 A fiction story is considered to be a romance when it includes these two characteristics:
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:
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 About the authorMaria Georgiou is a professional developmental editor and beta reader for romance authors. She specialises in editing contemporary romance, YA romance, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, paranormal romance and romantasy. She is a member of the EFA and ClubEdFreelancers. Learn more about the author: About me Get in touch: Facebook, LinkedIn, Bluesky Learn about fiction editing: Resources Library and Blog Get a quote for your writing project: Get in touch with me form
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About the authorMaria Georgiou is a professional developmental editor and beta reader for romance authors. She specialises in editing contemporary romance, YA romance, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, fantasy romance and romantasy stories. She is a member of the EFA, ClubEdFreelancers and ALLi. |
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