You are a romance writer wishing to plan and write a romance series. You have a great idea with a compelling main character and some major plot events figured out, but you don’t know how to plan and outline your romance series.

This blog article identifies the three types of fiction series, and it analyses the story structure in a romance (dynamic) series to effectively help you plan the romance story structure of your series.
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Types of fiction series
Romance story structure in a dynamic series
Possible romance beat sheet for a trilogy series

Types of fiction series
Static Series
The first type of fiction series is called a static series or a standalone series. The books of a static series often share a common feature, such as taking place in the same location (e.g small town) or the same group of people ( e.g family members, coworkers).

Each book focuses on the development of the romantic relationship between the main characters, and each story ends with a happy ending. While characters from previous books in the series may appear in minor roles, the series can be read in any order without the reader missing important information about the characters and plot.

This type of series is very popular in contemporary romance stories (workplace romance, sports romance, small town).

Anthology series
The second type of fiction series is called an anthology series. An anthology series typically consists of a collection of short stories or novellas by multiple writers, which are connected by a common theme ( e.g holiday romance) or setting (e.g same school, same town), but they don’t share the same storyline.

Each story focuses on the development of the romantic relationship of new characters and has a happy ending. The stories can be read in any order.

Dynamic series
The third type of series is called a dynamic series.  A dynamic series follows the same group of main characters through an overarching storyline that connects all books of the series. 

The focus of the series is the development of the romantic relationship of the main characters while they work together to achieve a major goal throughout the series.

The books of this series need to be read in sequential order. This type of series is very popular in YA (Young Adult) romance, romantasy and fantasy romance books.

Please note that the books that belong in the static or anthology series can be planned and written in a similar manner as standalone books. Please visit my resources library if you are looking for useful blog articles that will help you plan, write and edit a standalone romance book.

This blog article will focus on explaining how to plan and write a dynamic romance series (connecting books in a series).
 
Romance story structure in a dynamic series
You have decided to write a storyline that spans multiple books and want to write a well-structured series with a solid beginning, middle, and end.

The best way to do that is to plan the structure of your romance series and track your story’s romance beats. Start by planning the 5 major romance beats of your romance series’ structure, the emotional arc of your main characters and any significant changes in your world.

These are the 5 major romance beats of a romance series:
1) Meet Cute (10%)
This is the first major romance beat. It is the inciting incident that happens to the main character and introduces them to a new world. It is often called the “meet cute” because the main characters meet for the first time, or they appear on the page for the first time together.

2) No Way 2 (20%)
The second major romance beat occurs at the beginning of Act 2, when the main character decides to leave the status quo and enter a new world.  

In this beat, the main characters repeat their belief (internally or externally) that they will not fall in love with each other. They are reluctant to spend time together and to fall in love because of their internal conflict, but they are thrown into situations where they are stuck together, and they gradually become emotionally and physically closer.

Midpoint of Love (50%)
The third major romance beat occurs in the middle, and it changes the direction of the story.

In this beat, the main characters are no longer denying their feelings for each other. They are willing to internally change and (falsely) believe that they will be able to overcome the internal challenges (internal conflict) and external obstacles (external conflict) that are keeping them apart and have their happily ever after.

Retreat (75%)
The fourth major romance beat occurs at the lowest point of the romance story.

In this romance beat, the main characters choose fear instead of love, and they break up or separate because they believe they will emotionally hurt themselves or the other person. Their doubts and fears make them retreat from what they really want, and they believe that their internal conflict is becoming true.

Catharsis (80%)
The fifth major romance beat occurs at the beginning of Act 3, where the main character chooses love and happiness this time.

​The main character learns the theme of the story and successfully overcomes their internal conflict. They come up with a plan, often with the help of friends and family,  and they are willing to fix things the right way and get back together with their loved one.

Possible romance beat sheet for a trilogy series
Most romance writers who choose to write a dynamic series write a trilogy (three books in a series).

This is a romance beat sheet for a trilogy series:
Book 1 = Series Act 1, Romance beats: Meet Cute
Book 2 = Series Act 2, Romance beats: No Way 2, Midpoint of Love, Retreat
Book 3 = Series Act 3, Romance beats: Catharsis

Feel free to experiment with the five major romance beats and adjust them to fit your series. Use the series structure outlined above as a guideline to help you plan and track the major events of your romance series. Don’t follow rigid guidelines or exact percentages. Do what you see best to create a compelling story. 

Figure out the major romance beats your romance series first, and then plan and outline the 15 romance beats for each book in the series to create a complete and compelling story with a beginning, middle and end.

If you want to learn more information about outlining the romance beats of your story, read How to write a novel using Romancing the Beat. 

Conclusion
This blog article analyses the three types of fiction series: static series, anthology series, and dynamic series and explains the major romance beats for a romance series.

Read How to Plan and Write a Romance Series, Part 2 (coming soon) to learn more information about planning the main characters, the setting and worldbuilding and the romance genre conventions of a romance series and making a writing plan that will successfully help you write your books.

Additional resources
How to write a novel using the 3-act structure
How to write a novel using Romancing the Beat
How to outline the 5 major plot points of your romance story
How to edit the most common big-picture issues in a romance series

Do you find the process of planning a whole novel overwhelming? Do you find it difficult to establish an outlining routine, or are you not sure how to outline the structure of your romance manuscript? 

Instead of outlining all the plot points of your romance story at once, which can be tiring and overwhelming, I recommend outlining first the 5 major plot points of a romance manuscript’s structure: the Catalyst, Break Into 2, Midpoint, All is Lost and Break Into 3.

Catalyst
Break Into 2
Midpoint
All is Lost
Break Into 3
How should I outline my romance story if I have multiple main characters?

Catalyst (10%)
The first major plot point of a romance story is the inciting incident that happens to the main character and introduces them to a new world. In romance stories, it is often called the “meet cute” because the main characters meet for the first time, or they appear on the page for the first time together.

The pov character is physically attracted to the other person and vividly describes their physical appearance. The pov character internally thinks the reasons (internal conflict) they cannot fall in love, and they emotionally reject them.

Break Into 2 (20%)
The second major plot point occurs at the beginning of Act 2, when the main character decides to leave the status quo and enter into a new world. The main character leaves their comfort zone and enters an unknown world or a new way of thinking.

At the beginning of Act 2, the main characters are reluctant to spend time together and to fall in love because of their internal conflict, but they are thrown into situations where they are stuck together, and they come emotionally and physically closer.

Midpoint (50%)
The third major plot point takes place in the middle of the story, and it is the plot point where the main character realises their romantic feelings. The main character is willing to change and falsely believes they will be able to overcome the internal conflict that is keeping them back from emotionally opening themselves and having their happily ever after.

This is the plot point where you raise the stakes and put more obstacles and challenges to the main character to emotionally change.

All is Lost (75%)
The fourth major plot is the lowest point of the romance story. It is the scene where the main character chooses fear instead of love, and they break up because they believe they will emotionally hurt each other because of their internal conflict.

