How to Start a Romance Novel
Benji Russell
NovelPad Author
Romance is one of the few genres where a reader knows how it ends before they’ve ever even heard of the book. By definition, romances end with a happily-ever-after, which means the love interests must fall blissfully in love.
If you already know the end, what makes romances fun?
Well, as any fan can tell you, the fun is seeing how these specific characters find their $ happily-ever-after$ . The format doesn’t spoil the story—it makes a promise: This will be a story about people falling in love. The rest is anyone’s guess.
When readers pick up your book, not only do they expect a happily-ever-after, but they also expect to see unique characters, unique takes on $ tropes$ , and unique takes on the $ subgenre$ . It’s your job as a writer to promise, in the book’s opening scenes, that this love story is worth their time.
How To Outline A Romance Novel
When you start writing, it can be difficult to know where you’re going. What needs to be set up? Who are these characters, and what do they want? How will the plot find them?
If you make an outline, you’ll have this laid out in front of you. You can confidently start your romance novel with a clear understanding of what your opening scene needs to accomplish.
Here’s a guide to build an outline that will hold your hand through the writing process. (Get it, because it’s a romance outline? Holding hands? Ay?)
Identify Subgenre and Tropes
Because romance readers have certain expectations, being aware of the subgenre and tropes you use will help you craft a story for your desired audience.
After you’ve decided to write a romance novel, determine your subgenre. Popular subgenres include historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and erotic romance. Read other books within that subgenre and make note of the themes and tropes commonly explored, especially in recent releases. This will give you an idea of what readers will expect when they open your book.
You also want to identify the tropes you’ll be using. Make tropes your own, but make sure to pay them off—again, it’s about giving the readers what they want in a new, interesting way. Popular romance tropes include enemies-to-lovers, small-town romance, friends-to-lovers, and soulmates.
Flesh Out Main Characters
You’ll also want to flesh out your main characters. Besides some basic information (what they look like, their full name, etc.), identify what your characters want and need.
A ‘want’ is something the character thinks they need. A high-strung workaholic might want a promotion and a new penthouse in the big city.
A ‘need’ is what the character needs, embodied by the love interest. Our workaholic might want a promotion and a new penthouse in the big city, but throughout the book, it becomes obvious that she needs the peace her new lumberjack girlfriend brings her in small-town Nebraska.
Wants and needs should conflict with one another, and they should prevent our love interests from getting together. If the workaholic follows her wants, she’ll move away from her lumberjack girlfriend, and the romance will die. If she realizes what she needs, we get our happily-ever-after.
Plot the Story
Once you know what type of story you’re writing, which tropes you’re using, and who your characters are, it’s time to plot the story.
An easy way to do this is to use a classic three-act structure, like this:
Act I: The Beginning
Main characters are introduced. An inciting incident occurs in Act I, which is the meeting of our love interests. At the end of Act I, something forces the love interests together—this takes us into Act II.
Act II: The Middle
The second act contains the bulk of the plot. Here, the main characters learn to overcome their differences and fall in love. As the climax nears, it becomes more and more difficult for the couple to stay together and declare love for one another.
Act III: The End
This act begins with the crisis, which triggers the climax. Maybe our workaholic gets a call and learns she got her promotion, and she could choose to leave her lumberjack girlfriend and have the life she thought she wanted. A fight ensues. She might lose both!
But this is a romance, so she’s going to tell her terrible company to kick rocks and pick a peaceful life with her loving lumberjack girlfriend (duh). After the climax resolves and our characters declare their love for one another (for good), we get our happily-ever-after and a glimpse of their wonderful life together.
If you prefer a more detailed outline, try a romance beat sheet! These give a much more detailed framework to slot your plot points into, and they can especially help if you find yourself stuck figuring out what should happen next. Try $ this one$ by Jami Gold or $ this one$ by Kaye Dacus!