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108 Romance Writing Prompts & Love Story Ideas

Everybody loves a good love story – here are 108 romantic writing prompts and love story ideas to inspire you!

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Everybody loves a good love story, and with these romance writing prompts for romantic fiction, you are sure to find some inspiration to write a story for the ages.

These romantic writing prompts are free for you to take and let your imagination run wild. Use them as novel ideas, short stories, screenplays, or just try them as creative writing exercises to stretch your imagination.

Romantic Fiction Writing Prompts and Story Starters

Please note : We use the pronouns “she and he” in some of these examples, but of course you have the freedom to reverse and change genders as you see fit!

1. Their story begins on a bright summer morning when they both awake in bed together with no memory of who they are or where they came from.

2. She is determined to go on an epic road trip this summer. When her best friend bails out at the last minute, she talks one of her co-workers into joining her as a reluctant sidekick for the adventure of a lifetime. 

3. Write a story where one character finds the other character in their tent while camping alone.

4. Our heroine catches the hero stealing food from the restaurant where she works. Is he a bad guy or is there more to this story? What happens when she realizes she is falling for him?

5. A mysterious stranger leaves an item at the main character’s front door with a note attached saying “For a rainy day”.

6. Our hero is a jet-setter whose father has died and just left all of his possessions to someone else. He’s about to demand the rights to his inheritance when he realizes maybe he likes this person.

7. Write a romance story about an undercover cop investigating a person for a crime they didn’t commit. As the cop learns more about them, they realize they are innocent and they might be falling in love.

8. The heroine’s father warns her that she’ll be in terrible danger if she accepts the hero’s marriage proposal.

9. Our two characters are shipwrecked after an unexpected storm. They find themselves on an island where they are forced to spend their first night together under the stars.

10. An impromptu dance competition is announced at the bar where two characters are enjoying an evening of drinks. Do they have what it takes to win the contest and at love?

11. The hero is the brother of the person our heroine has had a crush on for years – who is also her best friend.

12. Write a love story where two single parents drop their kids off at the same daycare every morning. When they run into each other, will they be ready to give love a second chance?

13. She has a secret thinking spot on the roof of a nearby building. When she goes there after learning she lost her job, she discovers someone sitting there.

14. Our characters are both recovering addicts. They both have had problems with alcohol and drugs – will they be able to stay clean long enough for true love to find them?

15. Our characters are on vacation in the countryside of a foreign country when they accidentally crash their cars into each other, resulting in them being sent to the same hospital where they share a room for a week.

16. Our hero and heroine meet in line at the grocery store almost every week. After constantly running into each other, he finally asks her out.

17. The heroine’s wedding is cancelled the day before she was supposed to walk down the aisle. She isn’t sure how to pick up the pieces so goes to the beach to sort herself out, where she finds herself falling for someone new.

18. The might be lawyers on opposite sides of many cases, but they can’t deny that there is something between them…

19. The two of them are in a band together, hoping to get their music heard by the world. They start falling for each other, but will it rip the band apart?

20. Our main characters are both struggling to find their places in the world – one feels like their parents never supported their dreams, and the other left their hometown behind without any plans to return. Together, they learn what it’s like to be true to themselves for the first time.

21. They’ve lived together in the same apartment building for years and have a somewhat passive aggressive relationship with each other. It sparks into something more when he asks her to try his new hot sauce recipe.

22. Our two characters find themselves thrown together and in love after they meet while on vacation in a tropical paradise – only to discover that they live in different countries on separate continents. Can they make it work?

23. He likes her… she likes him… but he’s a total ladies’ man. Can she ever get over this fear and see him as more than a player?

24. They are both running from something in the woods and help each other to escape and survive a dangerous situation. What are they running from and could it make them fall in love?

25. She thinks she’s found the perfect guy – until she discovers he has a secret identity. Will he tell her on his own or will she call him out for it?

26. After a mix-up with their reservations, the characters find they both booked the same rental for the week. Rather than forfeit the deposit and ruin their plans, they decide it to share the space together. Will temporarily living together spark romance or will it be a disaster?

27. The story begins with our heroine rescuing the hero from a life-threatening situation. After they meet, sparks begin to fly. What we don’t realize until much later is she’s the one who caused the accident in the first place.

28. The protagonist is a famous chef who is loved by everyone in the neighborhood – except the frustrating food critic who keeps writing terrible things about their cooking. Can the chef woo them over?

29. Our characters meet when both of their cars break down in the middle of nowhere, and they need to wait together until their cars are repaired.

30. The two of them are sharing the back seat of a limousine after a logistics mix-up at their job when things take a turn for the passionate…

31. They have been friends since they were kids vacationing together every summer – but now it’s getting serious. They might not be just friends anymore…

32. The heroine has been hired by the hero’s start-up company to test his new product for attracting love. However, the product is so effective that she finds herself falling for him!

33. He is a famous actor and she is a waitress at a restaurant he frequents – but they both know that he’s tired of the glitz and glamour and wants to settle down. Can she show him that romance is real?

34. One of them is a real estate agent and the other is a home buyer looking for the perfect house, but they end up finding so much more than either of them expected…

35. They go out on a blind date with the hopes of finding love. But what if one of them ends up being the other’s boss and part owner of the company?

36. They had a casual romance in high school, but they both went their separate ways and have both changed a lot. When fate has them meet again, will it spark the magic from their old relationship?

37. They’ve both reached fame in their careers – but when the cameras are on at all times, how can they be honest with each other and their feelings?

38. Frustrated with life on earth, our hero and heroine volunteer to go live on the space station as part of an experiment for two years. They might have escaped all their problems on earth, but can they actually make a relationship work?

39. The two main characters work together at a local animal shelter and they both have secrets to hide about themselves and their lives. When their paths cross on a daily basis, can they resist the pull to tell each other everything?

40. The story begins with two high school sweethearts who are reunited years later only to discover that they are both unhappily married to someone else. Is it too late or will their love prove to be stronger?

41. He’s a famous musician with all kinds of problem. His life is falling apart and now he starting to fall for the person who tends the gardens at his mansion.

42. They’re both on the run from the law. When they cross paths to form an unlikely bond, can they both get out of their current situations to make it work?

43. He wants his lost love back, but how can he convince her he’s changed?

44. The two of them are on a business trip in a foreign country when there is unrest in the streets – can they make it out alive?

45. A famous actor and a famous actress are both staying at the same hotel during the filming of a romantic movie. Could the sparks be more than just what’s in the script?

46. She has had a crush on him for years, but he never notices her. Will he finally realize that true love is right under his nose?

47. Our main character is always setting up their friends on dates and playing matchmaker – what happens when someone tries to match them with someone new?

48. One of them is a soldier, the other an army nurse. They meet on a helicopter ride after being evacuated from a dangerous situation.

49. They broke up years ago but then run into each other after not talking to each other anymore. When they stop and actually listen to what the other person has to say, do they realize that maybe they never really stopped loving one another?

50. Our main character’s dog is missing – but will they find love in an unexpected place instead?

51. Write a love story where one person is a tech mogul and the other person thinks technology is evil. When they start to fall for each other, will technology get in the way?

52. They are both running for mayor in their small town. Only one person can win the election – but can they both win in love?

53. Write a romance story where one character believes that love isn’t for them, so the other person must prove them wrong by showing them how wonderful love can be.

54. Two people meet after finding out they’ve both been dumped. As they try to plot their revenge on their exes, they discover maybe they have feelings for one another.

55. Our main character’s father is determined to find them a match and has arranged for them to have a new date everyday. Will they ever meet the one?

56. When two people who have never met before get into an argument, they end up trapped in the same room together for hours on end. Will this argument push them together or tear them apart?

57. Our main character finds themselves having vivid dreams that feel real about someone from their past. Use this romantic writing prompt to write a love story that transcends the test of time.

58. They are both avid readers who frequently go to the library but one of them believes they can read people’s future through their books. When they finally meet will they be able to read the other’s mind?

59. Our main character is an adrenaline junkie living life on the edge. When they meet someone who wants to tame them, will they be able to gain some balance in their life?

60. She lives in a world where men are forbidden. When she finally meets one face to face, will she be able to resist her feelings or fall into temptation?

61. Write a story where the main character is the president’s daughter. Can she have a relationship with the son of a political rival?

62. Two discover that both their horoscopes describe what their ideal mate would be like and how they will meet – and it’s each other!

63. One of them is a hard working chef and the other is a photographer who wants to take pictures in the kitchen. When they meet, they find that they have more in common than just their love of food.

64. When our main character gets a new puppy, it turns out to be more than they bargained for. After the dog tears up their neighbor’s flower bed it might just turn into romance.

65. She’s an actress and he’s a cop on location providing security for the movie – but what happens when reality mixes with fiction?

66. Two lovers forced apart by war are reunited only to discover that one of them has been injured physically and the other mentally. Can they get past their scars and move forward?

67. Two people who have gone through terrible things in life meet in a support group and learn how to live again together.

68. The Civil War has just broken out – but one of them is from the north and the other is from the south. Will the war tear them apart or bring them closer together?

69. In a post-apocalyptic world, our two characters are both on the run. When their lives cross paths, they decide teaming up could benefit them both – but does their alliance turn into something more?

70. After accidentally sending an email to a stranger, they become online pen pals. When they meet for the first time in real life, will it be love at first sight or disaster?

71. Their tempers have both gotten them in trouble in the past. When they meet at an anger management class, will they finally learn to control their anger and let love in or will it all blow up?

72. Two con artists meet and decide to team up. They have great chemistry but will they ever be able to fully trust each other?

73. After a tornado devastates a small town, our two characters are drawn together by their grief. Can they rebuild a new future together?

74. When two detective partners need to catch the bad guy, they go undercover as a married couple. Could it be more than just a ruse?

75. Write a romantic love story where two friends start having dreams about each other. Will will these dreams be prophetic or turn into a real life nightmare?

76. When our hero finds himself trapped in another dimension, he takes refuge in an abandoned warehouse only to discover that there is another guest who also happens to be beautiful.

77. The two are travelers who both stop at a diner at the same time. When they are served something otherworldly, they suddenly find themselves with the ability to see ghosts – and each other’s pasts.

78. After finding a wallet in the parking lot, the main character is determined to find out who it belongs to and return it. After a long goose chase of research, they finds themselves falling in love with them. When they finally meet, is the person everything they imagined?

79. A group of people are forced to live in a small bunker together when nuclear war breaks out. Can they find love with each other or will they all turn on each other?

80. Our main character starts seeing a vivid symbol in mysterious places. They try to brush it off as nothing until meeting a stranger who has a tattoo of the symbol. Could it be fate?

81. During their first date, two people receive terrible news. Can they still find happiness together despite all of their problems?

