Comments on: Writing About Love https://booksbywomen.org/writing-about-love-by-isabel-costello/ Tue, 12 Feb 2019 22:51:05 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 By: Voula Tsoflias https://booksbywomen.org/writing-about-love-by-isabel-costello/#comment-49732 Tue, 12 Feb 2019 22:51:05 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=16192#comment-49732 I don’t know why I didn’t get to read this at the time you wrote it Isabel. I’m so pleased that you have drawn attention to it again. It’s exceptionally well written and profoundly provocative. I bow….
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]]> By: Top Picks Thursday! For Readers and Writers 07-14-2016 | The Author Chronicles https://booksbywomen.org/writing-about-love-by-isabel-costello/#comment-47770 Thu, 14 Jul 2016 17:02:58 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=16192#comment-47770 […] Baig reminds us that not all writing practice is created equal, Isabel Costello explores writing about love, and James Scott Bell lists 5 pieces of writing advice you should […]

]]> By: Mike Clarke https://booksbywomen.org/writing-about-love-by-isabel-costello/#comment-47763 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 17:54:16 +0000 http://booksbywomen.org/?p=16192#comment-47763 Very thought-provoking blog post. Yes, it’s curious how certain male writers are feted for their contributions to exposing the human condition in their musings on relationships when thousands of other novels are relegated to the chick-lit/romance section largely by the gender of the author. Having said that, the marketing of many women’s books contributes to the perception of triviality. I’m pleased that Paris Mon Amour’s cover design is elegant and serious and so hopefully will convey the message that the novel deals with the serious points mentioned above.

I’m a little on the opposite side of this spurious gender segregation as I’m one of the few members of the Romantic Novelists’ Association New Writers’ Scheme. I decided to apply after I realised my novel-in-progress was principally concerned with the pivotal and profound role of human relationships. I’m not sure it would be marketed as a romantic novel but this underlines your point about how love, passion and sex are cornerstones of many, many novels outside a specific marketing label.

Love (and admitting you love someone) makes a person vulnerable and it’s admitting this vulnerability that makes many people scared.

I found an interesting article on the Economist blog today that made a very similar point about women writing personal lyrics in pop music and how many are castigated for this: http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2016/07/celebrity-culture

As Paul McCartney sang when he was criticised for writing too many ‘Silly Love Songs’ — ‘what’s wrong with that, I’d like to know.’

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