How To Fanfiction (Tips for new writers)

Tip 12: Romance

Tip 12: How To Romance

... this is quite a big topic, especially since 99% of all fan fiction are about romance.

I'll divide this topic in smaller parts.

Keep in mind that romance is generally a tough thing to cover, since there are all kinds of romantic relationships and especially romance tropes.

I mean - you've heard of enemies to lovers, but also yandere stories and childhood friends to lovers, right?

It's hard to find a way to summarize each 'romance genre' together ( if these even count as genres  but you get what I mean).

Here just a small collection of what I find most important:

- 1. -

What I experienced to be important and sort of hard to achieve is writing a realistic romance.

Misunderstandings happen all the time and no one ever get's along perfectly well.

Not everything works out fine and well just because two characters got together, no matter what hardships they went through to get there.

In a romance, even if both characters are in love, they can feel as following when they meet:

- embarrassed

- uncomfortable

- angry

- suspicious

- jealous

- unwillingly attracted

- bored

All of those are both common wnd negative emotions to feel towards a lover/in presence of a lover.

So, my first tip for writing romance will be: Give your relationship flaws. That's what it looks like in real life.

- 2. -

Think of what the characters find attractive on each other.

While doing that, keep in mind that, the closer we get to know a person, the more we find out about them!

So, at the beginning the protagonist might be attracted to their love interest's smile - which is something quite superficial that is typical thing to be attracted to first.

As the plot progresses, the characters should find themselves be attracted to more things about the other. Even things they didn't consider as outstanding, or maybe even disliked in the beginning.

This is simply what happens when we fall in love.

- 3. -

Tension!

We don't fall for a person at first glance and from then on it's immediately mutual and everything is solved.

Spice it up with that good old romantic (and perhaps sexual) tension.

Depending on the characters' dynamic, make the tension more or less obvious - typically, close friends wouldn't be as obvious about their attraction towards the other than people who are dating.

- 4. -

Add obstacles that stand between the two love birds.

It's easy to read about a perfectly easy, unproblematic relationship, but once again - real life doesn't work that way.

We get obstacles thrown in front of our feet each day.

But over coming those together only makes a romantic bond stronger.

So, consider obstacles from outside, that aren't directly in the couple's power and show the result of overcoming them.

- 5. -
Tha's more of a personal point but I want you to consider the importance of friendship in romance.

Ask every old, happily married couple - they'll all tell you that, besides being their romatic partner, their significant other is also their best friend.

Most people belive that friendship and romance are two different things, but that isn't true. A friend is someone you trust and you forgive, someone who has your back and understands you. Someone you can laugh with and be silly with.

When writing your characters falling in love, maybe consider them forming a strong friendship along the way as well.

- 6. -
Add random gestures of love. Don't forget witty dialogues, silly teasing - whatever non-relevant gesture can make your romance come to live and make the reader grin happily.

-

Those were just some things to take care of, it's not easy to generalize this topic tho