Who's the Hottest of Them All?

That question seems to aptly summarize romance, no?

Now, I'm not too fond of genre romance; it's too formulaic (and steamy, for my tastes). That's not to call the formula bad, or to say it shouldn't be formulaic.

See, that is what's a bit strange about romance compared to other genres: it's supposed to be formulaic. The formula is what makes a novel this genre.

Now, not everyone agrees that romance is formulaic. Nonetheless, there are certain elements it will have to be considered genre romance, just like fantasy will have magic and science fiction will have technology. Since these things are related to the plot, that makes romance formulaic.

1. The hero and heroine meet or remeet, usually in the first few pages.
2. For some reason, their attraction can't develop, be it due to another love interest, a situation, physical situation, an emotional state, a shrewish mother, or whatever.
3. Love triangles seem remarkably popular, particularly when there's some Big Misunderstanding between the guy the girl thinks she wants, so she uses guy #2 to make guy #1 jealous… regardless which of the guys she's actually supposed to be with. (Or maybe that's just how romance pans out in YA fantasy. Things get a little odd when you start mixing genres.)
4. Trials occur in the lead characters' lives that produce changes or sacrifices or something that makes it possible for them to be together, or that makes them realize how possible it was for them to be together all along.
5. After resolving the Big Event that's the major ending crisis, the lead pair confess their love and start their lovingly-ever-after life.

But before you dismiss romance as a formulaic "plug-and-chug" genre, think about it a bit. All fiction has aspects that must be contained to be that specific genre. Romance's formula means your plot and characters have to fit a very inflexible ice tray if you want to write it.

That means that no, you can not have him end up with the narrator's best friend and still have it considered genre romance, even if he and the narrator had "a thing" going and they mutually realized they were incompatible.

Your lead pairing have to be mutually compatible, you have to be able to write to twist readers' emotions into the lovey-dovey without getting cheesy, and you have to come up with a plot—not a situation, but an actual conflictive plot—that people would actually want to read.

Still think romance would be easy to write?

Clichés do, of course, pop up and permeate the genre, but that happens in every genre. Certain elements are easier to write or are what a writer has seen, so that's what he automatically writes unless the stops to think about it. (Don't let pennames fool you—a lot of guys write romance under female names.)

I have respect for those who can write a good novel that's genre romance. I may never read them because I don't like steamy scenes or foul language—things that get a bit problematic when you also happen to like vampires and werewolves—but I respect authors who can work within such strict rules.

I can't keep my works in a single strict genre even if I try. That's why I write spec fic—lots of room to play, there.