Not everyone might admit to enjoying romance novels \u2014 or, at the very least, novel romances \u2014 but just about everyone secretly loves the excitement, intrigue, drama, and tension that unfolds in a good romance, and everyone likes a good love story.<\/p>\n
If you're a budding writer, dipping your toes into a romance novel is often a great way to start. This universally-relatable genre is, after all, uniquely fun to tackle. As a bonus, it's easy to draw inspiration from your own life as you outline plot ideas and craft characters for your story.<\/p>\n
Writing any novel is unabashedly terrifying, though, especially if you're hoping to (self-)publish your book once you're done. You'll have to do all the hard work yourself, but there's no rule against using all the tips you can get your hands on. We hope that you will feel a little more confident about sitting down to write with this short guide under your belt!<\/p>\n
Romance novels have been popular since the ancient Greeks roamed the world \u2014 and this genre can best be described as one in which love, relationships, and all the drama that so often surrounds romance form the very core of the plot.<\/p>\n
Romance novels differ from novels that feature romance in this fundamental way, but romance novels can have strong sub-genres that include all your favorites:<\/p>\n
No matter what niche a romance novel falls into, readers flock to the story for the romance, and the opportunity to temporarily escape their own lives to find drama, inspiration, happiness, or laughter in the plot. This light-hearted escapism is ultimately to thank for the fact that romance remains the most popular genre of all time!<\/p>\n
Any good romance novel shares its anatomy with any good novel, period. Fiction that satisfies readers contains a few universal elements \u2014 and if you're thinking about penning a romance novel, you'll want to make sure that you're setting yourself up to include all of them. Let's take a look!<\/p>\n
A novel's theme is the underlying message, or common thread, that runs through the entire work. Commonly-used themes, that can work in romance novels as well, include judgment, survival, coming of age, suffering, heroism, and rags to riches. A thematic statement can be used to narrow this down even further, and one example would be \"sometimes love really is enough \u2014 are you willing to sacrifice everything for it?\".<\/p>\n
The setting is the broader world in which the plot of a romance novel unfolds, and this world-building aspect of the novel usually determines the sub-genre.<\/p>\n
Sci-fi romance novels may, for instance, be set in the far future or on another planet \u2014 and the main characters may not be human. Contemporary romance novels are set in a world that resembles our own, while historical romance novels could unfold in ancient Egypt or in Enlightenment Europe. Fantasy romance novels may feature elves or other magical creatures, and be set in a whimsical world. Romance novels can also be set in dystopian worlds full of suffering.<\/p>\n
The setting may not be the primary element in a romance novel \u2014 that's reserved for the love story itself \u2014 but they set the mood.<\/p>\n
People who read romance novels ultimately seek someone they can root for, so it's important for your protagonist to be relatable; something that almost always means flawed, but likeable. The protagonist's love interest should also be nice enough that your readers don't spend the entire novel hoping the two don't end up together! However, it's also important to throw an antagonist or two into the novel to create tension.<\/p>\n
Build-up, climax, resolution \u2014 this sequence could describe just about any novel, and for a book to be enjoyable to read, it is essential for conflict and tension to lie at the core of the story.<\/p>\n
In a romance novel, the build-up should include the chapter in which the primary characters meet for the first time, and begin having romantic feelings for one another.<\/p>\n
The conflict can be described as the obstacles standing in the way of the relationship, or the reason the two characters can't be together. Maybe your protagonist's love interest is already married to someone else, and the two are carrying on an illicit affair. Perhaps your protagonist is in love with her boss, and pursuing the relationship would get one or both of them fired. Your romance novel could be set in an alien world, where inter-species romance is frowned upon, or perhaps your protagonist's love interest has just agreed to go on a mission to save the planet when the two meet, thus forcing them apart.<\/p>\n
They're in love despite their challenges, so readers will get to enjoy plenty of romantic tension and drama \u2014 all of which keep the plot interesting.<\/p>\n
In the end, however, it's important for your characters to finally find a way to be together. Without this satisfying resolution, your novel can't truly be called a romance novel.<\/p>\n
The process of writing a romance novel can be divided into four main tasks \u2014 brainstorming, organizing your ideas, sitting down to actually write the novel, and editing. Not all romance writers will tackle each of these steps in the same order, but it's all got to be done. By following these steps, you'll develop a framework that allows you to establish a routine, and routines are definitely your friend. Most romance novels are between 50,000 and 100,000 words long, so your book-writing journey is definitely a marathon, and not a sprint!<\/p>\n
You may already know precisely what kind of setting you want to place your main couple into \u2014 but if you don't, that's OK, too. In this case, first consider what sub-genre you are going for. That could be historical romance, sci-fi romance, contemporary romance (basically any romance novel set in our own world), dystopian romance, or fantasy. What genres do you enjoy, and what kind of world do you see your main couple in?<\/p>\n
Not all sub-genres are setting-based \u2014 some romance novels fall into the sub-genres of comedy, Christian fiction, or even mystery\/detective stories.<\/p>\n
Often called heroes and heroines, these are the two people you're trying to get together in your romance novel. These two main characters should be three-dimensional, and to make sure that they don't fall flat, it helps to tick all of these boxes:<\/p>\n
The further you develop each character, the more compelling your romance novel will be \u2014 readers want to root for real people, not cardboard cut-outs, after all. As you develop your main couple, keep in mind that while they should be compatible, it is always a good idea to create ways in which they don't quite jive. Not all the tension in your romance novel needs to be external; sometimes, the main source of conflict lies in the fact that your hero is scared to commit after being in a toxic relationship, for instance.<\/p>\n
