Genre: Writing Romance
- H. D. Ramirez
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Introduction
Genre will always matter to your story; it determines the pacing and tone. After all, fantastical descriptions won’t work if they are in a memoir, and vice versa. And genre also helps to market your story to specific audiences.
Fantasy has been covered in a previous blog. Now, we’ll make you swoon and sweat with romance, a genre usually underappreciated, especially if the story is a rom-com. As we hope to find love like in the stories we read or watch, romance will always be popular.
Even when romance is usually not as valued as it should be, we connect with its characters and we learn how to improve our personal relationships, and if we had lost hope of love, we renew our beliefs in it thanks to the desire of the happily ever after. That’s why romance matters. But the real question is: How does one write romance?
“I know it’s scary, being vulnerable, but you can allow yourself to care.” — The Love Hypothesis, Ali Hazelwood
Prerequisites
Every genre has subgenres, even romance. When you write romance, consider that the subgenre also determines your audience. Not everyone loves dark romance, not everyone loves romantasy, not everyone loves everything in romance.
Subgenres also use some prevalent tropes; indulge in them to improve your story. For example, The Love Hypothesis utilizes the fake dating trope to improve the romantic tension between Olive and Adam; The Greatest Showman employs star-crossed lovers to add tension to Philip and Anne; Materialists engages the love triangle to create the conflict for Lucy.
Romance tends to have two protagonists, three if it’s a love triangle, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t have character development. Like in any other genre, the characters need their own arcs, internal and external, and the characters need to change. Without change, they can’t accept their love, their Happily Ever After.
“So you think that two enemies—in the real world—can magically get over their differences and fall madly in love?” — Better Than The Movies, Lynn Painter
Warm-up
When you write romance, always have in mind that the characters move the plot forward. Their personal goals and flaws create the tension between them, and they have inner obstacles to overcome. For this warm-up, build your character profiles.
While building these profiles, consider that hopes, fears, flaws, and virtues can work together to create an internal conflict. For example, in Materialists, matchmaker Lucy believes financial background is everything for a strong relationship, but—spoiler alert—she sets a client up with a guy who lied about his financial background, and that opens her mind to accept emotional stability.
You can also research different romance tropes and choose ones you would like to use for your story; have a list and study how they’re used. Study what you like and don’t like about the tropes, and think how you can use them.
“We accept the love we think we deserve.” — The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
Building the Romance
Romance isn’t usually love at first sight. It typically needs to build up, to challenge the characters again and again until they change. And like any other genre, romance also has story beats, such as:
Act 1: Set Up
Meet Cute:
This is the inciting incident. It is the first time the characters meet, and this interaction sets up how both characters will interact. This results in four possibilities:
Pull/Pull: Instant attraction for both characters; external conflict.
Push/Push: Both characters verbally spar; increases conflict and drama
Push/Pull: One is attracted, the other isn’t; presents a challenge to each character.
Neutral/Nervous: One stumbles over their lines or literally stumbles; the other remains neutral.
However, the meet cute always depends on your characters and their personalities.
Adhesion:
Also known as the “Point of No Return,” this is when neither character can walk away from a situation or from each other, accepting that they need to be together even when they’re scared of love, of the idea the other person presents.
Act 2
The second act in romance divides itself into two: Falling in Love, and Retreating From Love.
Falling in Love:
The characters stop denying their feelings for each other and start accepting the possibility of a future together. This is when your characters are the happiest throughout the story, when joy shines through their eyes and it’s clear that they have feelings for each other. They fall in love and get together.
Retreating from Love:
This is when the characters start to doubt their love. This doubt grows stronger throughout different scenes, and with all their beliefs, their fear of love comes true. The characters satisfy a self-fulfilling prophecy: They break up as they don’t feel safe enough in the relationship.
Act 3: Fighting for Love
Dark Night of the Soul:
The characters wish the connection didn’t happen, but the happy memories with each other haunt them. This is their lowest point in the story, and they realize that their beliefs are keeping them from love.
Grand Gesture:
This is the climax in romance. The characters do something big to declare their feelings to each other, accepting love over their beliefs. After all, in romance, love conquers all. Everything ends in a Happily Ever After.
“The thing I realize is, that it’s not what you take, it’s what you leave.” — All the Bright Places, Jennifer Niven
Conclusion
Some people might not value romance, but don’t let that affect you. Romance is a genre that has been popular in past centuries and will always be popular. What matters is your take on it, what makes you different from other romance authors.
And if you think you need something more than romance, consider blending it with other genres. After all, romantasy is the blend of romance and fantasy, with a focus on the main relationship. Romanticize any genre to your advantage, and enjoy love.
Resources
The Romance Writer’s BIBLE — Writing Theory explains the beats of romance stories found in Romancing the Beat
Writing a Meet Cute — From Eternal Sunshine to La La Land, Romeo to Scott Pilgrim — StudioBinder discusses the types of Meet Cute and gives examples of every type, including benefits and how to use them for your story.
How to write slow-burn romance…that will make your readers fall in love 😍 — Abbie Emmons advises how to improve the romance in your stories.
How to Write a Romance Novel — Reedsy gives tips on how to write your romance novel such as developing the characters, the setting, and the tropes.
H. D. Ramirez recently earned his BFA in Creative Writing at Full Sail University. Now, he is an intern at A.E. Williams Editorial, hoping to get the experience he needs to become an editorial assistant.
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