*There are many romance novels that don’t include an actual breakup scene since some romance readers don’t like it. It’s up to you whether you want to include one in your story. You can choose instead to temporarily separate the main characters so that they can see how miserable their life is without each other.     

Break Into 3 (80%)
The fifth major plot point occurs at the beginning of Act 3, where the main character chooses love this time and wants to be happy.

They come up with a plan on the steps they need to take (with the help of family and friends) to reconcile with the other character and to fix the problems they have created the right way. 

How should I outline my romance story if I have multiple main characters?
The first step to outlining your romance story is to decide the number of main characters. In romance novels, the main characters (the main couple) are the pov characters of the story.

Some romance writers choose to have only one main character, while others choose to have two main characters. If the second character has equal page time and character development with the main character, then you probably have two main characters in your story.

If your romance story has one main character, you need to create one outline sheet, starting by writing down the five major plot points of your story.

If your romance story has 2 main characters that experience the majority of the story together, then create one outline sheet for both of them.

If your romance story has 2 main characters that don’t experience the majority of the story together, but still have some shared chapters, create a separate outline sheet for each main character.

Conclusion
The five major plot points will help you outline the basic structure of your romance manuscript in an easy and simple way. Brainstorm and write down the five major plot points first before outlining the rest of them in your outline sheet.

​Take as much time as you need to plan your romance story and write down as many details as you want. Your outline sheet can include brief bullet points or long paragraphs. Have fun and enjoy writing!

Additional resources
How to write a novel using the 3-act structure
How to write a novel using Romancing the Beat
What is a romance story and how to write one
How to write a romance novel in 5 steps

One of the most common questions that romance writers ask is how long their romance novel should be. Romance writers often wonder if their novel is long enough to match the expectations of the romance genre, and they are often uncertain why word count matters for their romance novels.

Word count estimate for the romance genre
Why word count matters
What should I do if my novel is too long?
What should I do if my novel is too short?
I need help to edit my book

Word count estimates for the romance genre
Romance is a very broad category and can be divided into many subgenres.  A novel is considered to be in the romance genre when the development of the romantic relationship between the main characters is at the centre of the story, and the main characters live happily together at the end. If your story doesn’t have a happy ending, then it is not a romance. 

Some of the most popular romance subgenres are contemporary romance, fantasy romance, romantasy, paranormal romance, historical romance, romantic suspense and YA (Young Adult) romance.

Generally, the word count for romance novels is between 70,000 and 100,000 words. Romance novels under 70,000 words might be considered too short, and romance novels above 100,000 words might be considered too long. 

There are exceptions to these guidelines with fantasy romance, romantasy, paranormal romance and historical romance novels, which have slightly longer word count because of worldbuilding and setting requirements.

For example, fantasy romance and romantasy novels are typically between 90,000 and 120,000 words. Fantasy romance novels with emphasis on the romance elements are typically between 90,000 and 100,000 words, whereas fantasy romance novels with emphasis on the fantasy elements are typically between 100,000 and 120,000 words. 

Paranormal romance and historical romance novels are typically between 80,000 and 100,000 words to allow writers more room to setup and expand the worldbuilding of the story. 

Why word count matters
Production costs
Longer books are typically more expensive because they cost more to print, ship and store, and publishers generally don’t want to take risks with longer novels, especially by new writers.

On the contrary, shorter novels are cheaper to produce and easier to sell because of the production cost and because readers prefer to read shorter books. Readers prefer to commit to shorter books (300 pages long) because they feel confident they have the time to finish reading them.

Publisher expectations
Publishers have expectations for how long a romance novel should be. Writing a novel that is “too short” or “too long”  makes it impossible to market and sell, no matter how great the writing might be.

Established writers might be “forgiven” and allowed more flexibility with the word count of their story, but it’s best for new writers to follow the industry standard of their genre and write a novel within the publisher’s expectations.

Reader expectations
Avid romance readers have their own expectations about how long a romance novel should be. Typically, romance readers expect that a romance novel should be around 70,000-100,000 words (depending on the subgenre), so writers need to have a really good reason for writing a shorter or longer romance novel and defying these expectations.

It is best for writers to write a book within the “expected” word count so that it’s easier for them to market and sell it to romance readers.

What should I do if my novel is too long?
If your novel is too long, I recommend editing it and cutting down unnecessary words:

• Revise or delete scenes that drag down the pacing of the story and don’t move the plot of your story forward
• Delete subplots that are not related to the main plot of the story
• Revise or delete minor characters that are not important to the story

While I understand that you might have spent weeks or months writing and editing your romance novel, deleting unnecessary parts of your story will strengthen your plot and your characters, and you will make a more compelling story for the readers.

What should I do if my novel is too short?
If your novel is too short, consider adding more words to the story. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Are my main characters’ goals and motivations clear?
• Is my plot structure clear, or can it be tightened?
• What is the central conflict of the story, and how can I strengthen it?
• Can I add more subplots to make the story more interesting?
• Can I add more obstacles or challenges to the main characters to tighten the tension and make the plot more compelling?

I need help to edit my book
If you are looking for a reliable and supportive developmental editor to help you edit the big-picture elements of your romance novel to your desired word count, check out my developmental editing services and fill in this form to discuss the needs of your manuscript. 

Conclusion
Word count is an important factor to take into consideration when writing your romance novel. Before starting to write and edit your novel, it is best to check the industry standard word count for your subgenre.

​Have in mind that different agents and publishing companies have different word count requirements, so make sure to check them before submitting your manuscript to them. Good luck!

Disclaimer: The content mentioned above is only meant to serve as a guideline. Do what feels right for your story and romance subgenre, since word count guidelines and expectations are constantly changing. 

Additional resources
How to self-edit the big-picture elements of your story
How to become more productive and write your story faster
What is writer’s block, and how to overcome it

You want to write a romance story. You might have too many ideas in your mind and don’t know what to choose from, or you might have too few ideas and you can’t combine them into a solid story idea. This blog article includes 6 steps that will help you choose a compelling story idea for your next romance story.
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Choose your genre and tropes
Choose your main characters
Choose a setting
Combine them all together
Create a rough outline
Create a detailed outline

Choose your genre and tropes
The first step to choosing a good story idea is to brainstorm the genre and tropes of your romance story.
Ask yourself the following questions:

• What is your favourite romance genre to read?
• What are the subgenres and tropes that you have enjoyed reading or watching lately?