82. After being ditched by their friends at the prom, two loners meet and decide to spend an exciting evening together.

83. While skeptical of psychics, our protagonist is also desperate to find love. After being told of a terrible misfortune about to happen, will it turn out it makes them meet the one?

84. Two people from different social classes find themselves attracted to one another. Can they make it work or will it be torn apart by their differing backgrounds?

85. Two long-time friends find themselves thrown together by a terrible accident. Can they be there for each other or will their differences tear them apart?

86. A young couple find themselves responsible for protecting a powerful and ancient weapon. Will they be able to keep it together and stop the evil that is trying to destroy it?

87. A woman confronts her ex-boyfriend at the wedding of a mutual friend – and their hate for each other is unleashed. Can they make up or are they determined to destroy each other?

88. Our hero meets a woman who teaches him about true love and everything he’s ever dreamed of finding in a relationship. Before they can be together, however, she disappears – only to return mysteriously years later.

89. Burned out by the dating scene, two people decide it’s best to sign up for a service that sets up arranged marriages. Will they be able to make it work?

90. They might both be rich and beautiful, but they always feel like the people they date only care about their looks and money. One decides to pretend to be poor while the other wears a disguise. Have they finally met someone who loves them with no regard to money or looks or will the truth be too much to handle?

91. They just met and really hit it off but one of them has to leave for a work project overseas for the next 5 years. Can they make a long distance relationship work?

92. Two people who hate each other become stuck on the same ocean liner together and must work together to survive a violent storm.

93. He might only be 28 and has a successful career, but he’s starting to go bald. Is it too late for him to find a partner?

94. As journalists for their school’s newspaper, they are always on assignment together. Could an innocent stop for breakfast one morning turn their casual relationship into something more?

95. The older couple in a photograph she discovers looks familiar – but she doesn’t know who they are. One of the people looks a little like her, only older. Could it be a view of the future to come?

96. Two people who have known each other since childhood must fight to survive against an army of zombies that are trying to turn them into meals. Can they make it out alive or will their pasts consume them?

97. She is out of work and lives in a trailer park with her sister. She decides she will marry someone rich and sets off to win over the heart of the local millionaire. Will she learn there’s more to love than just money?

98. They have been growing apart for years – but when they each meet someone new, they realize that maybe it’s time to stop running and face the past head on.

99. When you are born, you are assigned three potential love matches. You meet them all on the same day at the same time on your 21st birthday and must choose one by the end of the night to spend the rest of your life with.

100. They are both from different cultures, but when they meet each other for the first time, they are instantly drawn to each other. Can their love survive all the forces that want to tear them apart?

101. She is kidnapped and sold into slavery, but he will do anything to find her.

102. When he ends up in prison, will she find a way to help him or will his past always be too strong for her to overcome?

103. The two of them have been best friends since they were kids, but when they go into business together, their love for each other may become more than it was before.

104. Write a romantic love story that is inspired by whatever you ate for lunch yesterday.

105. A man travels back in time to find his true love and change the way things ended.

106. She has been sent on a mission by the king to find and return the prince before something terrible happens to him.

107. He is one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy – but when he meets someone who can be considered his greatest catch yet he realizes he is in love with them.

108. Two leaders of planets on the way to extinction decide to join forces and create a new species of people to continue their worlds. Will their attempts to play matchmaker and procreate work?

I hope these romantic writing prompts and love story ideas inspire you to write something great. If you do happen to write a story with these prompts, you know we would love to check it out so please let us know about it in the comments below!

Looking for even more great story ideas and writing prompts? Check out these other resources at ThinkWritten!

• 365 Creative Writing Prompts for Everyday
• 42 Fantasy Writing Prompts
• 101 Poetry Writing Prompts

Do you have any other romantic love story ideas to add to this list? Share your own romantic writing prompts in the comments below!

Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.

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41 Of The Best Romance Writing Prompts

Writing romance isn’t as easy as many people seem to think.

“You write romances? I could totally do that, too, but I have SO much on my plate. Plus, I think if I’m gonna write a book, I want it to be more of a challenge.”

Said by someone who has never finished writing a romance (or not one worth reading).

Because one thing good romance writing is not is easy.

It’s a real challenge to write an engaging story with two characters whose personalities and chemistry keep the reader hooked all the way to a satisfying end.

There’s magic in that. And it’s not to be underestimated.

The best love story books grab you right from the beginning and hold your attention until the resolution — which makes you instantly want to read another romance by the same author.

Do you want to try your hand at romance writing but don’t know how to start? Maybe you’re having trouble coming up with an idea for your book .

If you’re racking your brain for the perfect story idea, why not try one (or more) of the romance writing prompts in this article?

If nothing else, one of them could plant the seed of an idea for your next bestseller.

41 of the Best Romance Writing Prompts

For romance stories, for short love stories, for college romance books, for fantasy romance novels..

While many of the following prompts at least imply a female protagonist, feel free to change the gender to suit your own story.

If you’re looking for a romance plot generator to help you create a story that will make you an instant reader favorite, here are a few on the web that can help:

• Wattpad’s own romance plot generator
• Seventh Sanctum’s romance plot generator
• Plot-generator.or (UK) (requires more input to generate ideas)

Most of these use basic templates with fields that are randomly filled from a pool of available options. You could create your own template, too, and brainstorm ideas to fill in the blanks. Here’s an example:

• “He’s a ____ who _____. She’s a ____ with _____. They’re thrown together by ____, and if they don’t ______, something terrible will happen (probably involving death, ruin, or unimaginable pain). The clock is ticking, and as they fall for each other, the stakes get even higher.”

You can even ask others to suggest occupations, dire situations, drastic measures, personal hang-ups, traumatic experiences, etc. to help turn your template into a list of story ideas .

If you’re looking for something that already paints the beginning of a picture, though, these writing prompts are worth a look.

Maybe you already know how to write a romance novel your readers love so much they email you begging for the next one.

But no matter how many novels you’ve written and how many glowing reader reviews you’ve earned, it can’t hurt to get some inspiration from a fresh batch of writing prompts .

1. As a bridesmaid, you meet one of the groomsmen at your sister’s pre-wedding dinner and hit it off so well, he asks you out. Your sister warns you not to get too close. You decide to follow her advice, but keeping him at arm’s length proves more difficult than you expect.

2. You start a new job at a large firm, and out of the blue, you start receiving flowers every week with a note enclosed. The admirer’s only signature is a three-digit number, but you don’t know what the number could refer to.

3. Your best friend tells you about a wealthy family living in the area and when she shows you a journalistic piece she wrote on them for the local newspaper, you recognize one of the young men as the tall, reserved, green-eyed guy at the library. Your friend knows why.

4. You’ve just broken up with — you swear — your last boyfriend and kicked him out of your home. Now, you’ve decided to redecorate the place — making it just the way you want it. The guy at the paint counter doesn’t seem like your type, but there’s something about him.

5. You’ve left your husband’s church, and now he’s using a variety of not-so-subtle tactics to coax you back in. You see what he really wants: not a better marriage so much as a “good Catholic” wife. But when your husband presents you with tickets for a couple’s vacation in an Irish castle, you agree to go — despite your suspicions.

6. You start having intense erotic dreams — and the face you see is one you don’t recognize but that feels familiar. In any case, the love relationship you have in your dreams is better than what you have in “the real world,” and you take an interest in lucid dreaming.

7. You inherit a movie theater — or half of one, anyway. You share ownership with the nephew of your deceased relative’s best friend. Your first “business meeting” is not auspicious, but something about this guy makes you want to give him a chance.

8. At an annual town carnival, you buy a raffle ticket, thinking it’s for the newest quilt created by a quirky, lovable group of ladies you’ve known since childhood. But what you ended up winning is a date with the mayor’s son, a conspiracy theorist who lives on a boat.

9. You’re investigating strange phenomena in the wake of a devastating tornado when you meet an eccentric journalist who clearly knows something you don’t. Your curiosity compels you to accept his invitation to review his personal collection of observations.

10. The last year has been rough, and you’re finally interested in maybe meeting someone new, but you feel unattractive. So when a friend shows up after a “miracle makeover” from someone new in town, you insist she takes you to him.

11. Your job as a cop has made it difficult to maintain a romantic relationship, and a two-year relationship has just ended on a sour note. So, when a civilian informant, who has no love for your ex, starts being a lot more helpful, you’re not sure what to think.

They may be short, but what they lack in length, they make up for with intensity and a rollicking pace.

Enjoy these prompts when you’re itching to write some short stories about love.

12. Your morning alarm interrupts an intensely erotic dream involving someone you just met. He just joined your team at work, and you’re drawn to his warmth, intelligence, and unsettling dark eyes. But a friend and coworker believe the man is her soulmate.

13. You take a job as a social worker who visits shut-ins and develop an attachment to a man a little older than you who is agoraphobic. You get along like old friends, but you wonder if he’d give you the time of day if you hadn’t met the way you did.

14. You came back from a near-death experience, and everyone has questions, but no one wants to hear anything that contradicts what they’ve been told. You close yourself off to all but a few — the members of a small support group of NDEs. And one of them believes he’s your soulmate.

15. You go to sleep wanting to visit an old flame you haven’t talked to in years, and you dream that you’re in his bedroom, watching him sleep. The next day, he calls you, fearing you were dead. You agree to meet with him and debate whether to tell him more.

16. A former connection comes to your door on a full moon, and you almost refuse to let him in. He persuades you to open the door so you can talk about a concern of his, and before you know it, you’re both getting a lot closer than you’d planned. And you know why.

17. You have a fair tolerance for alcohol and keep a bottle of Jameson in your home office, but when a new client comes to your door with a bottle of Black Barrel, you let him in and talk for a bit over a few drinks. You wake up wearing a wedding dress.

18. You move into a coveted apartment, and your first visitor is a stunningly gorgeous man looking for the previous resident. He’s about to leave when he notices the book you’re holding. He’s the author.

19. You stop at your favorite used bookstore and buy one of their grab-bags to help with a fundraiser. When you open it, you find a peculiar hardcover book with a handwritten message inside. That night, you find a note at your door with the same handwriting.

20. You’re looking through old photo albums when you see a face you’d all but forgotten — the face of an old high school crush who’d flirted with you but had never asked you out. The same guy shows up the next day at your highly acclaimed matchmaking agency.

21. You take a job singing telegrams and end up singing a Dear John letter to the guy who jilted you in college. He listens to the whole thing, asks you to wait while he writes a calmly-worded response, and tips you a set of keys to the car out front.

Maybe you write cute love stories with college-age characters. Or maybe “cute” isn’t really what you’re going for.

Whatever your tastes, the following prompts will work for you and get you writing another bestseller before you know it.

