If there is a literary genre that never goes out of fashion, it is a romance novel. But how do you write a romance novel? What elements should it have? How do you organize your ideas? We tackle it.
The romance novel is a literary subgenre that stands the test of time. Literature in all its epochs has always offered love stories in the form of books. Nowadays, romance novels continue to be one of the best and best-selling genres, just check the sales lists and find authors like Megan Maxwell or Elísabet Benavent among the best-selling titles. Curiously, women writers are more successful than men writers, although there are also good authors of romantic literature.
The first thing to rule out is to think that a romance novel is a novel of low quality. As in all literary genres, there are good books and not-so-good books. Likewise, it should be noted that not everyone likes romance novels and that they have a particular niche of readers, or primarily female readers.
But yes, if the book is attractive, it will have a chance to succeed among different audiences because who doesn’t like a good love story?
What is a romance novel?
A romance novel is a prose work that tells a story centered on love and has an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. It is made up of three essential elements such as the meeting between the protagonists, the conflict of love, and the upbeat end that brings it to a close.
But in addition to the love theme and the positive ending, we cannot forget that it is still novel and is integrated with the rest of the elements of the narrative genre that you cannot ignore when it comes to writing a novel. Thus, you must maintain interest and authenticity.
Within the term romance novel, there are different subgenres. On the one hand, there are character romance novels such as sentimental, inspirational, contemporary or chick lit (in the style of The Diary of Bridget Jones). On the other hand, there are action romance novels such as romantic suspense, science fiction, paranormal, travel time, fantasy, adventure… There are also mixed genres, such as erotic romance novels or historical novels.
How to start writing a romance novel?
The first step in writing a romance novel is brainstorming a starting point. Do this in five directions to articulate what will be the structure of the romance novel:
The central theme. The most recurrent theme in a romance novel is the triumph of love over all adversities, but you can make it more concrete in love in the face of age differences, different social classes, and distance…
The characters. To establish this love story, you must start with the characters, the two main protagonists who will end up united by love, but to whom you are not going to make things easy. Once the two of them are defined, you can work and add other secondary characters.
The settings. Place the characters in a specific place and time. Where would they fit best around the theme? Much of the story will depend on this.
The plot. You can begin defining the plot with the theme, characters, and settings. Try to define the story in a paragraph setting the beginning and the end you want to reach. From that base, you can start to complicate everything.
The love conflict. Love and a happy ending will not be easy to achieve, and the two main characters will have to suffer until the success of their story, the big problem they will have to overcome is the love conflict. Try to make it original and avoid falling into clichés.
How to structure a romance novel?
Each author has a way of writing a romance novel, composing the story, and structuring the plot, which will normally be offered to the reader in chapters. An excellent way to start working on the romance novel is to define the love conflict and, from there, to think about the ending. Once these two elements are limited, it will be easier to develop the main plot.
Let’s look at some of the characteristics of a romance novel. To present the story and before submitting the love conflict, you have to start the romance novel with the so-called “trigger,” and it is that start that catches the reader’s attention. It can be a chance meeting between the protagonists, a shocking event, a sparkling dialogue… After that, the conflict will come with a first change of course in the plot that will prevent love. Later, a new change, of course, will allow the outcome, although several changes may spread throughout the novel.
The ending should close not only the main love plot but also all secondary plots. Between the love conflict and the resolution takes place all the development of the main plot and secondary plot development. It is essential to maintain the tension to keep the reader interested.
Plots of the romance novel
A good tip is first to develop the main and secondary plots independently and then keep the highlights and intersperse the different stories. You can add as many subplots as you want to the central plot, but it is not usually a good idea to overdo it, as you may need clarification on the reader.
Normally, these subplots are linked to secondary characters, feeding them throughout the story with their course changes and their tension maintenance.
To keep the reader’s attention, you can ask questions and answer them little by little during the development.
Tips for writing a romance novel
While these are probably similar to tips we can give you for shaping any literary genre, keep them in mind for writing a romance novel as well:
Write down every idea that comes to your mind, leave it written down, let it sit for a while, and then select the best for you.
It is important to feel comfortable while writing a romantic story. To do this you must approach a theme, setting, and era you master. Otherwise, you will find it more complicated, and usually, it is not so close to the reader.
Balance the tension of love. Love can be neither easy nor highly impossible. The story must be believable and inspiring.
Generate a writing routine. Regularity is also essential when it comes to shaping a romance novel. You will find it easier if you immerse yourself in the story, and it gradually grows. Try to write daily at certain times so your body and mind get used to it.
Read romance novels. If you want to write a romance novel, start by reading this genre to understand the structures, plot resolution methods, character descriptions, and vocabulary. You can also read romance essays by various authors which you may find at the free essay writing service WowEssays.com.
The reader already senses the ending. Give them something more. Readers of romance novels intuit that the story between the two protagonists should end well, so look for an original approach or development to make it appealing for her to continue reading.
Close style. The romance novel is a genre for all audiences. Therefore, the intellectual level of the narrative should be manageable, look for a close tone and vocabulary to reach all types of readers.