Write down the answers to these questions in a notebook or writing software.
To help you brainstorm your story idea, you can see below some of the most popular romance genres and tropes.
Popular romance genres include:

• contemporary romance
• YA romance
• romantic comedy
• historical romance
• paranormal romance 
• fantasy romance 
• romantasy
• romantic suspense
• science fiction romance

Popular romance tropes include:

• billionaire trope
• enemies to lovers
• friends to lovers
• reformed playboy
• fake relationship/marriage
• marriage of convenience
• second-chance romance
• sports romance
• workplace romance
• forced proximity
• love triangle
• forbidden love
• best friend’s brother/ best friend’s sister
• grumpy/sunshine
• secret/mistaken identity
• alpha hero
• soulmates

Put a timer for 30 minutes and think about your favourite books, tv shows and movies and write down the genres and tropes that you like in them. Consider the ones mentioned above, but feel free to add your own. You will soon notice that common patterns emerge.

Narrow down the list of genres and tropes. Choose 1-2 genres and  4-5  main tropes that can be combined and write them down on a new page. 

Choose your main characters
The second step to choosing a good story idea is to brainstorm your main character(s).
 The main characters of the story need to have: 

•  a tangible goal big enough to sustain the whole story
• a motivation: a reason why the main characters want to achieve their goal, why this goal is important for them and what the consequences are for them if they fail to achieve this goal
• internal conflict/flaw: A  flaw is a misbelief that the main character falsely believes about themselves or the world around them, and prevents them from achieving their goal
• external conflict: An antagonist or villain that prevents the main character from achieving their goal and has led the main character to believe that their flaw about themselves and the world around them is true and cannot be changed

Keep in mind that the main characters need to have equal and opposite goals to create the central conflict of the story and to prevent them from easily achieving their respective goals.

Figuring out the goal, motivation and flaw of the main characters before starting to write the story will tremendously help you during the drafting process.

You can also figure out other aspects of your main characters before starting to write your story, such as their strengths and weaknesses, personality, appearance, and hobbies and interests.

If you have trouble creating consistent and compelling characters, you can create a character profile to help you keep all the information you need about them. Learn why character profiles are important and what to include in them in this blog article.

Choose a setting
The third step to choosing a good story idea is to brainstorm the setting of your romance story.  
Consider the following questions while brainstorming the setting of your story:

• What is the macro setting of your setting (planet, country, city)?
• What is the micro setting of your story (workplace, home)?
• When is the story taking place (time period, season)?

Brainstorm these questions and write down possible locations based on the genre and main characters of your story. If you want to learn more about the worldbuilding and the setting of your story, read this blog article.

Combine them all together
Now, it’s time to combine all the elements of your story. Put a timer of 30 minutes and see how the ideas you have written down about your genre and tropes, main characters and setting can be combined into a single compelling story idea.  

During the 30 minutes, write down on a new page each element about your story idea: genre and tropes, main characters, and setting. Look at your ideas from the previous pages and write down your final story idea for each element.

The process might take some time, but it is important to see the core of your story and determine potential directions it could take before starting the drafting process.

After 30 minutes, it’s time to look into your final story idea and see if you are fine with it or if you would like to make some changes. If you would like to brainstorm further, set a timer for another 30 minutes and make the necessary changes. 

When you are done brainstorming your story idea, see how you feel about it. Make sure you choose a story idea that:

• makes you feel excited, inspired and creative
• you are most familiar and comfortable to write 
• has the most potential to develop into an interesting story for the readers

Create a rough outline
After finalising your story idea (genre, tropes, main characters, setting), it’s time to create a rough outline. A rough outline consists of a small paragraph (5-6 sentences) about the premise of the story, the main characters and their goals and the central conflict of the story. By writing this rough outline, you confirm the core of your story and possible directions it could take.

While writing the rough outline, you might come up with possible chapter ideas that you want to include in your story. Write them down on a new page in your notebook or writing software.

Create a detailed outline
The last step to choosing your story idea is to create a detailed outline. Take the rough outline you have created in the previous step and expand it into a detailed outline to include the beginning, middle and end of your romance story. You can write the outline in bullet points or in paragraphs.

If you need help to create a detailed outline for your romance story, you can read this blog article about how to plot and structure a romance story using Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes.

You can outline as much as you want. You can create a detailed outline with a chapter-by-chapter summary and extensive character profiles, or just write a one-page summary of the story events.

You don’t need to outline your entire story in advance if that’s your writing process or that’s how your brain works. For now, you can outline the major plot points of your story and figure out the rest of the chapters while you write your story.

If you are a beginner writer and you don’t have a solid writing process yet, you might find useful reading this blog article about writer types to figure out which type of writer you are.

Conclusion
Congratulations. You have chosen your story idea and you are ready to write your romance story.  All you need to do now is follow through with your plan and actually finish your story.

You might feel doubts or be uncertain about your story idea as you write your story. Remember why you chose this story idea in the first place, why you feel excited about it and why this story idea matters to you so much. I believe in you. Good luck!

Additional resources
What is a romance story, and how to write one
How to create a consistent writing routine
Why do you need character profiles, and why create one
How to write the setting and worldbuilding of your story
3 types of writer goals you can set in 2025
How to write a novel using Romancing the Beat
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes

A fiction story is considered to be a romance when it includes these two characteristics:

• the development of the romantic relationship between the main characters is at the centre of the story
• the story has a happy ending where the main characters stay together.

Main characters
Central conflict
Theme
Point of view
Romance subgenres
Romance tropes
Questions to consider when writing a romance story

Main characters
The main characters in romance stories are the people who experience a romantic journey throughout the story, and the development of their romantic relationship is at the centre of the story.  

The main characters need to have tangible and concrete goals that are big enough to sustain the whole story, and the goal is independent of their romantic relationship.

The main characters need to have equal and opposite goals to create the central conflict of the story and to prevent each other from easily achieving their goals. 

The main characters need to have a clear reason why they want to achieve the particular goal. Think why the specific goal is important for the particular character and what the consequences are if they don’t achieve their goal.

Your main characters are not perfect. They have flaws. Think about the main flaw (misbelief)  your character falsely believes about themselves, other people and the world around them and prevents them from achieving their goal.

Both main characters have internal and external flaws that cover all aspects of their lives, such as their family, work, and friends. The external flaw is the literal bad guys that prevent the main characters from achieving their goals e.g family, friends, coworkers. The internal flaw is the internal beliefs that the main characters need to fight, such as their inability to easily trust other people after their ex cheated on them with their best friend.

Central conflict
The equal and opposite goals of the main characters create the central conflict of the story and prevent them from easily achieving their goals.

The main conflict of the story exists between the main characters and comes from their directly opposed goals. Outside forces, such as overprotective parents or abusive, manipulative exes, can make the lives of the main characters more difficult, but they cannot create conflict that is enough to sustain the whole story.

An example of the central conflict is when the main characters are working at the same company and want to be promoted to the same position, but there is only one spot available, and they have to compete for a specific amount of time to prove to the company who is more competent for the position. The central conflict needs to be believable and needs to be resolved in a successful way that satisfies the reader.
 
Theme
In the most general sense, the theme of all romance stories is that “love conquers all.” Romance readers expect that the main characters will overcome all their flaws and obstacles thrown at them throughout the story because of their love for each other and they will stay together at the end of the story.

