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Virginia R. Degner’s books about illegal medical procedures and romance are tantalizing and evocative. Who doesn’t want to be high on love? But how can writers who want to follow in her footsteps integrate illegal medical practices with romance?

Integrating Romance & Illegal Medical Practices

Blending in themes of romance with elements of illegal medical practices–particularly those that involve drugs, abortion, etc.–can be quite difficult to balance for writers.

Yet, it cannot be denied that it’s a space that’s ripe with potential for exploring unorthodox dynamics, intense emotions, and moral dilemmas. There is even the promise of portraying the darker aspects of romance and human relationships in general.

Of course, being such a controversial and provocative intersection, there exist demands for careful handling so that sensationalism, glamorization, and misrepresentation can safely be avoided.

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THE ALLURE & THE PERIL

There is an inherent drama with illicit medical practices; the addition of romance to this mix only serves to heighten its appeal. Where forbidden and criminal conduct is involved, the stakes for the protagonists are always pushed another level higher.

Yet, bad writing inevitability spoils the more exploratory and cathartic aspects of this blending. As such, it is critical that writers learn how to navigate these themes and avoid possible pitfalls.

Acknowledging the potential harm of illegal medical practices and making sure that the narrative isn’t in any way an implicit endorsement of the practice is essential.

DEVELOPING CHARACTER

Where criminality is involved in storytelling, there is a tendency for writers to be quite stereotypical and reductive in their respective portrayals. This can be quite harmful since it helps to enforce these behaviors and simply adds to the growing cloud of misinformation and hatred that people have towards the victims of illegal medical practices.

Characters should not solely be defined by their use of and or involvement in prohibited activities.

People are complex. Write characters whose motivations, desires, fears, and vulnerabilities are present. Don’t let them be passive characters who act only in accordance with the plot.

Beyond stereotypes. Don’t be cliché in your portrayals and characterizations. While there are some kernels of truth to stereotypes, they do not fully paint the realities of things in their proper contexts.

Ethical considerations. No matter how much you say your story isn’t real, people will still take some things at face value, believing that what has been portrayed inside a book–while not being a full encapsulation of things–might be plausible in the real world. As such, there should be a discussion about the morality of what is taking place.

BEING HIGH ON LOVE

Concerning the romantic aspects of blending love and criminality, great pains should be made not to correlate illegal practices with positive romantic experiences. While, there might be a case or two of that happening in the real world, encoding it into fiction is a bad idea since it telegraphs an endorsement or a consideration of bad habits.

Supporting and Enabling Partners. Affection is a key part of romantic relationships, but writers should be nuanced in their portrayals of whether or not a relationship is supportive or enabling. In supportive relationships, at least one partner is committed to helping their significant other in overcoming whatever dangerous situation they have found themselves in, while in enabling relationships, at least one partner is subtly influencing their significant other in plunging deeper into more destructive cycles and habits.

Power Dynamics. Illegal activities, by their nature, are predicated on imbalanced relationships. One supplies, and the other demands. What happens then when you mix a relationship with illegal activities? This has a quiet effect on the nature and essence of the relationship. One partner might be more involved, more dependent, etc., with the activity, which may lead to unhealthy and, often, abusive situations. The story should be willing to address these with careful nuance.

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These are just some of the elements and aspects that Victoria R. Degner considered when she wrote her books about illegal procedures and romance. If you want to learn more about how to integrate romance with illegal medical practices, the surest way to succeed is to read other narratives that have similar themes and ideas!

So why not learn more about author Victoria R. Degner and her books on this website?