Why are Category Romances so Hard To Write?

Good question! And when I Googled it, I discovered I wasn't the first to ponder the dilemma. I hope it's okay to copy and paste from this website. I could put the url, but I really wanted this little discussion from the Barnes&Noble Romance Book Writing Club on here "live and in person." I don't know who started the discussion, but here it is. And they refer (in this part or another) about an article Jenny Crusie wrote on the topic, for which I *will* put the url: http://www.jennycrusie.com/essays/sobill.php

So anyway, I just round this author Jenny Haddon's reply about what makes category so difficult to write spot-on and wanted to share it with you.

So here is the discussion:

Unknown questioner writes: Thanks, Sophie. I found the article (of Jenny Crusie's.) It made me understand why a talented author wouldn't want to write category romance.

Author Jenny Haddon replies:
Hey, I DON'T think talented authors have an aversion to category romance. Some people who want Reviews in the New York Times or Credibility with the Sisterhood can get a bit sniffy about it but I think people who write for a living recognize quality writing. And you have one of the best here, in Leigh Michaels. I've loved her books for years and still think that 'With No Reservations' is an absolute model of the genre - pushes at the 'rules' but delivers the absolutely perfect and utterly believable happy ending.Also, don't forget that writing category romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon is one of the few ways that you can get to communicate round the world. I'm in 25 languages and more than "100 international outlets" - what bout you, Leigh?I DO think that some writers find category romance very difficult. I said I would think about why and the best I can come up with is this; Category Romance is what I call a single experience read. That means it has to be very tightly woven. The author has to give the reader all the usual elements of a novel - a sense that the characters lived before the book started and will go on when it finishes; a sense of their world; a sense that they have normal lives and work and relationships. BUT you have almost no room to spend any time on it. A category romance novel is 55,000 words tops. That means that, in order to get in all the usual layers, you have to make sure that every incident on comment carries the story forward AND tells you something about the character AND helps paint a picture of the life the characters normally live. And you've got to get all the passion and hope and fear and risks and humour of a serious love affair as well. That is very economical writing indeed. It's like playing three dimensional chess, if you like. You can only do it well, if that's how you think. Some lovely writers DON'T think like that and never feel comfortable trying to.Just a theory - what do you think, Leigh?