22. You’ve paired up for a class interview project in one of your writing classes , and your partner is someone you might not otherwise have noticed. In a dream, he comes to your door and invites you to a movie. Suddenly, you’re in a car together, and there’s a ring on your finger.

23. Your roommate invites her boyfriend into the room and introduces you as a hermit who lives on coffee and sandwiches. You take one look at each other and time literally stops for a moment. Memories of a lifetime together pass in that brief space.

24. To satisfy a math requirement, you take a class in Statistics and you’re immediately drawn to a classmate who explains the material better than the prof does. When you see him greet his boyfriend, you’re torn between relief and disappointment.

25. Your new roommate seems intensely interested in your life and wants to know everything about you. You’re flattered and a little freaked out, but it’s nice to have someone to talk to. When her handsome brother comes to visit, she seems uncomfortable.

26. For years, you thought you were born without the capacity for sexual attraction, but when you meet someone in the college dining hall, you feel an intense urge to grab hold of him and kiss him. He gives you a brief, guarded smile and walks past you.

27. A class project has you pairing up and writing daily words of affirmation to your partner, but since you showed up late to class, you end up paired with someone you’ve always seen as an egotistical asshat.

28. You accept a job taking notes for college students, and your main client is a guy with dyslexia, ADD, and gender dysphoria. You become friends and support him, even when it means crossing swords with his older brother, who’s trying to walk a fine line.

29. Your best friend wants you to help her write a love story about her boyfriend that the college literary journal will publish in time for Valentine’s Day. But the story is published under your name, and your ex seems to think the story is about him.

30. You agree to go on one double date with the reclusive best friend of your roommate’s fiancé, and you’re surprised to learn he’s a published playwright. You hit it off and agree to watch one of his plays with him as a second date. The performance does not go well.

31. You agree to tutor someone who’s struggling in his writing class, and he ends up tutoring you in something you’ve avoided as much as possible: driving. He’s a natural behind the wheel — and under the hood — and you have a gift for writing.

Whether you’re writing sexy short stories with shifters and other mythical beings or novel-length epic fantasies with a strong romantic element, the following prompts will get your mind working in ways you probably shouldn’t try to explain.

32. Your vampire cousin has confessed to you his developing attachment to a shifter woman (feline) who works with him and who recently divorced her cheating husband. You know that the vampire leadership wouldn’t tolerate such a relationship, but you’ve secretly been watching the man who was your boyfriend before you were turned.

33. You wake up from an intense dream and see that your arms have changed to wings with snow-white feathers. Your mother suddenly enters and looks you up and down. “Lying son of a …! He told me you’d grow up normal….”

34. The humans in your world are dying of a disease that hasn’t affected the elves, but you’re charged with the protection of a man who, according to a prophecy, will unite the warring human kingdoms. He agrees to go with you on a quest to the mountains, and you take shelter in a cave for the night. Someone had created a home there, but there’s only one blanket.

35. You finally gave in to your boyfriend, whose latest romantic overtures have been over the top. That night, it’s a full moon. When you later tell him you’re pregnant, his reaction scares you. He insists on going somewhere private to explain why.

36. You’re intensely drawn to someone in your class, and twice now you’ve looked into his eyes and you swear they were different colors each time — cool blue when you first met and a warm green when he looked at you in a way that lit you up inside.

37. Your mating season has come, and there’s no escape. Your parents are hoping you’ll respond well to the attentions of the alpha, but you’ve secretly been meeting with a forbidden friend from a different pack — a friend who has lately become more than that.

38. As a princess, you’re expected to marry someone with advantageous connections, but to you, marriage sounds worse than death — until a particular prince arrives who reveals himself to be a dragon shifter.

39. You wake up with an irresistible drive to roam the woods in search of… something. You run out in your pajamas but soon you no longer need them. Taking to the sky with blue-black feathers, you soar overhead until you see one like you. He’s waiting.

40. All the other women in your family are talented witches, but not you. Your mother and sisters play up your non-magical gifts but you know they pity you, and more than anything you want to surprise them. And one night, during a traumatic experience, you do.

41. You’ve come out of the ocean to find a mate, not intending to stay long enough to get attached. But when you meet someone who strongly resembles an old enemy, you extend your stay to seduce and then punish him for his crimes against your clan.

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75 Of The Best Fiction Writing Prompts For All Writers

What Should You Not Do When Writing Romance?

Romance is a genre, and, as such, it has its own set of rules. While it’s essential to use a unique voice and develop creative stories, romance readers expect books to hit specific notes. Moreover, publishers know what sells and therefore have a set of standards writers must meet to secure a contract.

So what should you not do when writing a romance novel?

• Don’t make the heroine or hero unlikable. Character quirks and mistakes are fine — welcome, even — but they shouldn’t be off-putting.
• People are allergic to arrogance in large doses, so avoid it. The main love interest can be a bit haughty initially to establish an initial conflict, but the primary characters shouldn’t be stuck up.
• It’s okay to have outrageous plots and scenarios, but characters must have fully formed personalities whose actions gel with their behavior and beliefs. 
• Publishers reject manuscripts with logical lapses unless it’s a science fiction romance. Examples include blizzards in the Bahamas and tsunamis on Mount Everest.
• Inaccurate research is anathema for historical romance novels. Make sure you have your facts straight!
• Unless it’s an integral part of the plot , try to avoid outdated mores and values.  

What will your romance story be about?

You know as well as any author that crafting a story your readers will love is not a cake walk.

But you took the time to read some prompts, and now your in-house story generator is churning on some ideas – old and new.

You know that blank page doesn’t stand a chance against you. You’ll throw something on it, play with it for a while, delete what you’ve written and start over. None of this is wasted effort.

Use these prompts as they’re meant to be used – as nudges or launching pads, just to get you started on an idea, even if it changes along the way.

Let it come out of you however it does, and don’t worry about making it shine until it’s fully-formed and ready for editing.

And most of all, have fun with it. The first draft is all about exploring possibilities and just letting the words flow out of you, however ridiculous they sound.

Beautiful things can come from messy places. So, don’t be ashamed of your mess.

Put it to work.

And let your creativity and courage inspire your next story and everything else you do today.

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180 Romance Writing Prompts to Kick Off Your Next Love Story.

Are you stuck trying to figure out what happens next in your current WIP? Or maybe you’re just looking for some fresh inspiration for your next romance novel. Whatever the case may be, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.

If you’re a writer of romance novels , then you know how difficult it can be to find inspiration. Ideas are often limited and it’s not easy coming up with new settings, characters, or problems that keep the story going. This is why so many writers have their own list of go-to writing prompts whenever they feel stuck. These prompts are great for anyone who is working on a new project and needs a little help getting their creative juices flowing again. So if you’re ready to get inspired once more and can’t wait to dive into one (or all!) of these prompts, keep reading...

"Speak softly love," he whispers in your ear. But when you turn in surprise, there is nothing there but a bust of a handsome young man staring back at you. You continue walking down the dark corridor.

"You can't go in there," you tell him, before he informs you that he owns the museum and can go anywhere he pleases. Since you're a museum guide, he asks for a tour, and you both recognize a spark happening.

A billionaire mogul loses much of his wealth in a legal battle with your family. To your mutual surprise, what begins as hatred turns into romance as you find a way to give him back the fortune he lost.

A chance encounter brings you on the radar of a tortured young billionaire who can't forget the abusive past he endured at the hands of his father. You have a similar past—can you move past it together?

A couple has been dating for about three years, and the man still hasn't proposed. The woman is getting impatient, and after a drunken night out on the town, she proposes to him. He loves her—but he says no—owing to his belief that it's a man's job to propose. This awkward moment leads the pair down a path neither expected.

A deep voice sings each night, a haunting song unlike any you've heard at the recording studio where you work. Each night, you listen and fall in love until one moonless night you seek its origin, finding a handsome ghost who wishes he had tasted love before death stole him away.

A deeply religious Christian couple fails to resist temptation and engage in premarital sex. The next morning, they are unsure how to deal with their actions. The man is willing to ask God for forgiveness. The woman is devastated, and doesn't think they can continue their relationship. She feels that she has failed God, and needs to find a way to seek God's forgiveness and forgive herself.

A difficult home life has led you to make choices that have given you a bad reputation in your small town. Embracing this image, you have grown into a reckless troublemaker with a stony heart. At the town's annual fair, you hear an angelic voice singing a hymn that gives you goosebumps. You follow the voice and discover it belongs to the preacher's daughter, who you know is devoted to her faith. You are the last man she'd be interested in, but you can't ignore the attraction you feel to her. As you pursue her, she challenges you at every turn. Over time, your stony heart softens as the light of her love and faith fill your life.

A few years ago, your friend and her husband decided to buy a 300-year-old castle in Ireland to renovate it from the ground up. You thought they were crazy. "If I sold my company," you thought, "the last thing I would do with that money is make a spooky castle my home." Now their castle renovation project is complete, and they invite you to fly over and check it out. Of course, the property is stunning. It seems like they spared no expense. After looking around the first floor, your friends invite you into the basement to see their wine room and to have an impromptu wine tasting. You agree wholeheartedly, needing a break from the "look at all of the pretty things I have" tour. As you sip your first glass, you feel woozy, then suddenly collapse. You wake up and find yourself chained to the wall. On the other side of the room is a man in his 20s. "What's going on?" you ask. He responds in an Irish brogue: "I was one of the contractors they hired. They didn't want to pay my bill, so they put me in this dungeon." He points to a key close to you. "If you can reach that somehow, we can get out of here." "But why are we here?" you ask. "Because the castle feeds on our suffering."

A handsome cowboy is injured while tending to a wild horse he's rescued miles from town. You're on the run, and can't afford to stop on your way to Mexico – but you can't ignore the wounded man when you see him, and decide to help him despite the personal risk.

A handsome new associate in your father's crime syndicate catches your eye. You know there are rules about this sort of thing but you can't help falling for each other. When it turns out that he is actually an undercover FBI agent, you must decide between love and loyalty.

A handsome widower moves into town and becomes active in the church as a channel for his grief. You become friends and try to help him heal and learn to love again. Friendship quickly turns into romance; however, the widower's faith and commitment are questioned when the father of his late wife visits and learns of the budding romance. His father-in-law believes that starting a new relationship is disrespectful to his deceased daughter. You must bridge the gap between these two grief-stricken men and prove that the new love you have established is not a betrayal of the late daughter's memory.

A music industry mogul hears your voice on a demo album that he receives and signs you to his label. Your troubled life and past keep him at bay for a while as his friends warn him against it, but true love can't be held back for long.

A quiet stranger moves to town and joins your grief group. As a widow, you're open about your struggles and how the church has been there for you. The new man never says anything but attends every meeting and every Sunday service. Despite his stoicism, you find yourself drawn to him. God works in mysterious ways, you've learned, and there's nothing quite as mysterious as the stranger in your parish.