It is crucial for there to be other compelling characters in your book, besides the main couple \u2014 without them, there would be little opportunity to create tension. These characters may not be quite as deeply-written as the main couple, but should still have three-dimensional personalities and clear motivations.<\/p>\n
Minor characters that often feature in romance novels include friends, the couple's parents, coworkers and bosses, children, and exes.<\/p>\n
Aim to create an immersive and believable setting for your romance novel. Your main couple doesn't exist in isolation \u2014 they're part of an entire backdrop, which is your setting. Even in contemporary romance novels that unfold, for instance, in New York or a tiny Texas town, you will want to flesh out the setting to make it come to life. Show, rather than tell, by adding descriptive visuals that make your readers feel like they are right there with your characters.<\/p>\n
If your setting is more complex, like an alien planet or a paranormal underworld, however, it is important to take extra care to make the setting seem natural. Don't start your book with long technical introductions to the futuristic colony spaceship your couple meets on, or describe the black hole the planet they're from orbits in excruciating detail. It's a romance novel, and that's what your readers are expecting.<\/p>\n
No novel is written for \"everyone\", no matter how much the author would like that to be true, but that's especially important in the context of romance novels. Deciding on a target age group allows you to determine how much graphic detail you can (or want to) include in your romance novel, as well as what kinds of conflicts are appropriate to tackle in the book. It's also crucial if you're hoping to get your book published, as literary agents will always ask this question, too.<\/p>\n
Yes, really. If you were writing just about any other kind of novel, you would be warned to stay away from overused tropes again and again, and told that nobody wants to read a book they've already seen 50 other version of. That's not quite true when it comes to romance novels, which are popular because they're familiar and comforting.<\/p>\n
Some of the commonly-used tropes you may want to include in your romance novel include:<\/p>\n
Not every writer crafts their entire plot before they sit down to write their novels \u2014 some simply begin writing and let their inspiration lead them. If you have never written a novel before, though, you may find it helpful to have at least a broad idea of what should happen in your novel. You can use novel writing software like Scrivener or Ulysses to outline your chapters. While you can always make changes later, this helps to keep you on track. Romance novels that move at lightning speed may be hard to follow, while sudden \"dips\" in the pace of your plot can cause readers to lose interest. As a general rule, something should always be happening to move your plot forward.<\/p>\n
So, you're writing a romance<\/em> novel? Do not try to be original by giving your main couple a heartbreaking ending. Save that for other genres. When you advertise a book as a romance novel, you're promising readers pain, tension, conflict, and drama, for sure, but you're also promising them a fairly happy ending that can leave them feeling satisfied.<\/p>\n Once your first draft is complete, take a moment to pat yourself on the back \u2014 you've penned an entire novel! Even if you're not happy with it, it's been a long journey and a lot of work. You deserve credit for that. You may want to take a step back to allow the novel to percolate and mature in your mind for a little while. After that, though, if you have any intention of publishing your romance novel, there's a lot more work in store for you.<\/p>\n We'll give it to you straight \u2014 nobody, not even the best writers, can effectively edit their own work to perfection. If you are hoping to be traditionally published, hiring a professional editor is a must. Should you be considering the self-publishing route, instead, you can absolutely dump your poorly-edited, typo-packed, novel on one of the ebook platforms, but that won't put you on the path to success. Hire an editor, then, but before you do, you can do plenty of the polishing work on your own.<\/p>\n The stages of editing include:<\/p>\n After you've polished your romance novel as much as you can, you can ask beta readers to offer feedback.<\/p>\n Did you make it through all the previous stages? You're now in the stage where you can consider self-publishing your romance novel, or start querying literary agents. This step is optional. Lots of people write novels they have no intention of publishing, and you can certainly leave your novel on the shelf for a while before taking this scary but exciting step, too.<\/p>\n So far, we've taken an in-depth look at all the things aspiring romance novel writers should consider as they craft a compelling story that readers will love. The actual writing process may, however, be the most daunting for you \u2014 and setting up a routine or schedule, as well as creating the physical and mental space you need to be able to focus on writing, plays a key role in getting you to the finish line.<\/p>\n To make sure that you can write, and write consistently, you may want to:<\/p>\n Above all, keep going. Promise yourself that you will<\/em> finish this romance novel. It doesn't have to be good, but it has to be finished. You can do it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not everyone might admit to enjoying romance novels \u2014 or, at the very least, novel romances \u2014 but just about everyone secretly loves the excitement, intrigue, drama, and tension that unfolds in a good romance, and everyone likes a good love story. If you're a budding writer, dipping your toes into a romance novel is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3385"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3538,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3385\/revisions\/3538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}7. Edit Your Romance Novel<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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8. Publish Your Romance Novel<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Key Tips to Help You Write a Successful Romance Novel<\/h2>\n
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