Sea of Genres: Romance

Romance.

This is probably the most popular genre of literature, and rightly so.

Even if you don't like reading romance, we can all agree that a happy couple makes us smile.

Romance isn't just about a happy couple though.

Romance is about two people—who eventually will become a happy couple—having to face every challenge their author has written for them to endure and almost not make it through together.

It's quite fun to write actually.

So today, to continue the Sea of Genres series, I will be diving into romance and giving you some tips that I've found to be useful while writing this genre.

Create tension.

Romance books need to have romantic tension. The reader has to feel that tension as well.

How do we do this?

I have three steps for the basic formula to creating tension in your romance book.

1. Establish the want.

In every book, the character needs to want something.

In a romance book, the character's want will be the other person in the story.

You must establish the desire of the characters.

You have to show the reader that they actually have some sort of romantic tension between each other.

You can show it through feelings, through thoughts, or through actions.

Here's an example:

I used every ounce of my strength to keep my eyes focused on the person talking to me, every word coming out of their mouth going straight past me.

I knew he was standing across the room.

That annoyingly perfect, pig of a man who drove me up the wall with anger...but also made my heart beat ten times too fast.

It annoyed me even more that he knew his artwork well.

Hopefully, I could sneak under his radar and he wouldn't even know I was here. But as I felt his intense gaze burning through me, I knew those plans were toast.

Burnt toast.

The girl in front of me kept chatting on about whatever we'd been talking about, oblivous to the near heart attack I was having.

Breath in, breath out.

I wasn't going to lose my cool like a hormonal teenager. He was only a guy. Just a guy. I was not a school girl.

But what I didn't notice as I continued my mental pep talk was the actual school girl in front of me stop talking.

"Amelia."

I froze, his voice raising goosebumps on my exposed arms. Turning, I came face to face with the vexing man himself.

I'll end that sample there because if I don't stop we're going to have a whole book on our hands.

Do you see the way I showed Amelia's, our female lead character's, feelings to you? Showing her inner dialogue with herself as well as her attempts to ignore him—the slight nerves as well.

How do you think Amelia feels about him?

Yes, she is clearly somewhat attracted to him, but he also annoys her.

In romance, you have to show the reader the character's feelings. You have to. It's not optional.

This is part of showing the reader what the character wants.

Of course, the character may not realize their "want" in the beginning.

Especially if you're writing an "enemies to lovers" type of book, your characters may be reluctant to even consider that they have feelings for each other.

This is the most important part of creating tension:

2. Establish why they can't have what they want.

There is no tension without obstacles.

You cannot have the first step to creating tension without this second step.

Every book needs obstacles, no matter the genre.

In a romance book, there has to be some obstacle preventing the characters from getting together, whether it be themselves, their job positions, their friends, where they live, other people, or even their life goals.

The tension is created when there is something preventing them from acting on their feelings.

If there were no obstacles in a romance novel, it would be quite boring. The man and woman would meet, fall in love, and live happily ever after with no problems whatsoever.

It just can't be written that way.

No matter how small, there has to be something preventing the characters from having what they want. If there wasn't, the moment they finally got what they wanted wouldn't be as rewarding.

3. Give the reader build up.

Your OTP (one true pair) can't get together right away.

To create tension between them, you have to give your reader a build up to when they finally do.

Your couple can't be kissing and in a perfect relationship within the first 3 pages. You have to give your readers a build up to that.

Give them flirtatious energy, give them chemistry, give them so much tension that just before the characters finally get together the readers practically burst with anticipation.

I'm not saying that there aren't some good romance books where the couple gets together sort of early. I'm just saying, most of the tension is created with the chase.

You need that slow burn.

That's my three step formula to creating tension.

Now here are my last 5 tips about writing a romance novel.

Your characters need to end up together in the end.

Whether it be in book 1, 2, or 3, your characters have to end up together.

If you decide to kill off one of your main characters then it's not a romance novel, it's a tragedy.

Romance has to have a somewhat happy ending.

It doesn't matter if it's a series either. Even if your characters don't end up together in the first book, in the last book they have to be together. If they aren't, do all of us readers a favor and label the book "tragedy" so we at least know what we're in for.

Have the two characters complement each other.

When you're writing a romance, you want the two characters who are falling in love to complement each other.

They need to benefit each other in some way.

Maybe character A is more of a hothead while character B is more chill. Maybe character B can keep character A from freaking out, while character A will be sure that people don't push chracter B around. Those two characters complement each other well.

Basically, don't make it so the characters are the exact same.

The saying, "Opposites attract," does have truth to it.

Steer clear from only physical attraction.