If you market your book as a romance story and the main characters don’t stay together at the end of the story, the readers will be greatly disappointed. It’s ok if you don’t want your main characters to have a happy ending at the end of the story.

It’s your story and you can write it however you want, but you need to be careful how you market your book so that the right readers find and enjoy your fiction story.

What is the “all” that love conquers in your story? That is the particular theme that your main characters need to learn by the end of the story, and the flaw that is keeping them from falling in love and living happily ever after. 

For example, the main characters might not easily trust other people because of their manipulative, lying, cheating ex. The main characters are hole-hearted and flawed at the beginning of the story, unable to romantically trust other people and let themselves fall in love. By the end of the story, they emotionally change and realise that the main character is not like their cheating, manipulative ex. Their past flaws and wounds are healed, and they learn to trust and love whole-heartily again.

Point of view
Romance readers particularly enjoy reading romance stories narrated from both the main characters’ point of view. Writers can narrate different scenes or chapters from different POVs to demonstrate the main characters’ thoughts, feelings and emotional arc throughout the story.

In most cases, romance stories, have “one true hero”, one main character who has the most pov chapters and the most compelling character transformation to make.

Most romance stories are written in the first person in the present tense, but there are also romance stories written in the third person in the past tense. Choose your pov characters and tense wisely based on your story’s needs and your audience’s expectations.

Romance subgenres
Contemporary romance
Contemporary romance is one of the largest romance subgenres and involves stories set from the 1950s to the present. Contemporary romance stories include social and cultural issues such as career goals, family conflicts and friendships.

YA romance
Young adult romance demonstrates the lives of young people from 13 to 18 years old. Young adult novels deal with themes of identity, emotional exploration, school, family, adventure and technology.

Romantic suspense
Romantic suspense combines elements of romance, action, thriller, mystery and suspense. Romantic suspense stories have a diverse cast of characters and include themes of murder, kidnapping, drugs, and abuse.

Paranormal romance
Paranormal romance includes otherworldly characters, such as vampires, wolves, witches, demons, angels, zombies, dragons, ghosts or humans with psychic abilities.

Fantasy romance
Fantasy romance stories focus on the fantasy (political, social) aspect of the story rather than the romantic relationship between the main characters. Fantasy romance stories include a diverse cast of characters such as witches, kings, princes, dragons, elves and fairies.

Romantasy
Romantasy is a popular subgenre of the romance genre, and it combines elements from the romance and fantasy genre.

The difference between the fantasy romance and romantasy subgenres is that in the romantasy subgenre, the romance between the main characters takes centre stage of the story, and the fantasy elements (setting, creatures) exist to serve and elevate the romance story.

Historical romance
Historical romance stories are set before the 1950s and highlight the cultural and social issues of the era in which the story takes place. 

Romance tropes
Trope is a plot, character or theme that is often used in fiction stories. Tropes come with specific expectations about how the story progresses. They provide familiarity, satisfaction and anticipation about how a specific plot or character unfolds in new and exciting ways to create a compelling story. 

Romance readers often look at the cover, title and blurb of a romance book to see which tropes the story includes. Romance writers nowadays market the tropes of their romance books on social media to provide the reader with more information about their story and increase the anticipation about the upcoming release of their romance story. 

Popular tropes in romance books:

• billionaire trope
• enemies to lovers
• friends to lovers
• reformed playboy
• fated mates
• fake relationship/ marriage
• second chance romance
• sports romance

•  marriage of convenience
• best friend’s older brother
• boss and employee
•  coworkers
• forbidden love
• forced proximity
• secret identity

Questions to consider when writing a romance story
Ask yourself the following questions when writing a romance story:
1) Is the development of the romantic relationship between the main characters at the centre of the story, and does the story have a happy ending where the main characters stay together?
2) What are the goals and motivations of your main characters?
3) What are the consequences for the main characters if they don’t achieve their goals?
4) What are the external and internal flaws of the main characters?
5) What is the central conflict of the story?
6) Besides “love conquers all,” what is the specific theme of your story?
7)Who is the “one true hero” of your story?
6) What is the point of view and tense of your story?
9) What is the main romance subgenre of your story?
10) What are the main romance tropes of your story?

Conclusion
The romance genre is the most popular genre of fiction. Romance readers love to read interesting stories with compelling characters that overcome their internal flaws and external obstacles, emotionally grow as characters and have their happily ever after.

What romance story are you writing now? Are you planning, writing or editing your story?
Comment below!
Don’t forget to share the blog article on your favorite social media!

Additional resources
How to self-edit your romance novel
How to write a romance novel in 5 steps
How to write a novel using Romancing the Beat
8 great romance subgenres authors can explore
8 popular tropes that readers love to read

Setting is defined as the place and the time a story takes place, and is one of the most important elements of a story. Writers often focus on creating immersive characters and compelling plots, and don’t pay as much attention as they need to creating a realistic setting to immerse readers in their stories. 

The amount of preparation and research writers need to make for the setting of their story depends on whether the setting is based in a real or fictional place and what kind of story they are writing (contemporary, historical, paranormal, fantasy, romantasy).
​

Different kinds of setting
Real setting
Fictional setting
Setting vs info-dumping
Linking setting to characters
Setting questionnaire
Worldbuilding questionnaire

Different kinds of setting
There are many different kinds of settings that a writer needs to include to craft a realistic story for their readers.

Macro setting: It refers to the general area of your story, such as a planet, country, or city. 

Micro setting: It refers to a specific location where the story takes place, such as an apartment or school.

Temporal setting: It refers to the period during which the story takes place, such as the 1950s or 2005.

Seasonal setting: It refers to the season(s) the story takes place in, such as winter or summer.

Real setting
If your story includes real settings, make sure to research the particular locations you want to include in your story and get your facts right, even if you are familiar with the locations because you live in the general area or you have visited those places in the past. Use trusted resources, such as published books, journals and educational websites.

Fictional setting
If you are creating a fictional setting that is based on a real setting, you can fictionalize a real setting that not many readers are familiar with.  You can fictionalize a local place or a location that is not well-known.

In this way, you will have more flexibility to add, delete or move details and descriptions in your fictional world without being concerned that many readers would find the world unrealistic. 

You can also create your own fictional setting. If you decide to create a fictional setting, create a map and take down notes about the main places on your map.

You don’t need to create anything complicated. Just a sketch with the main towns and buildings of your story so that you always know where they are and how far they are from each other. Accuracy and consistency are key to creating a realistic and believable story.

Setting vs info-dumping
Info-dumping occurs when writers provide a large amount of background information or exposition to the story that is unnecessary or irrelevant to the specific chapter.

Often, writers try to incorporate large descriptions of the setting in their attempt to create a realistic and believable setting for the reader.

As a result, they end up providing paragraphs of unnecessary details of the story’s setting that bore the reader and drag the pacing of the story.

