Writing Requesting good romance tutorials

H0LL0W

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A lot romance tutorials kind of read the same...
Anyone have a favorite romance tutorial they would like to share with me? I'm trying to write a romance to challenge myself since all I write is horror and meme-y stuff. I'm trying to write a vampire romance novel right now... I find it so hard and apparently everyone else finds them so easy to write for some reason.
 

Yairy

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A lot romance tutorials kind of read the same...
Anyone have a favorite romance tutorial they would like to share with me? I'm trying to write a romance to challenge myself since all I write is horror and meme-y stuff. I'm trying to write a vampire romance novel right now... I find it so hard and apparently everyone else finds them so easy to write for some reason.
I say watch a bunch of romance movies. Tjat always gets my brain pumping. Looking at tutorials there's always the same formula for basic romance. Here's an example I have seen online but I spice it up a bit.

1) The cute meet
2) The conflict
3) The climax
4) The chase
5) The end or they get together.

Starting with:
1)
You have two characters, how will you make them meet that is exciting to the reader? In most cases, a reader who is looking at romance wants to in some way shape or form experience all the excitement of meeting someone who might be their destined love. The cute meet usually solidifes that. I want to stress something too. Make the characters believe they are who they are. Let the other character exppse their flaws and weaknesses in order to help the pair grow stronger.
2)
What is the overall conflict of the story? Is it about nasty politics that they are wrapped in together as two nobels from rival countries? Or are they two people who go through hardships and eventually see one another as the support they need? What conflict forces them together that helps the reader realistically sees that they are perfect together?
3)
The flipping point to the story. Something monumental that shifts the focus of the story. But since this is romance, what big twist will make the reader want to see the two finally get together? Did one if then betray the other’s trust for money and now that they have it all it feels pointless and empty. Show how the other person changed the main character's perspective and how much they need the other person.
4)
The chase is damn the consequences! I want you back even if I have to kill a million people! That long story build up is finally hear. Tell them how they feel but first, they have to get them back. That's what the chase is. They had a taste of them and now they yearn for them forever.

5)
They finally get them back, confess all their feelings and the other accepts. They go on to be the people they became because of one another. Show that true love is everlasting.

Awwwww....Yairy out~~~~~~~~~
 

H0LL0W

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@Yairy thanks for that, it was pretty helpful. I'm not a very romantic person (sorry anyone who's dated me) and I don't watch romance.
Time to get on that!
I'll try watching the romance movie The Notebook because every lady I've met keeps mentioning it... don't know why...
I do agree that the chase is what makes it interesting, and that's why a lot of people like to play hard to get! My story involves more politics and warring nations, so it also makes it a bit more complicated, adding in the whole arranged marriages.
Its super trope-y but sometimes people wanna read stuff to escape reality :)
 

Cipiteca396

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I don't know, real life romance seems sorta interesting on its own? Just have them gradually learn more about each other, and enjoy doing so.
 

Jemini

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A lot romance tutorials kind of read the same...
Anyone have a favorite romance tutorial they would like to share with me? I'm trying to write a romance to challenge myself since all I write is horror and meme-y stuff. I'm trying to write a vampire romance novel right now... I find it so hard and apparently everyone else finds them so easy to write for some reason.
Really, I think the entire thing about certain genres being hard for some people and easy for others is as simple as whether or not it aligns to your preferred style.

A writing style really amounts to a set of sub-skills within your ability to write, and your preferred style is simply the set of skills you are most comfortable with using.

My advice would be to add romance as a sub-genre / sub-plot of a bigger story which fits more within your preferred style.

EDIT: Another piece of advice for romance plots, one of the things that help the most in making a romance plot work for the readers is how much they identify with the characters. You hear the term sometimes. The truth is, in most genres, you don't necessarily need to identify with the characters to enjoy it. Romance, however, is different. It is the one genre where identifying with the characters is almost a requirement.

People have ideas about what you can do to get the reader to identify with the characters. The dirty little secret is that there is 1 brute-force method that works 100% of the time. That 1 method is time. If you slow-roll the romantic sub-plot in the background of the story, only advancing it by baby steps at a time, you can make any pairing truly resonate with the readers.

My #1 favorite romance story is Shinichi and Ran in Detective Conan. The reason why this one works so darn well is exactly what I just said. Time.

