How to write a romance novel: genre and main characters

You want to write a romance story. You might already have an idea, a character description or a plot point in your mind. Before you start writing the first chapter of your story, you need to brainstorm and decide on some of the most important elements of your story: genre and main character(s).

​In this blog article, you will learn how to brainstorm and decide your story’s genre (and tropes) and the 3 most important elements of your main character(s).
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This blog article includes:
Definition of genre 
Questions to ask yourself about genre
Definition of tropes
Main characters 
Conclusion

Definition of genre
Genre is the category that your story belongs to and it defines the tone, content, length and conventions of your story. One of the most popular genres is romance. All you need to remember about romance is that the romantic relationship between the main characters should be the centrer of the story and that romance stories have a happy ending. If your story, doesn’t have a happy ending, then it is not a romance.

Romance is a very broad category and can be divided into many genres. Some of the most popular genres are contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense and YA (Young Adult) romance.

Contemporary romance is set from the 1950s to the present.

Historical romance stories are set before the 1950s and highlight the issues of the culture and society of the story’s historical period. 

Paranormal romance contains supernatural elements such as vampires, wolves, witches, dragons etc.

Romantic suspense contains thriller, mystery and suspense elements.

YA (Young Adult) romance focuses on teenage characters and it can be combined with any of the genres mentioned above.

Questions to ask yourself about genre
The first thing you have to decide about your story is the genre. It is important to remember that you don’t have to choose only one genre, but rather that you can combine elements from different genres to create your story.

 Ask yourself and write down the answers to the following questions:

•  Is my story set to the modern world or in a historical period?
• Does my story include supernatural or paranormal elements?
• Does my story include thriller, suspense or crime elements?
• Are the main characters of my story teenagers or adults?
• Does my story include elements from different genres?
• Is the development of the romantic relationship at the center of the story?
• Does my story have a happy ending? 

​Definition of tropes
Trope is a plot device that is used to create stories familiar to readers but authors should be able to combine familiar tropes in unexpected and fresh ways to keep the story interesting to the readers.

 Some of the most popular tropes for romance stories are:

•  the marriage of convenience, 
• sports romance,
• best friend’s older brother,
•  billionaires, 
• boss and employee, 
• enemies to lovers, 
• friends to lovers,
•  coworkers, 
• pretend relationship/marriage, 
• forbidden love, 
• forced proximity, 
• secret or mistaken identity. 

This is by no means a completed list of tropes. I am sure you can think of many more tropes that you can include in your story. The list above is intended to make you start thinking about possible tropes that you can include in your story.

If you are not sure what tropes to include in your story:

• Think of the tropes of your 3 most favourite stories. 
• Observe how the authors use the tropes in these stories. 
• Note down your favourite tropes from these romance stories and any other tropes you want to include in your story.
• Write down how you will use these tropes in your own story. 
• Combine three or more tropes in unexpected and new ways to make the story more compelling to the readers.

Main characters
The most important element of your story is your main character (s). In a romance story, you will need two main characters that will be the love interests of the story. Remember that the development of their romantic relationship will be the central part of the story.

You can brainstorm and write down as much or as little information as you want about your main characters’ in their character profiles. You can include your main character’s physical appearance, personality, backstory, home and work life. 

If you want more information about what is a character profile and why you need one to write consistent and meaningful characters (+download a free character profile template), click here to read the article. 

The 3 most important elements of your story: the main character(s) goal, the main character’s flaw and the story’s theme.

1) Think about your character’s goal (and motivation).  Your character’s goal must be tangible, important for your character and big enough to sustain the whole story. The main character (s) should have a goal beyond the romantic relationship. For example, the main character (s) might want to get a job promotion that comes with a higher salary so that they can rent a bigger apartment. Think about what will happen if your character achieves their goal. Think about the consequences if your character fails their goal.

Keep in mind that the main characters (love interests) 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.

For example, two coworkers might be competing for the same job position that comes with a significant salary raise. One might want a higher salary to pay for their student loans and the other one to financially help a sick relative. Wanting the same job position creates the central conflict of the story. The two characters might even sabotage each other or they might be forced to work together until their boss decides who will eventually get the job. Things become more complicated when they realize they start having feelings for each other.

2) Think about your character’s flaw. 
A  flaw is a  misbelief that your character falsely believes about themselves or the world around them and prevents them from achieving their goal. Both of your main characters need to have their own internal and external flaw that takes over all aspects of their life (home, friends, work). The external flaw is the literal bad guys that prevent the main character from achieving their goal e.g family, friends, coworkers. The internal flaw is the internal beliefs and goals that the main characters need to fight.

3) Think about the story’s theme. 
​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 many obstacles and complications to be happily together by the end of the story but your story can have a more specific theme as well.

​The “love conquers all” theme can be combined with other themes to show the internal obstacles and flaws the main characters need to overcome. For example, the main character (s) might need to forgive themselves for the death of a relative in a car accident that wasn’t their fault (but they feel guilty about it).

Conclusion
Brainstorming your story before you start writing down your first chapter is an important step of the writing process. Brainstorming your story can help you clarify the genre and tropes, strengthen the theme and create compelling and consistent characters. Take a notebook or open your writing software and write down as much information as you need about the genre and the main character(s) of your romance story. Happy writing!

Further reading
Learn why authors need character profiles to write consistent and compelling characters (+ free character profile template)
Learn how to outline your novel using the 3-act structure
​How to create a consistent writing routine

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About the author

​​Maria Georgiou is a professional developmental editor for romance authors. She specialises in editing contemporary romance, YA romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance and romantasy. She is a member of the EFA and ClubEdFreelancers. 
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