To make sure you are writing a compelling story for the readers, keep only the most important and relevant information about the setting in a specific chapter.

Linking setting to characters
Instead of just mentioning various details of the setting, the pov character of your story can describe the setting from their perspective. The way the pov character notices, experiences, describes and interacts with their setting in a particular chapter shows their personality.

​When describing the setting in a particular chapter, it is important to ask yourself what elements of the setting your pov character would be observing based on his personality and the plot of the chapter.

Setting questionnaire
Here are some questions about the setting to help you brainstorm your fiction story.

1. Where does your story take place ( country, city, apartment)?
2. When does your story take place (time period, season)?
3. Is the setting realistic, believable and plausible?
4. Is the setting real or fictional? If the setting is based on real locations, have you done research to accurately describe it?
5. Do you integrate the details of setting into the plot of the story?

Worldbuilding questionnaire
Once you find the answers to the above questions, you might want to flesh out the worldbuilding elements of your story. Depending on the kind of story you are writing (contemporary, historical, paranormal, fantasy, romantasy), you will want to focus on specific world-building elements.

Below is a list of categories and questions to help you brainstorm the world of your story. This is by no means an exhaustive list of questions. This is just a guide to get you started. 
Government

• What is the structure of the government, and who is the leader?
• How many political parties are there, and do they interact with each other?
• How does your main character feel about the government and the laws of the world? 
• Do different species, races and social classes have different opinions about the laws?

People

•  Are there any intelligent or supernatural species, such as aliens, werewolves, vampires or witches, besides humans, and how do they get along with each other?
•  How is your world divided into countries, towns, nations, or societies, and how do they get along with each other?

Languages

• What language(s) do people speak in your world?
•  Do different countries, races or species speak different languages, and how easily do they communicate with each other?

History

• What are the origins of your civilisation?
• What are the major historical events or legends that shaped your civilisation?

Education

• What are the levels of education in your world (kindergarten, middle school, high school, university)?
• How accessible is education for all citizens of your world (public vs private education)?

Employment

• What types of professions exist in your world? Does your world have any unusual or rare types of professions? 
•  Are there any professions that are more reputable than others, and why? 
• Are there any professions different across species and races based on their magic powers or social status?

Arts and entertainment

• What are the most important or famous arts, sports and forms of entertainment, and how do they shape your world?
• What kind of infrastructure is there for these activities, such as theatres, museums, and concert halls?

Magic

• Is there magic in your world?
• Who controls the magic, and what are their roles and status of these people in your world?
• What are the rules, limitations and risks of magic?

Climate

• What is the climate in your world like?
• Are there seasons in your world?

Terrain

• What is the terrain of your world like (sea, forests, desert, rivers)?
• What are the major cities or towns in your world? 

Now you have everything you need to know to create a real and believable setting for your romance story. You are one step closer to writing a compelling story and achieving your writing goals.

If you need more guidance in brainstorming your story, check the further resources section on how to brainstorm the main characters and outline the structure of your manuscript. Good luck!

Additional resources
How to write a romance novel in 5 steps
How to write a romance novel: genre and main characters
How to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure
How to write a novel using Romancing the Beat

​A beta reader is an avid reader of your book’s genre. A beta reader is familiar with the rules and tropes of a particular genre and can provide honest and constructive feedback from the perspective of the intended reader about the big-picture storytelling elements of a story, such as theme, plot and structure, character development, setting, pacing, point of view, genre conventions, and dialogue.

Beta readers are the first people to read a completed manuscript and provide constructive feedback. Writers should seek beta readers after self-editing their manuscript but before giving it to professional developmental editors.

​
How many beta readers?
Beta readers vs critique partners
Beta readers vs editors
Why do you need beta readers
Where can you find reliable beta readers
What kind of feedback to expect from a beta reader?

How many beta readers?
An ideal number of reliable and objective beta readers for your manuscript is 3-5. This number provides a balance of feedback without overwhelming you with too many opinions. Too many beta readers can lead to conflicting feedback and make it difficult for you to decide what feedback to implement in your manuscript. You should limit your input to a few trusted beta readers. 

Beta readers vs critique partners
A beta reader is not a critique partner. A critique partner is another writer with whom you exchange your manuscripts and provide feedback about the big-picture storytelling elements of your stories. You don’t exchange manuscripts with beta readers.

Beta readers vs editors
Beta readers are not editors. Beta readers do not edit manuscripts. They don’t explain why anything is going wrong or give potential solutions. They don’t edit the big-picture elements or sentence-level errors of a story. 

Beta readers provide their opinion as readers. Writers who seek to understand how readers will experience their manuscript often seek out beta readers. 

Why do you need beta readers
 You are on a limited budget
The beta reading service is a cheaper alternative to developmental editing. However, beta readers do not replace developmental editors. Beta readers can provide constructive, surface-level feedback about the big-picture elements of your manuscript so that the developmental editor can focus on the more in-depth issues of your story.

The actual cost of beta readers depends on your manuscript’s word count and genre, your desired turnaround time, and the scope of work.

You are a new writer, and you need to learn more about the writing craft
Beta readers will provide you with an overview of the big-picture storytelling issues of your story and help you improve your manuscript without overwhelming you with detailed page edits.

You have no idea how to further improve your manuscript
You are struck. You have edited your story multiple times to the best of your abilities, and you don’t know how to further improve it. If you have finished self-editing your story, then the next step is to find a reliable beta reader who helps you identify and improve the big-picture issues of your manuscript.

Where can you find reliable beta readers
Firstly, you can find reliable beta readers by looking at the people around you. You can ask friends and family to read your story and provide feedback.

However, be aware that friends and family might be biased and they are not usually trained (if they are not writers or editors), so they might not provide you with constructive and objective feedback.

You can also look at free online writing communities. If you are already a member of a writing community, you can ask your writer friends to read your manuscript and provide you with constructive feedback.

There are a lot of free online writing communities where writers can exchange stories, make other writer friends and get advice about writing, editing and publishing their stories, such as the Critique circle, She writes and Writer’s cafe.

You can also find writers’ groups on social media. There are a lot of writer groups on Facebook and Substack that are dedicated to helping writers and providing them with writing, editing and publishing advice. You can ask other writers there to beta-read your story.

You can also check the EFA (Editorial Freelancers’ Association) to find professional and reliable beta readers. You can take a look at the member directory or post a job at the EFA to find reliable beta readers. 

Make sure to include the kind of service you need, the genre, the word count of your story, your estimated budget and your desired deadline when you post a job.

Finally, you can search online at the websites of different beta readers to see what kind of beta reader services they offer.

Every beta reader defines their service differently, so make sure to check what the beta reading service entails, the process, the cost, and the deadline to find the right beta reader for you and your manuscript.

What kind of feedback to expect from a beta reader?
Beta readers provide feedback about the big-picture elements of their story. You shouldn’t expect feedback about sentence-level errors, such as word choice, grammar, spelling, and punctuation, unless there was a prior agreement with the beta reader to correct those mistakes. Feedback can be provided through a reader’s report, margin comments in the manuscript document or both.