Ironically, the approach of writing romantic plots into media that seems more geared toward younger audiences actually makes it resonate more. This is because the writing you would do for younger audiences coincidentally forces you to take things slow and keep things chaste a lot longer than you would with writing for an older audience. It adds that time factor that I just mentioned.
 
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Ai-chan

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A lot romance tutorials kind of read the same...
Anyone have a favorite romance tutorial they would like to share with me? I'm trying to write a romance to challenge myself since all I write is horror and meme-y stuff. I'm trying to write a vampire romance novel right now... I find it so hard and apparently everyone else finds them so easy to write for some reason.
A romance just needs one thing. Romance. Everything else is just gravy. The very basic thing a romance needs is feelings, emotions. Don't bother doing anything else if you can't even do that.

All you need to do is flood the stories with emotions. Make the readers understand how the romance works, make it logical, make it very detailed.

For example:

Bad romance
I like him. I like him a lot. He's so dreamy.

Better romance (Ai-chan wrote this in 3 minutes, so don't expect awesomeness)
I-I am not sure what is happening. I hate him. I know that. He is the sole reason of my family's fall.

Yet, why... why does his piercing gaze makes my face hot?

Why does his gentle touch on my fingers make my heart beat faster?

Why is his nearness making me lose my breath?

I should hate him. No, I hate him. I hate him.

But why do I keep wanting to see him? To touch him? To ki...

No! No! I will never let him go! I will ruin him, just as he ruined my family. No matter how long it will take, no matter the hardships I suffer, I will have him make amends for what he did to my family. One way or the other, he will pay!
 

H0LL0W

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A romance just needs one thing. Romance. Everything else is just gravy. The very basic thing a romance needs is feelings, emotions. Don't bother doing anything else if you can't even do that.

All you need to do is flood the stories with emotions. Make the readers understand how the romance works, make it logical, make it very detailed.

For example:

Bad romance
I like him. I like him a lot. He's so dreamy.

Better romance (Ai-chan wrote this in 3 minutes, so don't expect awesomeness)
I-I am not sure what is happening. I hate him. I know that. He is the sole reason of my family's fall.

Yet, why... why does his piercing gaze makes my face hot?

Why does his gentle touch on my fingers make my heart beat faster?

Why is his nearness making me lose my breath?

I should hate him. No, I hate him. I hate him.

But why do I keep wanting to see him? To touch him? To ki...

No! No! I will never let him go! I will ruin him, just as he ruined my family. No matter how long it will take, no matter the hardships I suffer, I will have him make amends for what he did to my family. One way or the other, he will pay!
It seems you've already read my story, lmfao.
 

Yairy

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Really? That was in your story? Man, you need to pour in the emotions, then. Bloodwork, waterworks, the whole shebang. Don't skimp on feelings.
I agree with Ai-chan here. When you write romance, your readers should feel every emotion. Saying "I like you" and it being over is cheap. Show all the consequences in saying those words. Make the character feel a sense of risk when going for how they feel. Even in reality, if you say "I like you" the risk is they won't feel the same and your heart will hurt. Make the readers know that there are things that will emotionally hurt your characters if feelings aren't returned. Or there might be consequences if the feelings are mutual. Love is a mess, have fun with it.

It's just not about skimping on the emotion. Let your readers feel the emotional journey that is romance. A subplot or main plot, romance needs emotion behind it. If you can somehow make yourself just as afraid of these feelings as the characters you write, I 100% believe you will be a better romance writer. Try to empathize with your characters even though they are fake. Because in the reality of your story, they are just as real as you and I.

@Ai-chan It's AI-CHAN! AWWWWWWWWWWWW
 

Agentt

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I don't know, real life romance seems sorta interesting on its own? Just have them gradually learn more about each other, and enjoy doing so.
It is? Real life romance seems to be bland
Really? That was in your story? Man, you need to pour in the emotions, then. Bloodwork, waterworks, the whole shebang. Don't skimp on feelings.
._.)
Sorry for intruding but..you can say I can't think of all that stuff? The concept is too much fiction? What feelings are we even talking about?
 

H0LL0W

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Really? That was in your story? Man, you need to pour in the emotions, then. Bloodwork, waterworks, the whole shebang. Don't skimp on feelings.
no... I meant the part where you say this.
I-I am not sure what is happening. I hate him. I know that. He is the sole reason of my family's fall.
thats why i felt like you read my story, lol.
 
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