A recently divorced woman leaves New York to move back to her hometown. Depressed and unhappy with small-town life, she has a change of heart when she meets someone from her past – and can suddenly imagine a future again.

A reclusive billionaire without family or friends is in a wreck and develops temporary amnesia from the injuries. Without any identification, he falls in love with you, the nurse who nurses him back to health. As his memory slowly returns, he realizes that friendship and love have been missing from his life, and he has found both in you.

A sniper is part of a special security mission for a US ambassador in a war zone. You're the ambassador's daughter he can't help but fall for, no matter how much distance he tries to put between you. But a dangerous situation requires him to decide to save you, or the ambassador.

A soldier home from deployment moves into the house next door to you. He befriends your dog after experiencing a PTSD panic attack one night. He's closed off, but gradually opens up to you.

A year ago, your sister married a wealthy man who seemed a bit strange to you. After the wedding, her new husband whisked her away to his stately mansion by the sea, and you haven't seen her since. At first, she sent you letters, but gradually the communication became less and less. Now it's been a couple months with no communication from her at all, and you're worried about her. You set off to find her, bringing the handsome young man who was always your sister's best friend as your travel companion. When the two of you arrive at the location where you thought she lived, you find that the mansion has been abandoned for years.

After a lifetime of running from your family's traditional expectations, you find yourself in the one place you never thought you'd be: the sanctuary of a church. You've got nowhere else to go and no one to turn to—except, maybe, the one thing you've been avoiding. The handsome pastor promises to help you find your way again. You slowly realize that sometimes the road less travelled is the one you were always meant to go down. With the promise of love, faith, and happiness on the horizon, you have to ask yourself: Can this be your home now?

After a nasty divorce, you begin dating again by using apps. You meet a seemingly flawless man, but after a few months of blissful dating, you have an encounter with an FBI agent who is investigating him and wants your help. The agent asks you to do some digging into your boyfriend's personal papers to determine if this is the guy the FBI has been hunting for. The more you uncover, the more suspicious you get, and you find that he may be as dangerous as the agent believes. As you do your best to help, you grow closer to the agent, finding that—despite all his flaws—he is an incredible man.

After an acrimonious divorce, you leave your hometown to work overseas as a missionary for a year. You meet another missionary who catches your eye, but he doesn't speak your language. You will have to find a way to bridge the communication gap for love to grow.

After witnessing a mafia murder, you are accepted into the U.S. Federal Witness Protection Program and relocated to a small farming community in the Midwest. You meet a handsome local farmer, and you begin to develop feelings for each other—until he discovers that you have not been honest with him about your past. Things get even more complicated when the mafia learns of your location.

After your divorce from a star NFL quarterback, you've sworn off relationships with athletes. In fact, you've sworn off relationships altogether. Then you meet the quarterback for the biggest rival of your ex's team at a local bookstore, where he is signing copies of his new memoir. He recognizes you from various industry events, and you discover he's everything your ex never was.

After your fiancé up and leaves with no trace, you go through the usual process: disbelief, grief, anger, and, finally, something sort of acceptance. You return all the wedding gifts you'd already received and cancel every part of the wedding that you can, but the wedding venue—a castle that hidden in the hills of Scotland—refuses to return your money. You've paid in full to ensure that yours was the first wedding scheduled after the castle was renovated. You decide not to waste the money, wedding or no. But when you arrive at the grounds, it looks nothing like the pictures. It is decrepit and dirty, and when you venture inside, it's completely empty. The castle is straight out of a nightmare. You hear a noise. Convincing yourself it is the owner who can answer your questions, you follow the sound down a flight of stairs, then two, and then you hear the crystal-clear sound of a voice saying your name. But not any voice—it's him, your fiancé. You race after him, desperate for answers, when suddenly the door slams shut behind you and the lights go out. You scream, and from the dark corner someone begs you to be quiet. "They'll hear you," he says. You scramble away and trip over something firm. "Who?" You question. The man you still can't see lets out a shuddering breath. "The monsters that live here."

An intriguing character across the beer garden keeps staring at you and finally walks over. "Ten euros," the stranger says, putting a freshly sketched portrait of you on the table. It's a good likeness. You wonder why the artist chose you as a subject. You reach for your wallet, saying, "Only if you stay for a drink."

An overweight billionaire hires you to be his fitness coach. You get his blood pumping in more ways than one and the healthier he gets, the more you're attracted to him.

As a nature photographer out on an assignment in the woods, you witness a man burying a body. You snap a photo and quickly turn to leave. However, you trip over a tree root, and the man hears you fall. He drops his shovel to chase you. You run from the unknown killer, going deeper into the woods. As evening comes, you find a tiny ramshackle hunter's cabin and stop to hide. The ruggedly handsome hunter who catches you breaking in offers to help you.

As a recent widower with two young children, you aren't interested in finding a new wife. Your mother, however, strongly disagrees and wants you to remarry as soon as possible, securing an even greater income for the family. From your perspective, you have retained a curtesy in all your late wife's land, so there is little need to remarry for wealth. All you want is someone to care for your two young children, who are in desperate need of a mother-like figure. When you request a nurse from the agency, expecting a dour, middle-aged, no-nonsense spinster, and are quite shocked when you get quite the opposite: a young, whimsical, and quite attractive woman. You are skeptical of her abilities and her teaching methods are a little suspect, but her credentials are impeccable, and the children seem to love her from the start. Over time, you find yourself drawn to her as well, rekindling feelings you never thought you'd have again.

As a recently retired detective, you are surprised to receive a call from your former captain asking you to come into the station to help question the suspects in a murder investigation connected to one of your old cases. At the station, the captain briefs you on the details: A man was killed by blunt force trauma. There is no sign of a murder weapon. There are two suspects: the man's wife and his mistress. As you interview each suspect, you are drawn to the mistress, who is beautiful and has a brilliant mind. Your bias could be affecting you, but you are sure she is innocent.

As a senior detective in the special victims crimes unit, you are hunting down a serial killer who targets young college women. The clues lead you to a reclusive billionaire with a "devil-may-care" attitude. But something is off. It's just too neat when all fingers point to him. However, you can't help but question your motives as you find yourself drawn to him in ways you've never felt before. Can you put aside your own desires to find out if he's really a serial killer or will your passion get in the way of doing your job?

As the youngest of seven sisters, you are told to wait your turn for marriage, but you can't help but fall for a handsome gentleman who comes to town on business. You decide to pursue him even though your mother has been eyeing him for sister number five.

As you walk through the abandoned castle, you have a strange feeling that someone is watching you. Then, up ahead, you see a painting on the wall of a fine young gentleman from the 1800's. As you look closer, you notice that the eyes of the gentleman are following your every movement. You stand there and stare at the painting, petrified with fear. Then, one of the eyes winks at you.

Attending preschool functions as a single dad makes you the only man in a romper room of pretty, attention-starved, flirtatious moms. Their playground games range from helpful and sweet to saucy and brazen. You must choose between your desires and what is best for your kid.

Being an NFL cheerleader is not nearly the glamorous job everyone thinks, but you love the sport and the athleticism of cheering, plus it gives you some part-time income that you desperately need. What you don't love is the objectification and occasional disrespect you receive from both fans and players. When a loudmouth fan throws his hot dog at you during one of your dance routines, a rookie quarterback comes to your defense and gets the fan ejected from the stadium. After the game, the player comes over to introduce himself. You thank him for the help and exchange numbers. The following week, he texts you to ask you out. Dating football players is frowned upon in the NFL, but you say yes anyways.

Despising the stringent restraints that being a lady of society requires, you delight in exhibiting reckless and audacious behavior at every turn to spite your parents. You turn your nose up at the suitors who wish for your favor, as you know they do not have your best interests at heart. They only want the dowry you bring. One night at a dinner party you bump into a dashing young man who, like you, wants nothing to do with high society and openly mocks it whenever possible. Both of you decide to team up and, over time, you fall in love.

Despite being widowed a decade earlier when your husband died of a heart attack, you're still sure of three things in your life: family, faith, and football. But when a football accident leaves your son in a coma, you lose it all in an instant. As a single parent, you spend all your time split between the hospital and work. You're angry with the coach, with the other team, with God—and with a handsome preacher who seemingly, infuriatingly, is everywhere. From the hospital hallways to the checkout line at the gas station, he's the one constant you've got in the world while your son lies unconscious in the ICU. The only problem? He wants you to forgive. As your faith dwindles, the preacher remains steadfast in his mission: to help you see God's will in your life, even when it hurts. As your son starts to heal, you realize it's not just your family and faith healing. Your heart is healing, too.

Devout your whole life, you're dedicated to preaching and spreading the gospel. But when a new man moves to town with a dark and mysterious past—and no patience for the community you've built—you're faced with your toughest challenge yet: love and cherish a man who is against everything you stand for. With a burly exterior and matching attitude, he tries to fight against your efforts to draw him closer until suddenly you both realize there's more at stake than just a religious conversion. To be together, there's always a give and take, but can you get through to the man you're developing feelings for? Or is love not in the cards?

During a business conference in the Greek islands, you hear a sweet and soft song floating on the air from a distance. You walk down the beach, following the sound, and find a woman in the water beckoning you to come closer. You move closer before sitting down on the beach to listen to her voice. Days pass and you become too weak to stand. Nevertheless, you remained entranced by this creature. Suddenly her singing shifts to crying, and she tells you that, although she is the last of her kind, she cannot bear to devour another victim. You vow to help her, not knowing if the love you have for her is true or is a result of the siren's curse.

During the Victorian era, a man has been falsely accused of murdering his neighbor. His wife, desperate to prove his innocence, conducts her own investigation into the crime. Venturing into the castle ruins where the murder took place, she finds both clues and assistance from the long-dead residents of the castle.

During your early morning jog, you find a child crouched in the bushes, half frozen. He says he is hiding from his foster family, and the last thing you want is for him to be sent back because he seems so scared. You take him home with you, but he convinces you not to call the police yet. That night, a noise wakes you up. When you get up to check on the boy, you discover that he is gone, along with most of your valuables. Your attractive next-door neighbor knocks on your door, saying he saw someone fleeing from your home. He has the first few letters of their license plate. The two of you team up to find the robbers and the boy, who you know is being used unjustly.

Ever since you were a child, you've loved the big old house on the outskirts of town. You dreamed of living there and obsessed over every detail of the house. Your second-grade teacher was even concerned about your obsession, especially considering that every picture you drew in class was of that large house on the hill. As an adult, you come into some money, so when the house comes on the market, you quickly call up the seller and agree to buy it. It is what you always wanted, and now you can finally live there and slowly renovate it over time. The man selling the house recently inherited it from his deceased grandmother. When he gives you the keys, he tells you that the house has a funny effect on people, so he'll stop by to check on you later. You find him a little odd, but charming in a sort of endearing way. Yet that night you begin to understand what he meant when you hear a whisper coming from the hallway. You get out of bed and put your ear close to the bedroom door, but all you can make out is: "Welcome home. We missed you."

