Writing Romance

There's a good reason why romance is one of literature's most popular genres. Romance addresses the heart and permits perusers to escape into a universe of affection, enthusiasm, and joyful ever-afters. It takes more than just putting a few characters together, making them share a single bed, and hoping for the best to happen when you write a great romance novel. Your readers need to have an emotional connection with your characters and they have to actively want them (Or not) to end up together. Here are some tips and strategies to help you craft a heartwarming and swoon-worthy love story your readers will fall in love with. 

Know your audience: 

One of the most important things you need to know when writing a romance novel is your audience. Who are you writing for? Not all romance readers read the same books. Are you writing for a teen audience? New adult? What do they expect from a romance novel? Are your readers looking for a dark and twisted enemies-to-lover story or are they looking for a meet-cute small-town Hallmark vibes story? The best way to know your audience is to find books that share a similar trope or story to yours. Who is reading it? What are their ages? What else are they reading? Take some time to read other romance novels in your subgenre to get a sense of what works and what doesn't.

Develop your characters: 

Listen nobody would care if Bella chose either Jacob or Edward if they didn't feel like they were personally invested in the outcome and rooted in the pros and cons of either choice. Your characters are what make up your romance novel. Without them you wouldn't have a story, would you? Readers need to connect with them on an emotional level, so it's important to develop fully-realized characters with unique personalities, backstories, and motivations. They can't just be tall dark and handsome, or a walking runway model strolling through a small Vermont town at Christmas time just because. They may be on paper, but they are flesh and bone to your reader. Give them hopes and give them dreams and insecurities. 

Even though the details may never make it into your book, print out one of those silly personality quizzes that ask you your favorite color and what your first pet was growing up. Fill this out as if you were your character and get a real sense of who they are. 

Create tension and conflict: 

Nobody is going to care about your story if the moment they lock eyes they declare their love for each other and live happily ever after. Every great love story needs tension and conflict to keep the readers engaged. 

You don't need to go all Romeo and Juiulett on your characters but think about your favorite romance story, the characters had some sort of obstacle in their way, right?

Build your romance and then build something between it, a physical barrier, like a long-distance relationship, a royal war, a disapproving family member, or heck he's a vampire and she is a heavy bleeder on her period, or maybe some internal struggle, like fear of commitment or past traumas just put something between them to create drama or conflict. 

Show, don't tell: 

Yeah, yeah, I know you're sick of hearing this, but there aren't many problems in a novel that showing versus telling can't fix. Romance novels are all about emotions, seen and felt emotions, not spoken emotions. Your main character isn't going to stand there and say, "Jack gave me goosebumps," she's going to feel it. "Her delicate skin tingled with a whispered caress of anticipation, sending a delightful shiver cascading down her spine. A soft breeze danced over her body, teasing the fine hairs on her arms and neck." Have her breath catch, make her palms sweaty, and give the reader a visual of what that character is going through so in a way they can experience it for themselves. 

Write compelling dialogue:

Give your characters something to talk about and (just in case there is any doubt here) consent is KING and a great way to have your characters have something to talk about. 

"As they stood face to face, a flutter of uncertainty danced in her eyes, betraying the racing of her heart. Her voice trembled, soft and fragile, as she spoke, "I…I've never kissed anyone before." Her fingers nervously toyed with a strand of her hair, a nervous habit she couldn't break.

He leaned in closer, his gaze tender and reassuring. "It's okay," he whispered, his voice a gentle melody. "I'll be right here with you. We can take it slow, if you'd like."

Use dialogue to show the chemistry in your characters and reveal their connection in a way that will hook your readers in by their shirt collars and hold them there. Keep the dialogue as natural as possible and avoid long speeches. 

Have a satisfying ending: 

I will shout it out from the rooftops if I have to, but it needs to be known that romance novels do not have to have a happily ever after ending. Sure they're great to have, but depending on the story you are writing this may not be how your story ends. Your ending can be HEA, tragic, ambiguous, bittersweet, or even open-ended.

If you've been around the fanfiction tag word long enough you'll be familiar with the concept of (HEA) Happily Ever After and (HFN) Happy For Now. 

Your ending doesn't have to be happy to satisfy the reader, but the ending should answer any of the questions the reader may have had throughout your book. 

If you need an example of a novel with a satisfying ending without the expected HEA ending read In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. I read this book in one day unable to put it down till I reached that very last page. *Warning* Keep a box of tissues nearby, but not for the reasons you may think in the beginning. 

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In conclusion, writing a great romance novel takes time and patience, but can be one of the most rewarding genres to write it. I am currently in the process of drafting a tragic romance novel, that most likely will not have a happy ending, but I have learned so much about processing grief throughout writing it. 

Keep loving, and keep writing.

With love, 

B.K. xo

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