You can provide a questionnaire with specific questions to send to all your beta readers so that you can see how different beta readers respond to the same questions.

The questionnaire should include questions about the big-picture elements of a story, such as plot and structure, character development, point of view, pacing, genre conventions, setting, theme and dialogue. 

Beta readers might also have their own questionnaire and provide constructive feedback based on the questions of the questionnaire.

For example, I have a beta reader questionnaire that is divided into 6 categories (plot and structure, character development, point of view, pacing, genre conventions and overall impression).

​Each category includes 3-4 questions. You can see my beta reader questionnaire to get an idea of what kind of questions to ask your beta readers.

Additional resources
What is the beta reading service?
Example of a beta reader questionnaire
What is the developmental editing service?
What is the manuscript critique service?
How to find the right editor for your book?

Romancing the Beat is a story structure guide for romance writers written by Gwen Hayes. It is intended to help romance writers structure and outline their romance books.

The story beats of the Romancing the Beat help romance writers craft the romance arc of their story and keep the readers interested in reading a story with a satisfying ending.
​
The book is ideal for romance writers with all kinds of writing processes, such as pantsers, plotters and plantsers, who wish to write and improve the romantic elements of their story. The story structure guide is divided in 4 phases, and each phase takes about 25% of the story.


Romancing the beat structure
Phase 1:Setup
The first phase takes about 20-25% of the story, and it introduces the main characters and the world.

Introduce Your Main Characters

• Introduce the main character(s) to the readers in a way that makes them interesting and compelling. 
• Show how your character’s normal life looks like, but throw a hint of trouble to make the story more interesting.
• Introduce your main character’s external goal (it can be something they want or something they think they want).
• Introduce or hint at your main character’s internal flaw.

Meet Cute

• The main characters meet for the first time, or they are on the page for the first time together. Their meeting can be the inciting incident of the story (not always).
• The pov character has internal thoughts and is physically attracted to the other character. The description of the attractiveness will depend on the genre and the heat level of your story.
• The meet-cute will demonstrate how the external goals and internal flaws introduced in the previous beat are in opposition. Although the pov character is physically attracted to the other character, they emotionally reject them.

No Way 1

• This beat demonstrates the argument the main character(s) makes against falling in love out loud or to their friend, coworkers or family or in internal thoughts.
• The main character(s) states that they will never fall in love and especially with the particular character they met in the previous beat.
• Provide the reader more information (e.g backstory) as to why the main character(s) does not want to fall in love.

Adhesion Plot Thrust

• This is the final beat before Act 2.
•  Introduce additional external goals or tropes that provide opportunities for the main characters to be together even if they don’t want to e.g secluded in  rain with no electricity, pretend relationships, forced to cooperate for a common goal, marriage of convenience. 
• The main characters are miserable together and cannot walk away from each other now.

Phase 2: Falling in Love
This is the second phase of the story and takes about 25% of the book. In phase 2, show that your main characters are meant to be together, even if they can’t see it yet.

The main characters are going back and forth, getting one step closer and then backing away. Show that they are a better person by being with the other character.

No Way 2

• The main character(s) have stated in No Way 1 that they will not fall in love with the particular character. In this beat, restate the character’s belief that they are right about love and the reasons for not falling into it.
• Include more backstory to make readers understand the main character’s internal flaw and the reasons they deny love.
• The main characters are stuck together for some reason (see Adhesion  Plot Thrust). Although they want to avoid temptation,  show them that the other character is perfect for them.

Inkling This Could Work

• Focus on attacking your main character’s internal flaw that they stated in No Way 1 and No Way 2.
• Increase your attacks, give them something to start having doubts about their statement in No Way 1 and No Way 2.
• Make the characters come emotionally closer to each other. You can do this by including an intimate moment, sharing secrets or truths or witnessing the character do something that goes against the picture the main character drew about them in their head.

Deepening Desire

• Your characters are falling in love with each other and no longer deny that they are physically attracted to each other.
• Show internal thoughts that it is hard for them to fight their feelings for the other character. 
• Depending on the heat level of your story, decide how the characters will act upon their feelings in a physical way. You can include lingering gazes and sweet moments.

 
Maybe This Will Work 

• You are nearing the halfway point of your story.
• Depending on the heat level of your story, decide how intimate you want your main characters to be.
• Your characters need to be more emotionally vulnerable by the end of this beat.

Midpoint of Love

• You are at the 50% mark of your story. This beat is a false high where the main character (s) thinks that they can get what they want.
• The main character(s) might reveal their true thoughts and feelings to a friend or internally think about how right it feels to be with the other character.

Phase 3: Retreating from Love  
This is the third phase and takes about 25% of the story. Although the main character(s) realises that they can fall in love, they are stubborn and don’t want to change and overcome their internal flaw.

Challenge your main character(s), push them and attack their soft spots. Exploit their internal flaw mentioned in the No Way beats. Provide them with reasons to doubt their decision in the previous beats to give love a chance.

Inkling of Doubt 

• Things feel great for your main character(s= because they just had their false high moment and they are starting to contemplate the idea that they can fall in love with someone else.
• In this beat, you are going to make them doubt their decision to open their heart to someone else and remind them of their internal flaw. Make it harder and harder for them to completely let themselves fall in love, and attack them using their internal flaw. 

Deepening Doubt 

• The intimacy between the main characters is increased, but they are doubting their relationship because of the doubts you planted in the previous beat.
•  Make your main character(s) have an internal dilemma about their relationship, even though they might not admit it to each other.

Retreat

• Your main character(s) has been making 2 steps back and one step forward. Attack them with their doubts and make them believe that their worst nightmare (internal flaw) is becoming true.
• In this beat, the main character(s) internally or externally realise that what they fear becomes true and choose to retreat to protect themselves from getting hurt.

 
Shields up

•  The main character (s) believes that their internal flaw becomes true (internal flaw foretold in the No Way beats).

Break Up

• The main character(s) broke up in the previous scene, and this is the reaction scene from the other character or they break up in this scene. 
• They choose fear instead of love.
• Your main character(s) chooses to hold onto their internal flaws instead of opening their hearts and completely falling in love.

​
Phase 4:Fighting for Love
This is the fourth phase and takes about 25% of the story. This is the last phase of the romance arc. The main characters realise that they are perfect for each other and want to get back together.

Dark Night of the Soul 

• This is the lowest point of the story where the main character(s) hit rock bottom. The main characters have just broken up, and they feel terrible about it, although they thought this was the right decision and that they would feel good about it.
• Everything reminds them of the other character, and their friends tell them that they made a stupid decision. 
• This is the beat where the main character(s) mourn their choice to breakup.