Everything is going exactly to plan. Your three daughters are all in season and are extremely popular; their dance cards are always full, and you've been approached for several proposals. You're eager to marry them off—not because you don't love them, but because you very much do. When your husband died more than ten years ago, you learned just how terribly lonely it can be without a partner. You want your daughters to be happy. You've given up on happiness for yourself, happiness like that, but you're okay with your decision because you know your daughters will be happy. You've told yourself this so many times that you almost believe it. Then you meet him. A dashing rake with a reputation so big, it's stretched all the way over to you. You warn your daughters to stay away from him. He's older and likely uninterested, but you can never be too safe. But when you meet him, everything changes.

Handsome, wealthy, and well-respected amongst your peers, you are one of the ton's most eligible bachelors in all of society. Known far and wide for your shrewd business deals, cunning intelligence, and irreproachable character, mothers and fathers alike throw their eligible daughters at your feet. Sure, they are all beyond beautiful and come from respectable families, but you know their "desire" for you is manufactured. Not a one strikes your fancy—that is, until you meet the delightful and mysterious Lady Midnight. She is both stunning and sassy and ignites a flame within. The only problem is, she is a courtesan.

He is formidable in the rink and, when he is out of it, he is surrounded by a flock of adoring female fans. As the star hockey player of the decade, you are certain he has an ego, but when he walks into the bar where you work, you are surprised by how down-to-earth he is. As the night goes on and he starts buying you drinks, the electric connection between you is undeniable. When a drunken kiss between you is photographed, you are not prepared for the media storm that hits.

He ran his hand through your hair, commenting on its softness, and from that moment you were hooked. You had no idea he owned a vast empire of real estate and was looking to find the perfect lady to settle down with.

He's a handsome, recently-returned vet dealing with PTSD and you're a nurse working at a VA hospital. You grew up watching your father struggle with his own memories of Vietnam and always regretted being unable to help him. You extend your hand in friendship, hoping you can make a difference.

He's a reclusive billionaire and you are a model hired to be his guest for the evening at a local charity function. He initially has nothing to say to you, but begins to admire you for who you really are inside. Romantic sparks ensue.

He's a writer who has bestsellers and movies based on those bestsellers, but he has run into horrible writer's block. You're an adventure guide and you know exactly what he needs for his inspiration to return.

How do you start small talk on a date with a famous footballer? Do you admit that you have about a million posters and jerseys at home or pretend you've never watched a game in your life? No more time to think—your date has just arrived.

If there's one thing you know, it's that good faith models after good practice. So you do your best to always set a good example of the life you're meant to live for your family and your community. But when a betrayal comes to light and your marriage is threatened, you have to ask yourself if you are sticking with tradition and good faith or following your heart and what you believe God asks. Although you know in your heart that faith trumps family, you find yourself on the outskirts of your community when your ex-husband refutes blame and tries to sully your reputation. When it seems impossible to come back, a new parishioner sees you in a way you stopped thinking was possible long ago. With his support, and your firm belief in your mission, you learn that sometimes following faith isn't the easiest path, but it is always the right one—and that hearts can heal no matter how deep the break.

In a world of angels and demons, humans are a rare commodity, and any who survived The Great War are in hiding. Now, years after the war started, your little brother has gone missing. The elders forbid you from searching for him, claiming it is too dangerous, too volatile. You leave anyway, only to run face first into a handsome renegade angel, with a sword in hand and death in his eyes. He sees your desperation, your humanity, and promises you one thing: He will help you on your journey or die trying. With your brother missing and humans being sold to the highest supernatural bidder, you don't have time to be wary. It's you and one broken angel against a whole world.

In WWI Russia, you believe your lover is going to propose marriage. Instead he suddenly departs with the army, leaving you with no plan for a future. Should you embrace the nearest friend in this war-torn world? Or wait, fanning the faint hope that your true love is alive somewhere and will return.

It has been a decade since you began working for a notorious crime boss, and now you want out of the game. When he gives you the task of acquiring a collection of rare paintings and switching them with counterfeits, you tell yourself this is your last con. Your job is to pose as an art dealer so you can get close to the owner of the paintings and make the switch before anyone notices. When you arrive at the home of the owner, you discover she is a beautiful, young widow who has inherited her husband's estate. Over several meetings, you develop feelings for her, which causes you to doubt whether you can deceive her and carry out the con.

It is hard for an aspiring witch when the black cat you have loved for 10 years suddenly dies. While burying him out in the garden, a spirit approaches you, informing you that he has been trapped within the cat for the entire decade. When you look closer at him, you realize that it is your ex-boyfriend, who disappeared during high school. Everyone just assumed that he dropped out of school and ran away. He was always the rebellious type, after all. He tells you that there is a way to bring him back to life as a human, but you'll have to dabble in some black magic to make it happen.

It's a fairy tale romance: boy soldier meets girl soldier on base, falls in love, and marries the girl. You've been with your spouse for three years now and, even though the war rages on and you're in combat, you're together. Then a run-of-the-mill raid goes sour, and your spouse is declared missing in action. Before you can get any information, you're called to the frontlines. Now you have a choice to make: follow your duties and commander or become insubordinate, abandon your post, and search for your spouse. For you, it's really no choice at all. You leave, with nothing more than a pack on your back, while two armies continue fighting to the death and you an enemy to both. Your spouse might be dead for all you know, but one thing's for certain: You're not leaving this place alone.

It's been a long journey from the small town where you were raised to the big city where your burgeoning PR business is making a name for itself. But there's one complication you never could have planned for: the boy who shows up claiming to be your son. When his mother rushes in after him, you realize that, although you might leave your home, it never really leaves you. The preacher's daughter is as beautiful as she was at nineteen. You turned your back on her and her faith when you left the town ten years ago. But now, as you get to know the son you never knew you had and re-meet the woman you'd tried to forget, you realize that sometimes God's plans for you are a little more complicated than you'd ever guess.

It's been years since you've travelled to the city. The last time must've been when you were socializing at the ton to support your younger sisters. You didn't find a wife in London, but that didn't really upset you much as you are never going to marry. You enjoy your quiet country life too much. Even your mother has long since stopped trying to convince you to find a bride and family. Still, you dutifully support her and your unmarried siblings, so when your sister comes to call and begs you for help, you say yes, of course. Her husband's cousin needs a place to hide from a laudanum-addled ex-suitor and requests to stay with you. Although skeptical at first, you can't turn the young girl away any easier than you could tell your sister no. After all, it's not like it's going to change your life if a woman lives with you—right?

It's the height of the witching hour, risky for an ambush, but it's your job as a witch hunter to take risks. Suddenly, you're frozen by magic. You see a familiar face, only to hear, "I'm sorry. I do love you." The world goes black.

It's tough being taken seriously as a female soccer player, but as the star of the team, you are determined to win the world championship series. When your coach of several years passes away suddenly and a new younger coach is assigned to train your team, you must fight your growing feelings for him because he is exactly the kind of distraction you don't need at the most important point in your professional career.

It's your first season in London, and you're not sure if you're more nervous or annoyed. The ton isn't exactly your scene. Despite feeling ready for marriage, you are uncertain you're ready for the season of romance. You're tired of the preening and the monotony, and you know the other girls are, too, although they hide it better. The one exception is the Duke of Essex's daughter. It's her third season, which is almost unheard of for someone so well-connected and beautiful. You find yourself drawn to her. She sees through the same boredom that you do, and you are both surprised by the instant connection. When an aristocrat offers her marriage and she considers it, you're shocked by your own jealousy. You wonder if you have found love at the ton after all, but with her—a woman.

Life is hard, especially for a single mother, but you've made the best of it and took a new job as the secretary for a billionaire. A terrible tragedy rocks his world and you're there as a shoulder to cry on as he heals (and falls in love with you).

Many years ago, you were invited to stay at your uncle's castle. Although you didn't like it at first, the place grew on you and, eventually, you couldn't think of any other place that you would like to live. Today, a new guest arrives at the estate, and you are excited to see him. It has been a long time since someone has visited. His clothes are somewhat odd, yet you find him quite attractive. You began talking to him, but he just ignores you. You follow him from room to room, but he doesn't seem to care as he is busy measuring the walls. When you have had enough—you are a duchess, after all, and no one should treat you so rudely, no matter how cute they are—you confront him, cornering him in the kitchen, grabbing his shoulders, and yelling, "Can you hear me? What is your problem?!" His eyes go wide as if he's looking at a ghost.

Mistaken as a "lady of the night," you are accosted by an English nobleman. You are able to fight off his advances and end up knocking him out, but in the process you lose your coin purse and your footman runs off. Now you have no choice but to "borrow" some coin from the brute who attacked you to get a ride home. You tell no one about the incident, as you are not supposed to be out unaccompanied. Several weeks later, at a seasonal ball, you see none other than the brute who attacked you. Only now, you realize he is not riff-raff, but one of the wealthiest men of the town, and he's interested in your hand in marriage! How do you explain your aversion to the advances of the most eligible bachelor in town without giving away what happened? It doesn't help that his version of events is that he was attacked and robbed, and now the local authorities are looking to make an arrest.

Moving into the retirement community felt like taking a seat in heaven's waiting room. Then who should roll up in a golf cart? Under the gray hair and wrinkled skin, you recognize the twinkling eyes of your high school crush.

On the moors of England in the 19th century, you take a job as governess to the small children of a reclusive lord. The lord tells you the rules of the house, including that it is forbidden to enter the east wing; indeed, the door to that section of the house will always be locked. One day the children run away from you. You look for them and eventually hear them on the other side of the east wing door. Unable to open it, you ask the handsome groundskeeper for help. He uses his skeleton key to open the door, and you find only a dark corridor on the other side. The children suddenly appear behind you. You ask them where they were, and they tell you that they were playing in the kitchen. Then the groundskeeper pulls you aside and warns you that this house is not what it appears to be, and you should be wary of your surroundings. Just as he finishes his warning, the east wing door slams shut.

One night while walking home, you're attacked by a person hiding in an alleyway. A mystery man comes to your rescue. You later learn that he is a prominent MMA fighter. Your would-be attacker learns this as well and plays up his injuries to press charges against the fighter. As an up-and-coming attorney, you take on the fighter's case, defending him just as he defended you. Little do you know that this will be the start of a true romance.

Recently returned from war, you've been told by the doctors that you might never see again. Then you meet someone who seems more broken than you are, and you unite in your shared pain to help each other find meaning in a world that doesn't make sense anymore.

