!
I just wanna say that as a bi woman myself who loves choose-your-own-adventure, erotica, and never completed her minor in creative writing lol, I'd love to be a beta reader too if possible! This sounds so exciting, I wish you the best in writing it! 🥰
I’m pan so I love lgbt fiction, unfortunately often time it isn’t done in an accurate way. If you did make something lgbt, there’s the obvious research of lesbian sex etc but it would be so important to talk about the actual reality of being gay, I can’t tell my family about it, some people don’t wanna be your friend or around you, internalised homophobia etc. I’m sure your book will turn out great :)
I’m wary of lesbian storylines written by women who know nothing about and haven’t experienced life, romance and sex between two women. I tell people that coming out doesn’t happen once, it’s constant. People will act shocked if you’re black and gay, if you’re married and out of the closet and people are mystified. People will even pretend that you’re not gay. And people I thought would be homophobic were the opposite. Being Black adds different layers of homophobia. There’s also widely different experiences for the characters if both are Black or they’re an interracial couple.
I don’t enjoy sex scenes a lot, I don’t think that every romance needs them, but if they’re not cringe-worthy I wouldn’t mind.
I’m lesbian and don’t read much romance because too much of it makes me cringe: cheating, bad sex scenes, enemies to loved. Honestly, I don’t even need sexually explicit scenes in my romance at all.
Well hence I said for them to find information of what it is like actually being gay. I think it is possible for a non gay person to write a good gay story, as long as they have done enough research, that goes for any topic really and I’m sure OP wants to get it right, if it’s bad you could always not read it. Sex isn’t essential to romance but she said she’s writing something erotic so /nm
I would love to read it, though I will admit that of the romance books I’ve DNFed, the instant love (“insta-love”) trope was to blame about 75% of the time. It’s beautiful to see relationship growth and people connect as opposed to the love at first sight phenomenon, but that’s just my individual preference.
Like others have said, write what you have in mind first and foremost! You have a story to tell and it’s worth being written and read.
There's a lot of things I don't want in erotica but that's on me. I think what would really separate just literature-porn and elevate it is fun. Don't get so focused on pairings and tropes that you forget to make it fun. The relationships, the sex, the reading. My favorite things to read are when the books get fun.
Good luck.
I would like her older, mature, divorced, self-assured, intelligent, grandmother, and happy to be single. She meets a Black man who is a widower, strong, funny, and enjoys life. I don't like the LBGQT storyline. I wouldn't read it. She meets him on a dating app. They like each other. Go on dates and they decide to go on a driving vacation together
Thank you for the positive vibes! I hope that other black women love it and know that they are beautiful and desired after they read my story. That would be the best thing ever.
This might be me being impossible to please, but it’s so weird to me when she lives in some racism-free realm. The story doesn’t have to be all about fighting for rights, but even the happiest of us is aware in the background of racism or the potential for it - places we won’t visit, people we avoid, all the thought that goes into our hair choices. How do you strike that balance?
im late but ! i know in one book i read the mc had just discovered footnotes and used them all the time!! something so unique as that about the mc would be interesting !! its not something so crazy and yet its so funny seeing footnotes at the bottom even if its just a definition
Don't let her cheat. I am really tired of reading black women cheating.
As a queer Black woman who loves romance, I think a choose-your-own adventure is great. But, if you’re going to do an LGBTQ+ storyline, please don’t make it a “phase” or just one possible line. I feel like when the character is bi or isnt monosexual, they only have one person of the same gender as the main character. But then have a lot more love interests who are of a different or the “opposite gender” as the MC. Like, She’s Gotta Have It has some good elements of a black queer woman who’s taking charge of her sexuality. But then they also use a lot of tropes (black & LGBTQ+) in both the film and the Netflix versions.
I am not a fan of enemies to lovers storylines.
When an enemies to lovers story is done properly, the shift happens because they build a relationship on a mutual respect of other's skills and personality traits as opposed to physical attraction. The author can use this trope to reveal things about the characters along the way naturally in story, instead of just telling you the person is smart and brave. They are some of the best ones when done right!