Catharsis

• The main character(s) has realized that they have chosen fear, and to be miserable so far.
•  They have had advice from their friends and they have realised that they need to overcome their internal flaw and choose love this time.
•  This is the beat where they have their aha moment. They have overcome their internal flaw and realise that they are willing to win their love back.

Grand Gesture

• The main character(s) performs a grand gesture to show their love.
• One or both main characters might need to perform a grand gesture.
•  For the grand gesture to work, there needs to be some risk involved for the main character(s). They need to be brave and willing to risk losing the one thing they need to become whole-hearted. It’s all or nothing. It’s life or (literal or metaphorical) death for the main character.
• This is the beat where the main characters get their happy ending.

What Whole Hearted Looks Like 

• The closing image serves as a mirror image and a contrast that shows where the main character(s) was at the beginning of the story and where they are now. 
• The readers see that the main characters have kissed and made up, and how their whole-hearted life looks like.

Epilogue

• An epilogue is optional, but most romance stories include one.
• Show a glimpse into the future of your main character’s life.

Final Thoughts 
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes is a story structure guide that helps romance writers write compelling love stories.
Have you used this guide to structure your romance stories? Comment below!

Additional resources
How to write a romance novel in 5 simple steps
How to write a novel using the 3-act structure
How to self-edit your romance novel
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes

Romance is one of the most popular fiction genres, and it has many subgenres such as contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and YA (Young Adult) romance.

There are two important rules that romance novels should have: the romantic relationship between the main characters should be at the center of the story, and romance stories have a happy ending where the main characters end up together at the end of the story.
Let your novel rest
Read through your manuscript
Don’t implement all the changes at the same time
Questions to ask yourself
Repeat: read the manuscript for sentence-level errors
Next steps 

Let your novel rest
Congratulations on finishing the first draft of your novel. That’s already a great achievement. The first step of self-editing your novel is to leave it rest for a few weeks. I ideally recommend letting your novel rest for at least one month.

This will allow you to put distance between you and your story and “forget” your novel. You will be able to see your manuscript as a reader rather than a writer and be able to approach it with critical and objective eyes during the editing stage. 

You probably want to start editing your novel as soon as you finish writing the first draft but....wait. If you don’t have a hard deadline imposed by an agent or publisher, wait at least one month before starting to edit your manuscript.

What to do in the meantime? While waiting for the time to pass, you can take up a new hobby or fill your time  with other things you love, such as:

• reading  romance books 
• reading craft books
• watch your favourite TV show
•  go for a walk
• spend some time with friends and family
• start writing another book

Read through your manuscript 
 A month has passed, and you are now ready to start editing your romance novel. Follow the steps below while reading your story:

• Print your manuscript. Printing your story at the editing stage will allow you to look at your story from a different perspective, slow down your reading pace and improve your ability to look for structural issues.
• Read your manuscript within 2-3 days. At the first read through, you are looking to improve the big-picture elements of your story, such as theme, character development, plot and structure, setting, point of view, pacing, genre conventions and dialogue. Use various pens and highlighters to create a colour-coding system  (where each big-picture element represents a different colour) to write down effective notes within the manuscript document.
• While reading, you can also make an outline of your story (if you don’t have one) in an Excel spreadsheet and include important information about each scene: word count, pov character, characters present, setting, main story events, notes/reactions/things to improve.
• Note down everything you want to remember about your characters, plot and setting. Create character profiles, setting sheets, and note down the major plot points of your story if that helps you stay organised and take effective notes.

Don’t implement all the changes at the same time
You have noted down the changes you wish to make about the big-picture elements of your story. Now, it’s time to make a plan on how to implement these changes. Don’t try to fix all the big-picture elements of your story at the same time. You will be doing multiple rounds of editing, and you will look at different big-picture elements of your story each time.

Make a plan on which big-picture elements you will address in each round of editing. Start by looking at the big-picture elements of your story that can be grouped and addressed in the same round of editing.

For example, many new writers drag or rush some events of their story and the pacing is affected. Fixing the structure and putting the events where they should be also fixes the pacing of the story. If you want to learn more about the structure of a romance novel, read how to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure. 

Questions to ask yourself
Below you can see some questions about the big-picture elements of your story that will help you brainstorm and revise your manuscript. Look at the questions and note down the answers in your writing software or a notebook to make sure that you have a compelling romance story with a solid plot and well-rounded characters.  

Theme 

• What is the message that you want your romance story to convey to the readers?
• Is the theme linked to the main character and the plot of the story?
• Do the main characters emotionally change at the end of the story as a result of their love? 

Characters

• Does your main character(s) have clear goals and believable motivations throughout the story? What is the internal and external conflict of the main character(s)? What are the consequences if the character(s) don’t reach their goals?
• Do the minor characters and villains serve a purpose? 
• Who are the pov characters of the story? Are all the pov characters necessary for the story?
• Is the switch between the multiple points of view clear with no confusing head-hopping?

 Plot and structure

•  Can you identify the plot points of the 3-act structure in your story?
• What is the central conflict of the story?
• Does the plot move forward in each chapter (cause and effect)?
• Do the subplots serve the main story (romance story between the main characters)? 
• Does the story resolve in a way that communicates the theme and provides a satisfying resolution to the readers?

Setting

• Where does your story take place (country, city, apartment, workplace)?
• When does your story take place (time period, season)?
• Is the setting of the story believable or plausible? 
• Is the world of the story immersive and consistent?
• Do you integrate the details of setting into the story action? Do you provide the reason a particular setting element matters to the main character and the story?

Romance conventions

• Is the development of the romance relationship between the main characters at the center stage of the story?
•   Does the story have a happy ending where the main characters get together at the end of the story?
•  Are the tropes combined in unexpected and fresh ways to make the story interesting and engaging? 
• Do the tropes contribute to increasing the emotional or physical intimacy between the main characters? Do they challenge the main characters to grow emotionally? Do they drive the story forward and increase the conflict of the story? 
• Is the physical attraction between the two main characters apparent? Do the sex scenes serve to further the development of the love relationship, increase the tension and drive the plot forward?​​​

Repeat: read the manuscript for sentence-level errors
Once you finish implementing the big-picture elements of your story, it is time to repeat the process for the sentence-level errors.  Follow the steps below while reading your story:

• Let your story rest for at least 2 weeks.
• Print the new draft of your manuscript, read it from beginning to end in a few days, and take notes in each scene about the sentence-level changes you wish to make. Use multiple pens and highlighters to create a colour-coding system.
• Group similar sentence-level errors in one round of editing and make a plan on how to fix them (how many rounds of editing you will need, how much time it will take you).

Possible sentence-level errors include:

• info-duping
• show vs tell
• word choice (consistent style, redundancies, confusing or unnecessary words)
• sentence structure and flow
• spelling
• grammar
•  syntax 
•  punctuation

Next steps 
After you have been through multiple rounds of editing and improved the big-picture storytelling elements and sentence-level errors of your manuscript, it’s time to get feedback from other people.

