48 pages • 1 hour read
Nora Goes Off Script
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Literary Context: Romance as a Literary Genre
Romance is fiction genre that portrays a love story. According to Romance Writers of America, a romance novel should have two main components: “a central love story” and “an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending” ("About the Romance Genre." RWA.org). The main action of the plot should revolve around the central relationship.
Romance novels have a variety of characteristics and exist in various styles and sub-genres. Generally, romance novels are known for being one of the most formulaic literary genres. The storylines are often built on familiar tropes or reoccurring plot formulas, such as characters who start as friends and become lovers, or begin as enemies, or must overcome the challenges of forbidden love. Although some works of contemporary romance deal with darker themes, the overall result is generally a form of happy escapism for the reader, culminating in the optimistic ending.
Nora Goes Off Script is a contemporary romantic comedy that adheres to but also subverts the conventions of romance novels, walking the line between chick-lit and romance. Although the couple does get their happily ever after, the significant amount of time they spend broken-up in the middle of the novel threatens to derail the book’s romance. Furthermore, Nora’s career arc and the story of her resilience despite being unlucky in love are almost as important as her relationship with Leo.
The metafictional aspect of featuring a romance writer as the main character allows Nora Goes Off Script to interact directly with the conventions of romance writing. With Nora as the protagonist, Annabel Monaghan comments explicitly on the formulation of romance novels by taking the reader inside Nora’s process as she recycles the same plot over and over for uses for her “dumb and happy” (20) movies. Nora knows all the tricks of the trade, making her skeptical of romance in her real life, especially when a fairy-tale handsome movie star turns up on her doorstep.
Cultural Context: Hollywood and Screenwriting
Although screenwriting is one of the most important parts of the filmmaking process, screenwriters generally receive very little attention. Even those that have successful screenwriting careers have very little creative control over their work; plot points are often dictated by the producer or director or changed without consulting the writer. Even in Hollywood, individual screenwriters generally aren’t well-known or sought after unless they share a producing or directing credit.
This context is important for understanding Nora’s sudden success as a Hollywood screenwriter. Her arc from a writer for The Romance Channel to an Oscar-winning Hollywood screenwriter is a classic rags-to-riches story that adds to the novel’s fantasy and mirrors Nora’s recovery from her divorce. She is celebrated and congratulated for her film The Tea House, which tells the story of her failed marriage. Others now take her work seriously, but she is also learning to take herself seriously for the first time. The creative license she maintains over her work, with actors asking for her input and her director telling her she will be “the next big thing in Hollywood” (186), validates Nora’s experience and gives her the confidence to move on with her life. Furthermore, in allowing Nora to receive recognition for her writing, Monaghan legitimizes the craft of screenwriting and acknowledges the skill and creativity it requires.
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By Annabel Monaghan