Something about the new guy in school intrigues you. A loner yourself, you can't fight the magnetic draw you feel to him whenever you lock eyes. One rainy night, while driving home, lightning pierces the sky, enveloping the new guy as he stands on a hill. Worried that he may be hurt, you race up the hill to find his body crackling with electricity. He is overcome with emotion and reveals that he is a Nephilim. The reason you feel connected to him is because you have loved each other for years. His father, the God of all Gods, wiped your memory to keep you apart because it is prophesied that together you will have a powerful child who will rule the Heavens.

The last thing you remember is being shot down on the battlefield. When you wake up, you are standing in the middle of a crowd of people with a bomb strapped to your body and your hand fastened to the trigger. You scream for help, but everyone thinks you are a terrorist, except for one woman, who sees the truth in your eyes. Together, you seek help.

The love of your life is bitten by a werewolf and doomed to spend his life turning at every full moon each month. After consulting with a witch, your love acquires the "cure," which he drinks just before he turns. It "cures" him all right, trapping him in the werewolf's body forever.

The new guy you have been dating has invited you to his house for a home-cooked Italian meal. You put on your cutest outfit and head over in anticipation of some cannoli and canoodling. He invites you in and offers you a drink, and then his mother walks out of the kitchen with a tray of antipasti and a scowl.

The night of a full moon is one that you dread every single month. After losing your fiancé to a tragic accident a year ago, you're wary of the moon and the animals that seem to prowl each time it fills. The police call you hysterical in your grief, but you know that something doesn't add up with the so-called dog attack. Something happens in the woods of your town each month, and you're determined to find answers. You're alone in the woods when you hear it: loud, vibrating howling, followed by the sound of animals running toward you. You try to run away only to trip, and then the dog is on you. It's big, huge, a wolf like none other you've ever seen. The wolf stops, a paw on your chest, staring down at you. There's something familiar about its eyes. Suddenly you understand. Contrary to what the police told you, your fiancé's body wasn't too shredded to identify because this wolf—somehow, someway—is your fiancé. As the sun rises while you sit there, staring at him, you see the wolf's body ripple and change until your fiancé is sitting naked before you. The only thing you hear before passing out is him saying your name.

The quiet guy who lives next door to you hardly seems to notice you, but you can't help but notice him—he's gorgeous. You've given up all hope of striking up a conversation until he comes to your rescue one night after your ex shows up to your house, drunk and looking to take you back, whether you want him or not.

The son of a wealthy industrialist is in the midst of a very public and nasty divorce from his notoriously dreadful wife. You are a reporter hired to find dirt on him for a story. You are surprised to discover that he is actually a wonderful man, and you begin to fall in love with him.

The train you're on to travel across England suddenly derails and crashes. Luckily the young man you've been sitting next to and chatting with during the entire trip saves your life, but then he vanishes. When you ask about him later, you're told there was no passenger by that name or description on the train. You return to the scene of the crash, looking for any clues about his identity, but after several unfruitful hours, you walk back toward your car, frustrated and tired. From the parking lot, you see the ruins of a castle in the distance and notice the young man standing in front of it. You rub your eyes and look again, but he is gone. You decide to investigate further.

There used to be only three things you need in life to be happy: money, baseball, and your freedom. Now that you're playing pro, you have everything you ever wanted—but feel that something is still missing. Could your gorgeous new physical therapist be the key to your happiness?

There's been a rash of break-ins at your store. The police officer they keep sending is gorgeous, funny, and kind. Everything you're looking for, but how do you make the first move? You keep tripping the alarms! Great plan, until you find out it's totally illegal, and you're about to be arrested by the handsome cop.

They say that these old ruins are haunted. That no one should ever go there at night. Well, after your girlfriend goes missing, you go to that place. The one place that everybody said was the last place you should look for her. You hope to find your love, but you may find more than you bargained for.

When you dreamed of becoming a television writer, you never expected you'd end up wasting your time writing for a vapid dating quiz show, but a job's a job. One night, your very charming, very single boss asks why you're working late; you mumble something about new truth-or-dare questions. "Great," he replies with a smile. "Ask me one."

When you receive word that your friend needs help with a cattle drive, you don't think twice about agreeing. You're not needed on your family's ranch right now, not with all your brothers to pick up the slack, so you pack a bag and head over first thing. When you arrive, though, it's clear that this is a tougher challenge than you expected as just yourself, your friend, and his cousin have to complete a difficult journey—not to mention how irritating this cousin is. He scoffs at the fact that you are a woman and proclaims that cowboys are "boys" for a reason. He's smarmy and conceited and, yes, the handsomest man this side of the Mississippi. You resent your attraction to him and how seemingly unimpressed he is with you. But when a camping mishap has you injured and him racing to your rescue, you see a different side of him: caring, attentive, and generous. He risks everything to take care of you. As you realize the depth of your feelings, you wonder if you two can find love together.

When you wake up one morning to find 100 text messages and several missed calls on your phone, you know something bad has happened. In fact, bad is an understatement. It turns out your star NBA player fiancé was caught making out with numerous women in a club last night. Now facing a PR disaster as your face is splashed across every tabloid magazine in the country, you're not sure if your life will ever return to normal. Somehow, you get through the toughest weeks of your life, but just when you feel like you are in a good place, your cheating ex shows up on your doorstep.

When you were young, you were friends with a neighborhood boy who liked the same things as you. Both of you were dirt poor, but it didn't seem to matter; as long as you had each other, there was always a make-believe adventure right around the corner. He grew up to be a star basketball player and, now that he's wealthy beyond imagination, seems to have forgotten where he came from. You haven't talked to him in years, but a death in the family brings him back to the old neighborhood, where you reconnect and reintroduce him to the life he left behind.

When your father is transferred west to open a bank in a newly settled area, it's a much rougher life than you had in the big, bustling city. Luckily, you love every minute of it. The local sheriff teaches you how to shoot a gun, and the bank is doing great business. Then the small town is rocked by a devastating attack from some local bandits. You manage to shoot one of them in the leg and, as the others flee, disarm the injured bandit only to discover that she's a young woman. You grow to love her as she recovers and tells you about the hard life she has led.

When your fiancé is killed in a car accident, you struggle to cope with the loss. One day, in a therapy session, you do a role-playing exercise where you speak with your fiancé and talk about the future that you never got to share. After the session, he follows you home and helps you grieve until you are ready to let go.

When your great aunt from Scotland passes away, she leaves her old castle to you. As the castle in in disrepair, you plan to fix it up to sell. You aren't prepared for the ghosts of your aunt's past that you find there, or discovering her mysterious romantic history.

When your spouse returns from Afghanistan, you are elated. You were so fearful for his safety and feel relieved that the worst is over. However, you are unprepared for how much PTSD and culture shock would isolate your loved one from everyone once he returned home. You struggle to show your love and find ways to connect.

When your wife and child die during childbirth, you vow to never marry again. What you had with her was real love, not a marriage of convenience. She was the love of your life. You close the manor and send away all but the minimal staff possible—you aren't able to look at any of them, watch them mourn your wife as you do. When your wife's cousin shows up in need of help, you want to turn her away—you really do—but you can't. She comes in and opens the curtains, and you hate her. You hate her because she reminds you of your wife and also because she's nothing like your wife. You keep hating her until you don't. But can any amount of feelings overcome the guilt?

While hiking through some unfamiliar woods, you realize you are miserably lost. As the darkness sets in and the temperature drops, you stumble upon a cabin deep in the forest and find that it belongs to a handsome writer who lives alone. There is something electric between the two of you, and you connect on a level you have never experienced before. When someone pounds on the door the next morning, the cabin owner pushes you behind him and motions for you to stay quiet.

While visiting your grandmother in her nursing home, she tells you that her high school sweetheart, who broke her heart by marrying someone else before she met your grandfather, just moved into a room down the hall. One day, you meet the man's grandson, who has been told a different version of what happened between them. You compare notes over lunch, and as you fall in love, you help your grandparents rekindle their own romance.

While you are attending an elegant soiree at an old mansion, a servant runs out of the kitchen screaming that the house is on fire. You turn to run, but you can't find a way through all the people and smoke. Just as part of a wall is about to fall on you, a handsome stranger saves your life, sacrificing his own in the process. Afterward, the stranger appears to you in your dreams and begs you to come back to what is left of the mansion.

With no family money to speak of, no title, and no longer considered of marriageable age, you are about to be cast out of the only home you've ever known. Desperation forces you to decide between options you never thought you would have to consider: either work at the brothel as a common prostitute or try to secure your place as a wealthy lord's mistress. Selling the last of your family's silver, you commission a dress for the final ball of the season—a masquerade ball. Without a formal invitation, you must sneak your way in, but you are determined to succeed as you have only this one night to secure your future.

Working as a paranormal hunter is hard enough without throwing romance into the mix, but when a fairy you recently banished starts stalking you on the job, you realize something has gone wrong. In your overworked state, you messed up the pronunciation of a single word that turned your banishing spell into a binding contract of marriage in ancient fairy lore. To break the unwanted union, you and your new spouse must travel to the fairy world, where you encounter all the fairy you banished—who now want revenge.

Yes, you used to be in love with a vampire, but you were just seventeen and emotions were running high. You broke it off with him before you left for college and, although it was weird to go back to the real world, you knew it was the right thing to do. But then students at your college begin to go missing. Bodies are found on campus drained of blood. When your roommate disappears and then your new boyfriend, you've had enough. It's time to put on some garlic, grab a stake, and end this relationship once and for all. You just hope you can resist his irresistible charms.

You always thought of death as just a vast nothingness, a rest that was eternal. When you actually die, however, you find that this isn't the case at all. You wake up—exhausted—and realize that you're still on Earth. You're incorporeal, and no one can see or hear you. You are a ghost. You get over the shock quickly enough, and then boredom sets in. In fact, you're absolutely out of your mind with boredom. Years and then decades pass as you roam the streets. One day, many years after you first awoke to this pitiful excuse of an afterlife, someone looks at you—not through you, but at you. Then he speaks. He can see you. You're determined to know why. As you get to know him, for the first time in ages, you feel love.

You and he are ruthless competitors at a bank. You are both constantly trying to outdo each other and compete for the assistant manager's position. One day, you get into a heated argument in the supply closet that ends up turning into heated passion. After the encounter in the closet, the competition gets complicated.

You and your fiancé have been blessed to be propelled on the path to missionary stardom after being chosen as the fresh young couple to lead your faith in educating and welcoming youths across the world. From brochures to posters to video interviews, you and your love have become a symbol of inspiration. However, the stress of public life has been a constant challenge, and your relationship with each other as well as with God has suffered as a result. How will you handle the fame and pressure that comes with spreading God's word?

You and your friend are in different relationships that are unhealthy. When you get together, you are constantly sharing stories about how miserable you are. Finally, it dawns on one of you that you should be with each other because you have much more in common with each other than with your partners.

You and your neighbor have been dating for more than a year, and you have fallen in love with him. When he offers to cook you a beautiful meal at his house, you think he's going to pop the question. You are ready to commit to him. When it's finally time for dessert, you can tell the magical moment is about to happen. Then you notice the red laser lights focused on him. Confused, you point them out to him. He glances down and pulls you both out of the way just as a stream of bullets shatter the window. Under the cover of the dining table he tells you he is a contract killer and his agency is here to terminate him.

You are a busy bank clerk with no social life but a great love for reading fiction. One day you read a book about a fairy. As you keep reading, you find yourself gradually falling in love with her. One day she flutters into your bank.

You are a dog walker with little interest in anyone with fewer than four feet. Your new client, the handsome owner of a goofy, flatulent French bulldog, changes all of that when you begin to bond over your loveable new charge.

You are a jewel thief trying to get out of the business, but you agree to take one last job before going straight. The money seems too good to be true—enough to set you up for life—so you can't turn it down. However, there's a catch. You need to steal the jewels from an auction house where your former lover is the head of security. It's been more than ten years, but the pain of his betrayal is still very real. Your plan is to get close to him again to learn the ins and outs of the auction's security system. You didn't plan on falling back in love with him.

You are a middle-class silver-fork novel author, fictionalizing aristocratic life for the masses. You often pose as an aristocrat for research purposes, getting gossip as a member of the inner circle. One day your own "secret" affair becomes the talk of the town. What will you do?

You are a personal chef hired by the coach to cook exclusively for a star NFL player, who turns out to be an extremely picky eater. Basically, what he ate as a child is the only things he eats as an adult. What starts out as a trying working relationship quickly leads to fun in the kitchen and romance.

You are a prosthetist working at Walter Reed, and your newest patient is a hard case: a handsome young veteran who lost both of his legs in a roadside IED explosion. He is so depressed that he can barely even look at you during his first appointment, and he tells you that he hasn't felt like a whole man since losing his legs. As you get to know him better, you begin to develop feelings for him. You realize you want to give him more than a new set of prosthetic legs. You want to give him your heart.

You are a rich merchant in medieval England and hire a servant girl to work in your shop. You fall for her and plan to propose to her but rumors are she is a practicing witch. You don't believe it until you discover strange objects such as melted wax and bird feathers under your bed.

You are a single mother who works as a waitress at a nightclub to make ends meet. The one thing you can't stand are people who get everything handed to them, like the rich, snooty patrons you have to wait on night after night. However, when a handsome and charming clubgoer becomes smitten with you, you find yourself drawn to his enigmatic way. After a few coffee dates, you wonder if this could be the one, but then you learn that he's actually the club's billionaire party boy owner—a man you've heard about and hated from afar for years. He swears he's changed and that he has fallen for you, but you're not convinced: Can you trust him to leave his partying lifestyle behind to become a family man?

You are a single parent with eight children. Eight. And he's the first person to take an interest in years. You have to deal with two grown children who think he's a creep, younger children who don't want him to replace your late partner, and your own reluctance to invest in a new relationship.

You are a sports psychologist on staff with a professional basketball team. You are passionate about your job, but have very strict rules about never getting personally involved. Your resolve is threatened when you meet someone who makes you question everything, and you have a decision to make.

You are a stand-up comic, and have spent most of your life making people laugh. You were on the verge of signing a major television deal to have your own prime time comedy show, when tragedy struck and you found yourself struggling to laugh again. Then you meet someone who changes everything.

You are a successful career woman who's become a bit jaded, returning to your old hometown to try to find something you have lost along the way. You run into a high school crush who is now an unmarried pastor, and the reunion allows you to reconnect as you find that some things never change. This rekindled romance allows you to get your old self back, finding that faith and love were what you were missing all along.

You are a successful singer, a tabloid favorite and a judge in a national TV singing contest. An attractive and charming contestant fails badly during his performance. You want to approach him and express your feelings but you are afraid of negative attention from the press like last time. Yet you have to do something or you'll never see him again.

You are a werewolf slayer whose duty it is to protect humanity from the Lycan hoard. However, you never anticipated that your true love would become the one thing you were trained to kill. You didn't get to her in time, and she was bitten before you could intervene. Yet the law is the law. She must be slayed before she harms others. There is no chance of her changing back. But you just can't bring yourself to do it. Now you must protect the one you were sworn to destroy.

You are a white-collar criminal who has embezzled a fortune, and your secretary has accidentally downloaded evidence of the crime. You go to her house to cover your tracks, but end up falling for her instead.

You are a young girl on a student scholarship at a very high-profile British university. One day at the uni pub you meet a handsome young man with whom you feel in love at first sight. Next day, you open the newspaper only to discover you have been out with a crown prince.

You are a young woman living near an American military base in Japan during the post-WWII occupation. You have met and fallen in love with a handsome GI who wants to marry you and take you to live in his hometown in Indiana when his tour ends. You love him, but you are reluctant to leave Japan and everything you have ever known. Things get even more complicated when your family threatens to disown you if you leave.

You are instantly attracted to the well-dressed person sharing your elevator, but could never think how to initiate a conversation. So the two of you ignore each other as the elevator pumps up New York's Chrysler building. Slowing to a stop on the 117th floor, there's a blackout!

You are lost in the middle of the jungle with your clumsy and absent-minded co-worker. Under these adverse circumstances, you get closer than you ever thought you would.

You are mad at the world and he's an eternal optimist. While on a business trip, you get stranded in the same hotel room (thanks to a hurricane) and the ensuing hilarious encounters convince you to join him in romance (and optimism).

You are moving to a large house in the South to take care of your aging grandmother. Once there, you encounter family secrets and lies that have torn the family apart, along with your childhood sweetheart who helps keep you safe when the secrets turn deadly.

You are new in town and determined to blend in and keep a low profile. After securing a job at a local coffee shop, you manage to convince everyone that you are a normal human and not an incubus with a dark past. When a human regular at the coffee shop starts taking an interest in you, you can't help falling for her. Just when you become comfortable in your new routine, an unwelcome reminder in the form of your succubus ex struts back into your life. Before she can blow your cover, you must reveal the truth about yourself to the woman you love.

You are on a blind date, and the guy turns out to be a total jerk. Increasingly uncomfortable, but too polite to get up and leave, you are grateful to be rescued by a handsome stranger who comes over and gives you an out.

You are taking a break behind the catering truck with the other extras, when the star of the movie, a major celebrity, asks you for a light. In that moment, more than a cigarette is lit up, and the whole film production goes sideways.

You are the daughter of the Earl of Devonshire, a once respected and sought-after man of wealth and stature. However, a scandal has thrown his reputation into disrepair, and you have almost given up any hope of marriage until you meet the impossibly handsome Earl of Castleberry, your father's new business partner. The Earl is not just a savior to your father's fortune and reputation; he is everything you have dreamed a gentleman can be and it looks like he has eyes only for you. However, after you marry, you discover that your Earl has secrets of his own that threaten to shatter not just your trust, but also your heart.

You are the maid of honor in your best friend's destination wedding, but you are single and feeling depressed about having to attend solo. Stressed and grumpy on the long flight there, you have a few too many drinks and pass out, drooling, on the shoulder of your seatmate. When you arrive at the wedding, you are mortified to discover that your handsome seatmate is the best man, and you spend the rest of the wedding weekend trying to avoid him.

You are the wife of a soldier who is missing in action and presumed dead. His best friend, who survived the war, offered you comfort and companionship, and over time love blossomed. A year later, you learn that your husband is alive and is coming home. Now you must confess to him that you have moved on—or have you?

You are tired of the obligations that society places on you, the Duke's daughter. Although you are already betrothed, you are still expected to attend social events, which bore you to tears. You can barely contain your irritation when forced to make small talk and gossip with the other ladies of the ton, who are still trying to find their perfect matches. You are comfortable with your engagement to the affable and amenable viscount. He may not be the most urbane catch, but he is kind and will take good care of you. You do not worry that he is not a love match, like the other silly girls dream of. You have no wish to be swept off your feet with the silly feelings of romance. Then you meet the viscount's brother. As dashing as he is daring, he takes your breath away and makes you second-guess your decision to settle for comfortable.

You are trapped in the elevator of your office building with a handsome executive when the power goes out in the city for a few hours. You get to know each other a little during that time, and the attraction is strong. He's evasive about what he does for the company, and it's not until power is restored and you're back at your desk that you realize he's the billionaire CEO's son…and he's emailing to ask you on a date.

You are working deep undercover to infiltrate a drug ring. While walking down the street with one of the traffickers you are trying to bust, you run into your ex, who greets you by your real name. The trafficker immediately assumes you are a narc and pulls his gun on you. You manage to jump out of the way and escape with your ex in tow. Now that your cover is blown, you have no choice but to keep yourself and your ex alive.

You awaken handcuffed to your bed, with your wife of 10 years standing over you wearing a witch's hat. She is saying some sort of incantation as she sprinkles something over your body. You feel woozy and fall back asleep. When you wake up, it is Saturday morning, and your wife greets you with a big smile and a kiss. You have a hard time remembering what happened last night, but everything rushes back to you when you notice a witch's hat stuffed into a duffel bag in the corner of the bedroom.

You come home after filming on set all day to discover a pool of blood on the floor of your mansion and your wife missing. The police arrest you. Once the media gets wind of the situation, you know their stories will ruin the reputations of you and your wife—both famous movie stars. You reluctantly call in a favor to your ex, who works in the DA's office. You hope she's forgiven you for cheating on her with the woman who eventually became your missing wife because she might be your only chance to prove your innocence.

You encounter your high school sweetheart on the weekend you are set to marry another woman (who is spoiled, selfish, and cruel to others). Your best friends work earnestly to thwart the wedding and convince you that your first love is the right one for you.

You fall in love with an adventurous, fun-loving mountain climber. Little does he know that you are afraid of heights and have never slept outside. He invites you on one of his expeditions, to your dismay. You really want to impress him, so you pack your hair dryer and try to make the best of it.

You hate his materialistic ways but a billionaire's charm wins you over when, following an airplane crash, you are stranded for weeks on his family's private island.

You have been dubbed the "Ice Princess" for your unwillingness to accept any suitor's hand in marriage—and there have been plenty. Many have been excellent matches from prominent and wealthy families, but you have not been even remotely interested in any of them. However, time is running out, and your father has finally put his foot down, demanding that you marry to secure the family's position, both financially and in society. Instead of giving you the option to choose, he has now chosen for you, and his choice is none other than your worst nightmare. This viscount has been a thorn in your side since your first coming out season. You've always found him to be quite high-handed, arrogant, and utterly distasteful despite his incredibly good looks.