​Give your manuscript to beta readers and developmental editors to get honest and constructive feedback about your story. If you want to learn more about hiring beta readers and developmental editors, read how to find the right editor for your story.

Who is a beta reader?
A beta reader is an avid reader who is familiar with the rules and tropes of a particular genre. They provide honest and constructive feedback in a reader’s report about the big-picture elements of a story, such as plot and structure, character development, pacing, point of view and genre conventions. 

Beta readers are the first people to read a completed manuscript. Writers should seek beta readers after finishing self-editing their manuscript, but before giving it to professional developmental editors. If you want to learn more, read about beta reading.

Who is a developmental editor?
A developmental editor is the first editor writers should look for after implementing the feedback they get from beta readers. 

The developmental editor addresses the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses and provides honest and constructive feedback about the story structure, character development, point of view, pacing, setting, genre conventions, scene vs narrative summary (show vs tell)  and dialogue of the story.

The developmental editor provides margin comments in the manuscript document and an editorial report to further guide the author. If you want to learn more, read about developmental editing.

Additional resources
How to write a romance novel in 5 steps
How to write in the romance genre and the main characters 
How to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure
What is the beta reading service?
What is the developmental editing service?
How to find the right editor for your story

Writing a romance novel is hard. It takes a lot of time, energy, determination, discipline and patience. Sometimes writers (especially new writers) get overwhelmed by the number of tasks that they need to do, or get lost in their story without knowing how to approach their story idea or what steps to take to finish their story.

This blog article is intended to help all romance writers develop a straightforward process to successfully outline and write their romance novel in 5 simple steps.

Step 1: Subgenre and tropes
Step 2: Main character(s) and create character profiles
Step 3: Story structure and chapter outlines
Step 4: Setting and main locations
Step 5:  Start writing

Step 1: Subgenre and tropes
Before you decide your romance subgenre and tropes, it’s important to define what a romance story is.

Romance is a very broad category and one of the most popular genres in fiction.  A story is considered to belong to the romance genre when the romantic relationship between the main characters takes the centre of the story, and the story has a happy ending. If the story doesn’t have these 2 requirements, then it is not a romance story.

The romance genre can be divided into many subgenres. Some of the most popular genres are contemporary romance, YA romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, romantasy, romantic suspense, LGBTQ+ romance, romantic comedy, and regency romance.

If you are not sure which subgenre your story is or how to write a book in a specific subgenre, read books in that subgenre. The best way to learn more about how to write romance books is to read romance books.

When you decide your romance sungenre, it’s time to choose the tropes of your romance story. A trope is a plot device that is used to create stories familiar to readers. Combine 2-3 main tropes in fresh ways to create an engaging story with compelling characters.

 Some of the most popular tropes for romance stories are:

• sports romance
• workplace romance
•  billionaires
• enemies to lovers
• friends to lovers
•  marriage of convenience
• pretend relationship/marriage
• forced proximity
• second chance romance
• fated mates
• shapeshifter romance
• grumpy vs sunshine
• forbidden romance
• love triangle
• small town romance

Now, it’s time to decide the theme of your story. The theme is the message of your story. It is the lesson that the main character(s) learns at the end of the story that changes their perspective about themselves or the world around them. The theme must be universal, so that people regardless of age, gender, location and culture can relate to it. 

​The main theme of romance stories is “love conquers all”, where the main characters must overcome their internal flaws and external obstacles to be happily together by the end of the story. 

​What does “love conquer” in your story? Romance stories usually have specific themes related to the specific flaw the main character needs to overcome and learn by the end of the story. For example, does the main character need to forgive themselves for a traumatic past event, trust that others won’t betray them or fight against an injustice? The possibilities are endless, and it’s up to you to decide the specific theme of your story.

Step 2: Main character(s) and create character profiles
How many main characters does your story have? How many pov characters does your story have? The pov characters in romance stories are usually one or both of the main characters (love interests) of the story. Make sure to decide your main characters and pov characters before starting to write your story.

Once you decide on your main characters, write down some important information about your characters.  Create character profiles and include all the necessary information about all the characters of the story.

Include your characters’ 3 most important elements:

• goal, motivation and flaw. The main character(s) needs to have an important and tangible goal that they want to achieve by the end of the story. Think about why this goal is important for them, what will happen if they don’t achieve their goal(motivation) and what are the internal flaws and external obstacles that prevent them from achieving their goal.

In your character profiles, you can also include their:

• name and age
• occupation
• nationality
• location
• personality
• physical appearance
• important past events
• relationship with other characters

 Character profiles are a great way to help you write consistent, meaningful and fleshed-out characters. If you want to learn more about them, read why authors need character profiles.  

Step 3: Story structure and chapter outlines
Once you find who your main characters are, create a separate document and start brainstorming the structure of your romance story.

I highly recommend using Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes while you are outlining your romance story.  Romancing the Beat is a popular story-structure guide that shows writers how to structure their romance story in 15 beats using the three-act structure.

If you want to learn more about how to outline your romance story using Romancing the Beat, read the blog article on how to write a romance novel using the three-act structure.

After you write down the story structure of your story, you can further outline your story by creating chapter outlines. Your chapter outlines can be as short or long as you want. For example, your chapter outlines can include only the main events of each chapter in bullet points, or each chapter can include long paragraphs with detailed descriptions and story events. Do what is more comfortable and helpful to you.

Step 4: Setting and main locations
Decide on the general setting of your story and write as many details as possible. Does your story take place in a big city, a small town or another planet? Is it a real or a fictional place? The choice of your setting depends on the subgenre of your story. 

After you decide the general setting of your story, you also need to decide specific locations. For example, some story events may happen in the main characters’ houses and their workplaces, or in cafes, restaurants and shops, depending on what kind of romance story you are writing. Make sure to note down any important elements of your setting and locations so that you can consistently describe them throughout your story.

Step 5:  Start writing
Once you have decided your genre and tropes, main characters, story structure and setting of your writing project, it’s time to start writing your story. 

Find the best time of day for you to sit down and write your story. Note down on a calendar your work hours, obligations and appointments and look at the available time you have left each day. Note the available time in your calendar as your writing time.  

Try to write for at least 1 hour a day, but don’t discourage yourself if unexpected obligations keep you away from your allotted writing time. 

You can also create a timeline by writing down all the writing, editing and publishing tasks of your writing project and estimating how much time each task will take.

​Schedule monthly and weekly tasks and regularly check your writing progress to stay on track. If you want to learn more information, read how to create a consistent writing routine and finish writing your story. 

Conclusion
Finishing writing and publishing a book can take months or even years. Don’t discourage yourself and don’t give up. Writing is a skill that takes practice and time to improve. Experiment and find your writing style. Be flexible and build habits that work for you. Write every day. Keep the momentum going and make your writing goals come true! Happy writing!

Additional resources
Why authors need character profiles
How to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure
How to create a consistent writing routine
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes