Guide to Writing

How to write.... Romance

The Wattpad Profile: Romance

The Wattpad Definition: With love as a driving force, a romance is a form of fiction that traces the growing relationship between two individuals, and oftentimes, the struggle to reconcile their differences or their pasts. The protagonists typically undergo personal development, equally challenged and changed by their beloved.

In plain English: A story that focuses on the romantic connection between two people.

Famous Examples: What Happened to Goodbye? by Sarah Dessen; Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell; Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins; The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Famous Film/ TV Examples: Titanic; Love Actually; When Harry Met Sally

Romance is one of the most popular genres, both on and off Wattpad. Whether you've never experienced it before or loved many times, it's a lot of fun to write. But writing a good love story does take some skill. We've seen some common errors among new romance writers on Wattpad. Here are some basic Do's and Don'ts to help you learn from their mistakes.

Don't rush the love - Having a couple instantly fall in love or kiss the first time they meet is not a good idea. Readers need time to fall in love with the characters as they fall in love with each other. This is probably the biggest mistake new romance authors make.

Do take the time to develop the relationship - Couples go through phases on their way to love. There may be an initial attraction, but they need time to get to know each other as the attraction deepens into something more. Believe it or not, readers love it when the author takes their time and the couple fall in love slowly. They may be clamouring for that first kiss, but the longer you postpone that moment, the sweeter it is for the readers when it finally happens.

Don't ruin the suspense early on - To keep the readers' attention, you need to keep them guessing whether the couple really are going to get together. Or once they've declared their love, whether they're going to be able to stay together. When readers aren't sure what's going to happen, they keep reading to find out.

The main way we've seen authors spoil the suspense is when they change the POV to the other person. After reading how much Farrah likes Matt, the mysterious, brooding new boy at school, the readers are suddenly in Matt's head. Now they're hearing how much he really likes Farrah, that girl with the arresting blue eyes. If the point of the story is whether Matt and Farrah will fall in love, and it's now obvious Matt and Farrah like each other, why bother reading on? You already know how it's going to end. It's perfectly fine to switch POV, and it's sometimes necessary to further the plot, but be careful when and how you do it so you don't give away the ending.

Do write your romance as if it were mystery - By carefully controlling the information you give the reader, you grab their attention and keep them reading. If Farrah likes the brooding and mysterious Matt, let her get to know him, learning a little more each time she talks to him. The readers will be hanging on every word, wanting to know all about him.

Don't have your characters do things you wouldn't do in real life - Try to make sure your characters' actions are as realistic as possible. If they're not grounded in reality, readers won't be able to relate to them as real people, and that will keep them from caring about them.

Do put yourself in your character's head - The best way to make sure your characters are realistic is to pretend you're in their situation. You can do this by simply closing your eyes and imagining yourself in their place. Or you could do it as a writing exercise, writing as if you were them recording their thoughts in a journal. You may be surprised by the reactions and choices you/they make, but go with it. That realism will come through in your writing, turning your characters into living, breathing people for your readers.

Don't be afraid to be unique - There's a difference between having common cliché elements in a story and expanding on them. Nothing is wrong with a story having clichés - how else would these stories be so popular? However what tends to frustrate readers is when the plot of one story is exactly the same as another, right down to the very last detail. Don't be afraid to branch out and add details that are different - readers will remember a story much better for it.

Misconception #1: It must end in happily ever after

We all love to see our favourite characters get together in the end and ride off into the sunset, but that doesn't mean that every story has to end this way. A romance story explores the relationship between two people, and the reality is that not all relationships end happily. Romeo and Juliet is a famous example of a romance story that doesn't end happily ever after.

We're not saying that you have to end your story on a sad note, but you aren't ever obligated to end it on a happy one. End your story in the way that feels right to you!

Misconception #2: Guys don't write romance

Ever heard of Nicholas Sparks, writer of a famous romance called The Notebook? Or John Green? Being male doesn't mean you can't write a romance story. Write what you enjoy! Even if the romance is a subplot in a different genre, men aren't somehow banned from writing about love.

Misconception #3: Character stereotypes

Nobody ever falls into one set stereotype, as we said a few weeks ago in our writing tip. Make your characters layered, because it helps create a more realistic person we can root for.

Misconception #4: Every teen finds love

This kind of fits with #1. Whilst we do want love for all of our favourite characters, how many of us can genuinely say that all of our friends are happily paired up? Not every person finds love in their teenage years, or even has their first kiss, so you're not obligated to give all your characters perfect lives.

Misconception #5: Your characters have to be perfect

We'd all love to be perfect, or to meet the perfect person, but it's rare that the people we meet are. The chances that all romantic partners are going to be the ideal when you meet them is rare. They won't necessarily be rich, virginal, have perfect looks and the exact same ideals.

Remember that readers relate more to a character that they can understand, whether it's the main or the love interest. How many readers can truly relate to being considered "perfection" as described by the writer? People have flaws, so don't be afraid to add these in to give a bit more realism to your story and characters!

Chosen by you: Top 10 romance clichés

In the video we gave with this chapter, we saw the top 10 clichés of romantic movies, and a lot of these actually turn out to be common in teen fiction romances as well! Hopefully you enjoyed the video, but we also asked you what your top 10 clichés were for teen romance stories. It's interesting to see where these compare! So here they are, with number one being the most common cliché chosen by you!

10. Break up and make up/ separated lovers

9. Hidden Agendas (e.g. the guy dating the girl for a bet)

8. Guy falls for girl when they change their looks

7. New boy love interest

6. Best friends falling in love

5. The guy saves the girl at some point

4. The pushy best friend

3. Love triangles

2. Hate becomes love

1. The player or bad boy love interest

Honourable mentions: The almost kiss; lovers not acting on their feelings; forbidden love; the jealous ex; the awkward girl dating the arrogant guy; arranged marriage to the perfect man

Hopefully this helped you all! What's your advice on writing the perfect romance?