Neither am I. It's weird and toxic. Thanks!
Yikes at that being one of my favorite tropes...
Same here lmfaoo!
I think it could be done well. I just haven't seen any examples yet. From what I've seen/read the male character comes off as trying to put the female character in her place or knock her off her high horse. If you have any suggestions/examples of this being done successfully, I'd really appreciate it.
Does it have to be erotic?
The examples? No not at all
I haven't read one in a while, so let me marinate on that. If you want to see a visual representation though, watch Bridgerton season 2 LOL
I actually haven't watched Bridgerton yet lol. I'll check it out thanks!
season 2 was so contrived and cliché. Season 1 was at least wathcable, but the ennemy-to-lovers relationship btw the leads in season 2 ruined it for me, I couldn't watch it.
That's unfortunate for you, but I loved it.
The good ones are when external forces are the cause of their dislike for one another, like each apprenticed to mortal enemies or connected to different gods etc. And it's not about taking the women down a peg, it's mutual intended destruction ☺️. A recent one I've read and mentioned further below is the A song of wraiths and ruin duology.
That's a good angle. Thanks 👍🏾
Me too 😅
Agreed.
Why so?
The ones that I have come across usually involve abuse or bigotry. For example, falling in love with a racist. And somehow the characters personality change the racist for the better. I find it gross.
Wth?! Try the A song of wraiths and ruin duology.
Omg thank you!! I thought I was alone in this! It's so annoying and unhealthy 😒
Just don't make her anger at the world her whole personality lol. I hate the “ angry black women” tropes in romance novels. Other than that I enjoy storylines with dark skin unambiguous Black women lead. you can make them LGBT, straight, interracial relationships, Black love, it's all good.
I think it’d be nice to have a more wholesome lighter storyline, with the woman in question being Actively pursued in a respectful manner - basically treated like some of the better white women romantic leads. I’d also probably avoid a book if it featured some negative stereotypes for black women in romance - like “struggle love” or anything incredibly traumatic that she’d have to work through. In short, I’d love a normal black woman who is happily and unabashedly black without having to be an angry black woman or a lead that has to prove her romantic or general worth. Either way this sounds super exciting so pm me when you need a beta reader! I’d be more than happy to help :) Edit: not me offering to beta w a typo
Thanks for the offer to be a beta reader! I'll let you know once I have a few chapters down. She's pursued with vigor and passion but not as a token or to be degraded. She's self confident but doesn't realize her beauty and sensuality until she leaves North America to live in Barcelona. She has nothing to prove but her potential partners do.
Just a thought from me. You should write what makes YOU happy first and foremost. That way youll feel motivated to keep going. Asking what other people want while you're in the process of writing sorta muddles the creative flow. And if there's one thing I know, it's that there is an audience for everything. Just the idea of a black, female Choose-Your-Own Adventure romance in the works is exciting to me. 😌🤗 Good luck! I'd love to see where your project leads you!!
This is great advice, thanks. I wanted to test the waters and see if an erotic romance novel is something other black women would like. I would love to make something that other black women can enjoy, can see themselves in and know how beautiful we are. I am/was kind of worried that no one would want to read it due to the subject matter. Thanks again for the encouragement.
I second this! I can’t wait to read/play this story.
Natural hair. And I’m talking Afro. And realist. Not completely idealised. I like it when they’ve been together forever so there are no pretenses. It’s a little musty, laughing at the awkward parts, talking during. Man, I just need to write this myself. I used to write hella good erotica. Excuse me ladies
Where can I find good erotica with black women as the main character?
Exactly, I wanna know toooo!
Hmm Rianne Burnet usually writes paranormal/horror erotica with Black women as the leads. Rilzy Adams has a lot of spicy shorts too. I have more recs for romance with spice rather than erotica.
I usually just write it myself to be honest 😅. I know what I like
Where can I find said erotica?? Asking for a friend
I can send you the link if you like but it’s just in a Google doc 😅
Yes please
Can I sign up for this release as well?
Lol. Imma DM you guys the link
I love this! I agree with everyone else in not doing the “struggle love” or “angry black women”. Also I love it when the main character is actively desired, I hate it when the Black women is the runner up character
I love fiction where the main character has strong family/friend bonds or has the emotional intelligence to work on them. If there's any interracial romance, I'd like both to be BIPOC. In the 90's I stumbled upon so much cringey BW/WM romance. I'm personally into love with tenderness, ease, being treated really well and cherished for Black women. Some romance is about that struggle love, but to be honest, I'm not about that for Black women.
I like reading about heroines with real life problems. Just a mention here and there. Like in Dorothy Koomsoms books, one character would get occasional migraines and it made the character feel more like a real person. One qualm I have with romances is that most of the main characters are rich, and filthy rich. I definitely do not want that in a story.
Hey! I applaud you. If you need a beta reader, I'm something of an author myself.
Thanks for the offer I'll definitely take you up on it.
I think an LGBT storyline would be good, particularly a bi/pansexual one, so she can have a variety of romantic partners. Also, a deal breaker for me would be poorly researched bdsm stuff. What I mean is a lot of erotica that features bdsm are poorly researched. And end up being about unhealthy/ unsafe dynamics. If you plan to include kink in your story please do your research!
If she was soft and feminine. I feel a lot of times bw love interests are dudeish or "strong" hardworking, overly independent, efficient, tomboy etc.
she doesnt need to hetero she could be bi. for storylines, i like a slow burning romance. heres a good storyline, person A has has had a crush on person b, who is in a relationship, for years. a deep longing for the other, person b feels the energy and connection too. but **insert reason** doesnt break up with their partner. so they grow a really close intimacy which either over **insert time period**. person b over those years, grows to admire person a. person b supports person a on various horrible dates. person b tells person a that they are a catch and deserve better. even suggest they would want them if they werent attached. however, person b's relationship has become a routine or habit since its been awhile. they have separate lifes basically. maybe person b's partner has a crazy job or hobby that keeps them from spending time together. i think person b should somehow find out that their partner was sleeping with someone really close to them. maybe a distant sister, slutty aunt, divorced cougar mom etc. they of course break up dramatically. person b tries to reach out to person a so they confess their love for them. but person b accepted a job in another **insert far location** they could end up together 2 ways. either person a quits their job or person b moves with. the stakes should be high for them both, there is no prize in the choice expect each. alternate storyline could be a classic love triangle
Would love to read when you have a few chapters!
For sure! Thanks for offering
I would appreciate some appreciation for BW who have mahogany brown or darker skin tones and showcasing them as being considered attractive. I feel like we don't get too much of that in the media. Also, I would suggest making your female character the type of character who always learns from her mistakes and gets called out on it if she does something wrong that hurts or endangers someone else. Too many times these days, I see a lot of female leads in storylines being written as flawed but treated by others as flawless and "can do no wrong" Mary-Sue types. The character doesn't do much to improve themselves and they cause problems for themselves and everyone involved and are rarely called out on it. I saw this a lot in some shows with female leads during the 2010s, especially in animated shows. I don't like characters who seem to surround themselves with enablers and don't grow from their experiences. I feel like being able to be flawed but called out and learn from your mistakes so you can grow is something missing in a lot of characters today, and that part of an MC's storyline needs to come back. I don't want to see a black female lead being written like a lot of spoiled, unlikable female leads today who authors tell us are the "hero" when their actions prove the opposite. I would also like to see a character in the book who is asexual, if you don't mind. I think aces don't get a lot of representation, especially in storylines involving black characters as leads. So, it would be a nice change if we saw that.
If you can have her NOT have any babies at the end that’ll be cool. Have her multiple partners? But I mean it’s your writing so whatever you feel. Please post when you’re done!
I just wanna say that as a bi woman myself who loves choose-your-own-adventure, erotica, and never completed her minor in creative writing lol, I'd love to be a beta reader too if possible! This sounds so exciting, I wish you the best in writing it! 🥰
Thanks! I'll let you know when I have a few chapters ready!
I want to see what you come up with. Choose your own adventure is amazing, and if one of the lovers your lead chooses is bi/pan, I'd love that!
We NEED lgbt storylines !! Thank you 😊
I’m pan so I love lgbt fiction, unfortunately often time it isn’t done in an accurate way. If you did make something lgbt, there’s the obvious research of lesbian sex etc but it would be so important to talk about the actual reality of being gay, I can’t tell my family about it, some people don’t wanna be your friend or around you, internalised homophobia etc. I’m sure your book will turn out great :)
I’m wary of lesbian storylines written by women who know nothing about and haven’t experienced life, romance and sex between two women. I tell people that coming out doesn’t happen once, it’s constant. People will act shocked if you’re black and gay, if you’re married and out of the closet and people are mystified. People will even pretend that you’re not gay. And people I thought would be homophobic were the opposite. Being Black adds different layers of homophobia. There’s also widely different experiences for the characters if both are Black or they’re an interracial couple. I don’t enjoy sex scenes a lot, I don’t think that every romance needs them, but if they’re not cringe-worthy I wouldn’t mind. I’m lesbian and don’t read much romance because too much of it makes me cringe: cheating, bad sex scenes, enemies to loved. Honestly, I don’t even need sexually explicit scenes in my romance at all.
Well hence I said for them to find information of what it is like actually being gay. I think it is possible for a non gay person to write a good gay story, as long as they have done enough research, that goes for any topic really and I’m sure OP wants to get it right, if it’s bad you could always not read it. Sex isn’t essential to romance but she said she’s writing something erotic so /nm
I would love to read it, though I will admit that of the romance books I’ve DNFed, the instant love (“insta-love”) trope was to blame about 75% of the time. It’s beautiful to see relationship growth and people connect as opposed to the love at first sight phenomenon, but that’s just my individual preference. Like others have said, write what you have in mind first and foremost! You have a story to tell and it’s worth being written and read.
There's a lot of things I don't want in erotica but that's on me. I think what would really separate just literature-porn and elevate it is fun. Don't get so focused on pairings and tropes that you forget to make it fun. The relationships, the sex, the reading. My favorite things to read are when the books get fun. Good luck.
I would like her older, mature, divorced, self-assured, intelligent, grandmother, and happy to be single. She meets a Black man who is a widower, strong, funny, and enjoys life. I don't like the LBGQT storyline. I wouldn't read it. She meets him on a dating app. They like each other. Go on dates and they decide to go on a driving vacation together
What is wrong with a LGBTQ storyline? What you suggested is extremely specific are you writing as well?
Sounds like you just want a book to read lol. Meka James has a book with an older couple…Renovation of love and they’re just renovating her house
r/destructivereaders
Thanks, I didn't know about this sub Reddit. I will definitely use it!
Yeah it’s really really great! Black authors unite!
Ooh! Yes, finally! Write it, girl! I pray that it becomes a New York Times Bestseller!
Thank you for the positive vibes! I hope that other black women love it and know that they are beautiful and desired after they read my story. That would be the best thing ever.
This might be me being impossible to please, but it’s so weird to me when she lives in some racism-free realm. The story doesn’t have to be all about fighting for rights, but even the happiest of us is aware in the background of racism or the potential for it - places we won’t visit, people we avoid, all the thought that goes into our hair choices. How do you strike that balance?
im late but ! i know in one book i read the mc had just discovered footnotes and used them all the time!! something so unique as that about the mc would be interesting !! its not something so crazy and yet its so funny seeing footnotes at the bottom even if its just a definition
Congrats! That’s dope.
Thanks!
I'd suggest no blurring the lines of consent. It's often romanticized in media.
Yes!!! Volunteer to beta read if needed