While it's good to establish that the main character is physically attracted to the other main character, a relationship has to be built on more than that.

If a character is to truly fall for someone, they need to actually love that person for more than their appearance.

I've read books where basically the only reason the main characters liked each other was because they both thought the other one was "hot". This is not a healthy relationship.

Beauty fades. Personality stays.

....Most of the time....

Yes, your characters should think the other physically attractive but please have them think the other's personality is attractive.

Love isn't truly physical. Physical attraction only gets you so far. Love is getting to know someone, really, truly caring for them, and not wanting your life without them.

Make your characters' feelings towards one another warranted.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but I've come to realize that there are a lot of people who really don't grasp this concept.

Love does not just appear out of thin air.

Unlike what is written in some romance novels, you don't just connect eyes with someone across a room and immediately fall for them.

As I said above, love is getting to know someone, really, truly caring for them, and not wanting your life without them.

But love often gets confused with infatuation.

True love is not simple. It involves caring for someone so much that you will be with them through thick and thin. I once heard a comedian describe true love as someone sitting with their spouse after a colonoscopy as they let all the air out. You might be screaming, "TMI!!!", but I've found this is actually a good metaphor for love: if you are willing to put your significant other's happiness or comfort above your own.

So please, for the love of literature, make your characters' feelings towards one another warranted!

Why am I tellling you this? Why am I telling you what should be a no-brainer? I mean, doesn't everybody, especially a writer, know this?

Well, I thought so.

Until a single TV show changed my mind on that.

Let me regale you with the horrors I witnessed on this one episode.

Basically, there's a love triangle going on—I won't talk about that and how mad I am about it or anything—and the female lead in this triangle goes to tell one of the characters that she can't be with him because she's afraid of losing him like she did her late husband (who died while doing his job in the same profession the current love interest is in).

I know, it's complicated, but bare with me.

The guy ends up confessing his love for her and offers to give up his job for her but she says no and rides off on a horse sobbing into the sunset—in slow motion, mind you.

But the cheesy, slow motion riding wasn't the main problem here.

The main problem was, these two people had never even eaten a meal together.

Well, not simply that.

They've never gone on a date. They've never gone out together except to get a Christmas tree—and I can guarantee you that it wasn't a soul-spilling romantic outing. Their only interactions have been conversations here and there and then the unwarranted "longing looks" the female lead sends him that were supposed to be romantic, but really just looked like she spotted a cockroach crawling out of his left nostril and was quenching the urge to throw up.

I don't mean to just bash this couple on the show—although, in my opinion, they have zero chemistry and just fall completely flat—but as a writer who has written romance, I know that love doesn't work that way.

These two characters—full grown adults, one of which who's already been married once—barely knew each other and yet one of them was spouting off an "I love you" and willing to quit the job he'd built his entire life around just to be with a woman he barely knows.

I'm sorry, but this is exactly what we're trying to avoid.

Just because romance books or shows are fictional, does not mean they shouldn't be realistic.

Love doesn't just appear.

It's born overtime.

And you can't truly love someone without actually knowing them.

You can be infatuated with someone, but that's different than love.

So when you're writing, give your characters time to actually grow their feelings. They can think the other person is good looking or connect with them when they meet right away, but they can't fall in love without actually having time to develop a relationship.

I'm not saying people can't fall in love quickly. It happens and that could be a plot in your romance novel.

Relationships don't all progress the same. People can fall in love quickly or they can fall in love slowly. It all depends on the person, and the relationship and connection they have with the other.

What I am saying is that people need to know the person they're falling in love with personally before they truly love them. That doesn't mean it has to take a long time, it just means they need to build a relationship.

Make sure the romantic development and plot fit the characters' personalities.

People with different personalities fall in love and show it differently.

Romance novels aren't always going to be the same.

Everyone is going to react to feelings differently. Everyone is going to show their feelings differently as well as acknowledge their feelings differently.

Depending on your characters' personalities, the developement of their romance is going to be different and unique to them and their relationship.

This is pretty simple.

You just have to put yourself in your characters' shoes and try to figure out how they would react and act based on who they are as a person.

For example, if one of your characters wasn't "touchy feely" or didn't like PDA or any sort of physical affection, it might take them a little longer to get comfortable with a relationship and to do things such as kiss or hug their SO. If one of your characters was standoffish, it might take them a little bit for their walls to break down and for them to admit they have feelings.

You have to really think about how your characters are going to express romantic affection towards one another. You have to make sure it works and fits them.

I hope you all found my romance tips helpful! If you have anything to add or any questions, just message me in the contact bar below.

Good luck on your romance writing endeavors and, as always, happy writing!

-Jocelyn