Writing a Story for Dummies

Romance

Relationships in fiction often develop at a much faster pace in fiction than they do in real life. As such, it is important to give romantic relationships a strong foundation so that they feel compelling and believable. 

A common pitfall that fictional relationships often fall into is relying too heavily on physical attraction. That's not to say physical attraction isn't important, but it often feels like a weaker, less substantial reason for characters to be together in comparison to other factors. As a rule of thumb, physical attraction is a good way to spark characters' initial interest in each other and to make established relationships feel more noticeable. However, on its own, physical attraction is a hollow justification for relationships. 

What can help establish and strengthen characters' relationships? Here are a few ideas:

Shared interests/hobbies. These can provide an excellent foundation for relationships by providing characters with something they love doing together, thereby giving them ample opportunities to bond. To make things especially interesting, consider giving characters interests that complement each other but aren't exactly the same such as gardening and cooking. Both hobbies involve food in some way but are different enough to help add variety to character interactions.

Seeking and giving comfort. Nothing says "I love you" quite like one character letting another cry on their shoulder or holding another character's hair out of the way while they puke. Comfort can come in many forms whether physical or emotional. However, one trait it has across its many forms is its ability to bring characters closer together. As an added bonus, emotional scenes that lead one character to need comforting often help flesh out characters' personalities because how characters react to different negative situations says a lot about them. For example, would your character hover over a sick loved one 24/7 or would they give them more quiet time, only checking in every now and again so their loved one can rest?

An existing friendship. This is perhaps the best way to establish a healthy relationship because it allows characters to have plenty of time to get to know each other in a natural way without the pressure and superficiality that comes with people immediately pursuing a romantic relationship. You don't even have to show the friendship starting and developing either. Simply showing that two characters have a preexisting friendship/history with each other through basic interactions and banter is all you need to do.

Another important thing to keep in mind about romance is that relationships that are both interesting and healthy involve compromise from both sides. Having no compromises would make the relationship boring and may indicate that the two characters are too similar. Having one character sacrifice more than the other would make the relationship feel lopsided and unhealthy, although you don't need to keep a tally of who sacrifices what. True love doesn't involve keeping score. Things should feel balanced though.

Even if a relationship is healthy, don't forget to let the characters have conflicts with each other at times, whether big or small. People change, and so do relationships. Even events like getting married or having kids aren't the end of a couple's story or potential to conflict with each other. Rather, life changing events and gradual character changes simply allow characters to experience different conflicts, grow in new ways, and explore previously unknown or less showcased aspects of their relationships.

Lastly, don't forget that romantic subplots don't have to be isolated from the main plot! Love by its very nature encourages character development. As such, even if a story's romantic elements don't directly drive the main plot, they can help (or hurt!) characters' ability to pursue their others goals by influencing their personalities, moods, and other traits.