Don't forget the deadline this time.

 

I have completed faith in you guys. The romance genre won't know what hit it.

 

Don't over think it, just do it.

 

Can we actually do a bit of brainstorming for basic cookie-cutter type plots that go with romance storylines?

Can easily keep it HP-free and spoiler-free. Here's some examples (apologies if I got them wrong, not sure I've actually seen any of them):

You've Got Mail

Romance: Dude and Lady are e-mailing/messaging each other and falling in love without realizing that they know each other RL and have an antagonistic relationship.
Plot: Dude owns the giant bookstore chain that is screwing the Lady's independent bookshop over. He wants to make his chain better and she wants to keep her shop running.​

Groundhog Day

Romance: Dude uses a time loop to woo the Lady, getting lots of trial and error in, until he finally knows how to succeed (in hindsight, WTF creepy).
Plot: Dude has to get the fuck out of the time loop.
​

...and other shit. I don't do romance. I feel that in 98% of cases (yes, that many) it's shoe-horned into another story that would shine a lot more without trying to shove a whirlwind romance in between scenes.

But I do know that most stories have a side-plot to go with the romance-plot. Whether it's trying to save your bookstore or escape a time loop.

And I'm really curious to hear some other general 'side plots' that went with famous romances (or hell, just stories that shoved romance into them that didn't need it to shine).

I tried TVTropes but have failed to find the correct trope.

And yes, I know that you can have a romance and any other type of plot you want. But if romance is the main thing then usually for a short story the other plot would be fairly simple and probably fit into a stereotype.

 

Ugh I've got quite a few thoughts on the romance genre that I haven't put down and organise into a coherent essay yet. Diaclaimer: word vomit imminent.

Romance, like with any story, is all about interesting characters. It's apparent in pure romance because without characters that can capture your reader's imagination, you've already lost.

Other genres might have some leeway, such as action/adventure with hey look shiny fights or mystery with hey look interesting questions or Sci fi / steam punk et Al with hey look cool settings.

Romance not so. You either nail the chemistry or you don't.

But Halt, why do trashy pocket romance books becomes so popular ala 50shades of gray!

Well, because romance in a sense does have a shiny thing and that is selling you the very idea of romance and courtship and/ or deviancy. If you're the type of person who fantasies about those things, romance is a natural draw for you.

Fanfiction takes it one step further because it let's you play with established characters. Part of the reason why I believe it's so prevalent is because of shipping wars. Understanding that a subset of the community will always like whatever you write as long as the square pegs fits the round hole is a huge incentive, whether authors are conscious or not about this, to always include romance when it is often.best untouched.

Dlp is not immune to this - case in point, HP/Fleur. I love that pairing but I'll be the first to tell you it is a wish fulfillment (nothing wrong with that, so long as the writing doesn't suffer too much for it)

Anyway back to romance.

It falls into a couple of general plots such as
-two people hate each other than fall in love
-one person chases after a person that likes them a lot less (usually hates them but not a must) (most of the James lily stories)
-two people who have to overcome x in order to be together (romeo and Juliet, beren and luthien)

And most stories end it when characters get together to our joy and frustration. Joy because it's actually a natural place to end a story, frustration because hey what happens next you colossal dick. How could you leave us hanging after we invested so much time into your characters???

Then we get the more complicated romances - the ones that aren't neat and tidy at the end
-people falling out of love
-people coping with everyday romance problems
-etc

And then we have twists and variations such as someone settling for a suboptimal choice and coming to realise love can be learned and isn't necessarily all intense passions and sex. It is a vast thing with so many shades and forms and palettes.

Because I'm on the phone and holy shit my hand is starting to cramp ill keep this to the first type - getting people (when one or both likes the other not that much) together.

All of them follow the same steps, the so-called DREAM model

Denial - I hate that guy. He is a garbage human being.
Resistance - I hate that guy but I can see why some people might like him.
Exploration - I guess it wouldn't be so bad to go on one date with him.
Acceptance - oh god I love him.
Marriage - have my babies. This stage needs a few more words as it's less clear cut from the title. Marriage simply refers to a romantic end state, whether as bf gf, engagement, marriage, a freaking promise ring or an ill come back for you after the war. It is the action a character takes after realising they love someone, but it doesn't always have to be they end up together. It could be a I love him but we can't be together because x.

Some stories go through this progression quickly in a chapter, some take ages to get through one stage and meander avout before rushing through the rest. Some space them out evenly.

But all of them go through this arc, or end up feeling rushed.

 

Just don't over complicate it. I'm not an expert but it's all about understanding human interaction, not to over simplify what Halt said. What would X say to Y in Z scenario and work your way out from there. It's about the nuanced emotions that everyone throws under one banner, romance, and think that explains everything.

It's the look in her eye, the smile on her face, the feeling deep down that there is something there that needs to be explored. The thrill of taking a chance, the drum beat of success. The long slow burn of passion. Add many more things here.

 

@Zombie - good advice! Though I'm not worried about writing the romance part of it, not really. It's more that I have that part in my head but am not sure what plot to pair it with (like 'save the bookstore' or 'escape the prison' or whatever that isn't the romance aspect).

 

Yah, I have a version of their beat sheet. Very convenient for this type of thing if I can just come up with a workable parallel plot...

Thanks @Perspicacity - you said what I was trying to say in about a tenth of the word count. I have to figure out what the parallel plot is going to be, and I have zero idea. And I don't typically enjoy reading/watching romance, so I'm not as familiar with the typical ones.

 

I think there are a few components to a romance that are reasonably non-negotiable.

Don't hop between the couple's POVs. A lot of the tension of a romance comes from uncertainty and misunderstanding when it comes to the growing relationship. You kill that dead if you show how both of them are thinking and feeling. Plus it's tedious as fuck.

There has to be an emotional pay-off. The point of a romance story (rather than a side plot.) Is the relationship is at the core of the narrative. It has to pay off, it can do this tragically or happily but if it gets lost amid the climax of the parallel plot the impact of your story is lost.

Keep things moving. Most people spend a lot of time of mental space obsessing over a new crush or relationship but God is it tedious to read. Devoting pages to someone wondering whether sempai noticed me is a serious engament killer. Give them real plot or relationship conflict to worry about and move on from it quickly. This is also why few romances are written in 1st person, infatuated people tend to be dumb and unbearable even when you don't have to share headspace with them.

Plot the relationship like you would any other element. The relationship is a key part of the story and needs to be planned out accordingly. It can't just be slapped onto your more interesting plot. It will be boring and stale. Whatever emotional rollarcoaster you plan to put your charecters through is also one shared by your readers (if you are doing things right and they are invested.) It has to provide highs and lows: stake raising moments tragic misunderstandings, last minute reconciliations etc etc etc. As the relationship is the thing the reader is invested in (usually over them individually) it can be used to provide the emotional punch needed in your wider plot. It needs to make emotional sense and sense within the story.

At least one side of this couple needs to be sympathetic. This is not entirely hard and fast. You could also write an aweful couple and set their lives on fire for the enjoyment of the audience. But in books like that there are usually a B-couple who are sympathetic and get their happy ending. Point is most of the time people don't want to read about a pair of cunts. There needs to be something, however small that lets you emotionally connect with at least one of them.

They need to grow. Both the charecters and the relationship have to be tested and develope during the story. Or else what is the point? It can crash and burn or end happily ever after but it must change.

Don't make one side of the couple passive. This is almost always the girl in western stories, but it can be the guy. Basically this is when one half is getting exclusively pursued/ rescued/ fought over etc without ever actually having any agency or will of their own.

Try not to romanticize abusive or controlling behaviours. You would think this was a no-brainer but this one is seriously prevalent, especially in Y/A romances. The infamous one being sparkily Edward's 'I break into your bedroom to watch you sleep.' That's not to say you can't write toxic or shitty relationships, just try not to frame that shit as romantic, even if it's an old romance cliché. Try to think of the balance of power in a relationship also and navigate accordingly.

The exception to this is if you are firmly in your charecters head rather than omnipotent narrator and they think these shitty controlling behaviours are romantic. That can be really interesting but it's a fine line to walk to simultaneously show how bad it is even as the POV charecter finds it romantic (at least at first.)

Sex scenes should serve a purpose. Usually in romance it is an emotional purpose. It can be the release of tension, the climax (lol) of a high or low point, comfort, confirmation, revenge etc etc. Occasionally it can be a plot driven purpose, but that rarely comes across as anything but deeply contrived. Also if you are writing a sex scene from the POV of a charecter that is not your gender I'd recommend doing some research (I'm sure that will be a terrible imposition) the way male writers think women experience sex (and I imagine visa-versa) can sometimes be hilariously off base.

.....


As for the rest of the story. There are two ways to go about it. The plot is driven by the romance or the romance is shaped by the plot.

Romance driven plot
The obvious one would be Romeo and Juliet.Another would be the Great Gatsby. Everything that happens in the story happens because they met and fell in love. The events are shaped by the romance. With this kind of story the conflict tends to focus almost exclusively on the relationship. People try to break them up, side love interests get involved, duels are fought etc etc etc.

Plot driven romance
This will probably appeal more to you guys since it tends to widen the scope of the story. A good example would be the Outlander series, where a WW2 nurse is thrown back to 17th century Scotland amid the Jacobite rebellion and ends up having to marry a hot kilt-wearing clansman. There relationship is the emotional centre of the books but they also have wars, timetravel, magic, the implications of intervening with histroy etc etc. Their relationship development is driven by the larger events surrounding them.

Most story's have elements of both of course but they tend to lean one way or another.

.....

With fanfiction you are likely starting with already established relationships, at least to some degree. This is a blessing and a curse. The way I see it you can approach it three ways.

1. I want to write a story where a Death Eater turncoat and a DA member must work together to stop Voldermort achieving ultimate immortality who could I use? How would their dynamic change and what challenges would they face etc?

2. It would be interesting if A and B ended up in a relationship, in what interesting ways could that happen and how would it effect them and the people/situations around them?

Example: Professor Umbridge didn't know what fulfillment was untill a whole heard of centaurs opened her eyes. She will pass a law allowing plural interspecies marriage if she has to fight the whole Ministry to do it.​

3. I'd like to explore a canon established relationship by giving it more nuance and depth or a different spin to what is already known.

Example: How did Fleur meet Bill and how did he finally get her to agree to go for some Butterbeer?​

Yeah that's all I got.

 

Good stuff, definitely something for the writing advice thread