How to Write a Killer Romance Plot
The romance plot is one of the main things that can draw readers to a story. While romance isn’t everything, it can make or break your novel even as a subplot. Some books do not include a romance plot at all, and that’s great. But if you find yourself writing one, it can be the easiest part of your process or the biggest let-down. Readers want to get invested in your character’s relationships, but you can alienate them if you don’t handle it correctly.
I’ve had a lot of experience with romance plots, so I’ve compiled a few tips below to help you write a killer one. Check it out:
Wait Until the Last Second
In any novel, but especially if the primary plot of your novel is a romance plot, you want to put it off for as long as possible. In Pride and Prejudice, Darcy and Elizabeth don’t get together until the final pages. Same thing in really any Austen book, and she’s an expert on romance plots.
Getting your characters together too soon will kill the tension and readers will not feel as invested. This is especially tricky in a series because you might have already had your characters get together in book one. Unless you have a great idea in mind for how to keep the tension going, do not let your romantic pair get together until the very end.
We’ve all fallen in love with a couple only to see them break up in the sequel. This can be poignant if done on purpose, but most often it’s done because the writer didn’t have a clear plan for the rest of the series (or they didn’t plan on there being a series in the first place) and found themselves in need of a new tension builder.
At the beginning of your novel, you set up questions. Will the hero defeat the villain? Will the protagonist get the guy/girl? Can this family ever be close again after tragedy? You wouldn’t put the climax halfway through your book, so why would you solve the romance before the end of the story? Let it breathe. Let it linger.
Obstacles, obstacles, obstacles
Depending on the genre and setting of your book, your obstacles will look different. In a contemporary romance plot without a larger action plot, the obstacles will largely take the form of your character’s shortcomings and other people/entities/policies ge
Their own shortcomings
The first place you should start with obstacles is the characters’ personal shortcomings. Is he/she slow to open up to people? Are they selfish? Is she struggling to choose between work and romance? Whatever the flaws are, take time to explore them and look at them from different angles. How do these flaws effect the romantic prospects? How do they effect non-romantic relationships? Your character’s flaws will bleed into every aspect of their lives, so don’t even think about a resolution until you’ve fully described the problem.
Other people in the way
Whether an ex, a protective mother/father, a societal construct, or other, there are plenty of people you can stick between your romantic leads to keep them apart. Try to be creative with the one because it can get tired pretty fast. The jealous ex is a little overdone, but you can revive anything with the right spin. Think of ways to make it unique in your story. Maybe the hero is an orphan and he/she doesn’t have time for romance because they have to play parent to their sibling(s). Not all obstacles have to be antagonists. Let real life get in the way, too.
If your romance is a subplot, don’t forget that the characters have bigger problems than who they’re dating. Romance happens during tragedy/action, but it won’t be fulfilled in the middle of a battle. That would be irrational. Let your characters be distracted by the bigger picture. This will slow down their romance because they don’t have enough consecutive time to think about it.
Geography
This one’s especially helpful in a series because you can keep up the tension without destroying your romance plot with a breakup. Aragorn spends the majority of The Lord of the Rings away from Arwen, so they couldn’t physically be together even if they didn’t have to contend with her father or her immortality. Aragorn’s got bigger problems to deal with, but you get the picture. There are tons of different things that can stand between your characters, and most of them are better than a breakup.
Timing
Sometimes your characters both know more or less how they feel about each other, but they can’t seal the deal with that romantic kiss or love scene because the timing just doesn’t match up. She’s about to tell him she loves him, but then someone interrupts. He’s going to reach for her hand, but she doesn’t see him and she turns away before he can. The near-miss is a very effective way to build tension when the flavor of your romance plot is sweeter and more subtle.
Play with this one even if there are bigger obstacles in their way, because nothing gets readers pumped like reading that almost touch. It keeps them interested in the pairing and they’ll be rooting for your characters to get together because they’ve spent so much time getting so close.
Make it Multifaceted
Gone are the days where He-Man rescues a faceless princess from the dragon and they pop out a million heirs. Readers have always wanted a deeply cultivated romance, but these days the simply won’t tolerate a romance that lessens either character. Don’t let the romance define them or your readers might reject it. And make sure you don’t let either character become a device of romance instead of a fully-realized person with multiple motivations and personality traits.
But what do I mean by multifaceted?
There’s nothing to say romance can’t be important to your characters–especially if your romance plot takes the center stage. It’s perfectly okay for a character to desire love. But real people want more than just one thing, so your characters should, too. Or, if they start with a single, tunnel-visioned desire, they should learn there’s more to life than that one thing.
Along with other desires, your characters should have multiple reasons to start a romance. Sexual tension is great, but it’s not everything. Give them a lot of complimentary traits that make it feel destined (but don’t be too obvious about it. Yuck). Add dimension to those traits by making some of them more subtle than others. Your character doesn’t have to think about every single thing they like about the romantic interest in explicit detail, and you don’t even have to tell your readers about it. It’s all in the details.
The Bottom Line
Waiting is the best part. Readers want to find fulfillment in their novels, and in a romance plot, fulfillment is earned by taking your time and building complexity into every aspect of your story and your characters. Give the audience as many reasons to cheer for them as you can so that when the romance is finally fulfilled, your readers are on the edge of their seats.
Let your readers crave that connection and refuse to give it to them until the last second, if at all. Sometimes the best romances are the ones that never resolve.
Feel free to comment your questions and your favorite romances below. See you next time!