You have been having sleepwalking episodes ever since you moved into an old fixer upper and you constantly wake up exhausted. You install a camera and try to see what you do while you are asleep. You are surprised to discover you have been going out of your bedroom and having a relationship with a mystery man that appears to live in your house. Who is he?

You have no desire to wed—now or ever—but your mother has other plans. Tired of her constant matchmaking and not-so-veiled "chance meetings" with eligible ton ladies, you decide to go against her wishes and embarrass her in the process. During one of your mother's huge soirees, you propose to a quiet mousy serving girl in front of everyone your mother deems important. You have no intention of actually going through with it, but hope the shock of the fake engagement will end your mother's ridiculous attempts. You never planned on actually falling in love with the lass.

You have spent the majority of your life living in the shadow of your gorgeous and vibrant younger sister Charlotte, who is everything your parents had hoped you would be: beautiful, outgoing, graceful—society's perfect darling. You, on the other hand, are introverted and clumsy, and you prefer to have your nose in a book rather than interact with society's elite. When asked to teach literature at an all-girls boarding school in Dansbury, you jump at the chance. Out of society's eye, you are free to be yourself without worrying about what others think of you. Unfortunately, you find that there is one person's opinion you can't help but want to impress. Master William Hattenburg, the dean of the school, has captured more than just your attention. He has stolen your heart as well.

You just scored a spot on a major competition TV show that makes its participants do the craziest things. You're partnered up with a handsome but over-confident stranger who, you decide, you instantly despise. Can you work together to win the day and the huge prize?

You know absolutely nothing about modern cowboy life other than what you see in movies and TV shows. You've never even seen a horse up close. But that's not what your fiancé thinks. You have been telling him for years that you know a thing or two about horses. It's not like you've been lying, just pretending that you know more. However, when he asks you to visit his family's ranch, you have to either come clean or do a crash course in riding 101. You choose the latter and hire an honest-to-God ranch hand with cowboy boots and a Stetson to teach you the basics before your trip. He's ridiculous, but also kind and handsome, and soon you find yourself looking forward to your secret lessons with him. As your lessons draw to an end, you find yourself sadder than you expected. You express this to him, and he gets serious, telling you that he's in love with you. You're shocked—not only at his admission, but also at your own feelings about it. Do you stay with the man you already agreed to marry or follow your heart to this cowboy?

You love them both, but they're married, to each other.

You make a great team – one is the driver, the other takes the money, and you are the lookout. The three of you have been successful bank robbers for six jobs now. As the police begin closing in, you find yourselves in conflict—one never wants to stop, the other wants out of the game, and they are both in love with you.

You meet your online dating match at a craft brewery, expecting a face that looks nothing like the profile picture. But when you lock eyes it's electric and you talk for hours. You start to think he has relationship potential…but then he tells you about his extensive doll collection.

You never learned to swim, but signed up for adult swimming lessons despite your misgivings. Your instructor is a drill sergeant-type who seems to think you're training for the Olympics, but the only other student helps lighten the mood. You begin to grow fond of the student.

You own a flower shop, and every week for the past year, a handsome guy has come in to order a dozen roses to be sent to his girlfriend. One day, another man comes in to send a dozen roses…to the same woman. Now you are left with a dilemma: tell the first customer, or let him find out on his own.

You own the best saloon for a hundred miles. You're no nonsense and good at your job: The saloon is clean, the barmaids are treated well, and the patrons are happy. But when an outlaw bursts in with guns blazing, your happy little saloon is at risk. A brawl breaks out, and one of your barmaids gets hit across the face. You pull your own gun from behind the counter to get everyone to stop. The outlaw points his gun at you, and you balk. This isn't just any outlaw; this is the famed bank robber, wanted dead or alive by every sheriff in the west. More importantly, he is your ex—the first and only man you've ever loved. The outlaw recognizes you at the same time as you do him.

You promised your high school sweetheart that you'd support him throughout his pro football career, and now, seven years later, he is the poster child for the NFL. You are doing your best to remain by his side, but you are also forging your own path as a personal trainer. As the two of you start to drift apart, will your relationship survive the pressure or will fame get to him?

You pull the head off the heavy mascot costume, sighing as a cool breeze from a fan chills your flushed cheeks. As you step out of the rest of the costume, you notice one of the basketball players standing behind you. Number 4. "I didn't realize you were a girl," he says. "Or pretty."

You receive the news every spouse dreads: Your wife is missing in action and presumed dead. The Chinook helicopter she was piloting crashed in Zabul province within the Spin Ghar mountain range. So far, no one can approach the wreckage due to adverse weather conditions, but you can feel that she's still alive, somewhere nearby that location. You are determined to find her, so you gather your mountain climbing equipment and take the next flight to Afghanistan.

You receive word that your husband has been injured and is in a coma. He is a POW in a country where the Geneva Convention is an afterthought and women have limited rights. Despite all of this, you must reach him because you are a surgeon with a significant amount of experience treating his specific type of injury. You believe you and you alone can save him. Against all odds, you weave your way into the country so you can perform the surgery before it is too late.

You sign up at eighteen. At nineteen, you leave for special training. By twenty, you're the youngest Navy SEAL on your team. They call you baby and kid, but you don't mind because you know why you're there: do the job, protect your country, have your team members' backs. They have yours, too. But then you're sent on a CIA covert operation without them, with no one to have your back, and you start to question just how you're ever going to pull this one off. When all hope seems lost and you question whether you will even be able to complete your mission, you meet her. She's perfect—sweet, pretty, and, best of all, the daughter of the man you've been sent to kill. Perhaps she will be the ticket to get you in the same room with your target so you can complete your mission. But when you fall for her, you have to decide between your country and your love.

You spent the last five years living through hell together as soldiers, with only a few brief moments apart. Now you're in your respective homes, halfway across the country and you can't help but think that what you had together might have been something more.

You travel to England and stay in a castle that's been converted into a B&B. You enjoy your time there and find the other guests downright charming, especially the man you bumped into in at the airport who surprisingly was staying at the same B&B. One day at breakfast, one of the guests starts chatting about how he used to be a lamplighter in Bristol. "A lamplighter? You must be well over a hundred years old, or maybe electricity isn't in fashion in Bristol," you joke. All of the guests at the breakfast table suddenly stop what they are doing to stare at you. Then, the lady who runs the B&B slowly approaches and whispers in your ear: "You are upsetting my patrons." You apologize and get up to leave, but she pushes you back down into your chair. "I'm sorry, love, but leaving is not an option." The room goes black. A person from the other side of the table lights a match. It is the handsome man from the airport. You ask what is going on, but he knows as much as you do. Together you look for a way out.

You visit a beautiful old hotel near the sea that has been rumored to be a home for ghosts searching for their unrequited love. While there, you encounter a handsome ghost hunter who is there to speak with his grandmother, who has been dead for 15 years.

You wake up in the dark. Being one of the first female soldiers to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course, you thought you were ready for anything. However, nothing has prepared you for this. You remember that you were scaling a ridge on a solo mission. Something happened, and now you can't make out anything in the darkness. As your eyes adjust, you see a man in the distance, but you have no idea if he is a friend or foe. When you hear his voice, a smile comes across your face.

You wake up one day, alone in the desert, with no memories, no keepsake, and no name. The heat only intensifies, and the questions follow suit, but you never find any answers. You eventually decide that it's okay to live like this, so you find a job, a house, and a name that works well enough in a village you've never even heard of before. Years pass, uneventfully. Then one day you see him, and a lifetime of memories rush back. Not all of them are good. The love for your beloved is almost as sweet as the biting pain from your time in the war. To save a child and his pregnant mother, you defied orders and became a criminal to your own country. Do you go back to that life, with a man you love but a history you'd sooner forget, or keep living the simple life you've built from the ground up? You've always believed true love conquers all. Now it's time to put that belief to the test.

You were a rebellious teenager who fell in with a bad crowd far too young to understand the consequences. After years of struggling with addiction, you leave rehab looking for a new way to go about your life. You find resolve in your faith and depend on the pastor of your church for moral support. He knows everything about your past, but still embraces you as an important part of the community. One day while helping set up a food drive, you bump into the pastor's son. You instantly fall for him. However, you believe that the pastor would never let you two get close as he knows too much about your sordid past. At first you keep your feelings to yourself, but over time things begin to blossom between you and the son. You just hope that when his father learns of your relationship, he will have enough forgiveness in his heart to let your love continue.

You were in love with him since high school but he never returned your feelings. You get happily married and get a job as a flight attendant. During one of your business trips you spot him on board, handsome and clearly impressed by the new you. He actually asks you out when landing.

You whisper to him that he is the love of your life. He backs away, looks into your eyes, and tells you that no one has been alive here in over a hundred years.

You work in a corporate office in a mid-level professional position. One day, you accidentally receive an email from the VP, the son of the company's CEO, that's meant for someone else with your last name. Then, you begin an ongoing email correspondence wherein you begin to develop feelings for each other.

You work in an office with a co-worker who annoys you with his political views that you disagree with. You complete a profile on a dating site and it pairs you with him. At first, you laugh at this, but realize that you are attracted to him despite his political leanings. You end up going on a date and having a lot more in common than you suspected you would.

You'd never have an affair with a married man, except he promises he is divorcing his wife. When you see them together at a gallery opening you are faced with stunning realization. You look identical to her, except that you're twenty-five years younger.

You're a city slicker now, but you'll always be a country girl at heart. A family illness calls you back to the ranch. You run into your old friend from childhood, who's now all grown up and a handsome cowboy. Your reunion isn't exactly sweet, since he thinks you haven't been true to your roots.

You're a detective solving a slew of murders. Your head is throbbing from the sleepless nights. Just then a stunning woman walks through your office door. She says she has something that could change the case and your life.

You're a down-on-your-luck lawman looking for a new job in the Wild West. Since being fired from your last position after refusing to charge an innocent man, you have been unable to find steady work. When a wealthy railroad tycoon overhears you telling your woes to a bartender, he offers you a job: Bring the person who killed his son to justice and receive a sizeable reward. You never thought of yourself as bounty hunter, but you can't decline the opportunity. A month later, you track down the killer only to discover that it is a woman who killed the son in self-defense. She's been on the run ever since. After hearing her story, you decide not to fulfill your contract and instead protect her from the tycoon hell-bent on revenge. You know that someday he will send more men to finish what you have started. You stay with her to make sure that this never happens, growing closer with each passing day.

You're a famous gospel singer, spreading the word of the Lord with your God-given ability to sing. Your gift has brought you around the world and back again, but it's also brought you a busy and lonely life. One day, you are overjoyed when you accidentally bump into a member of your church hundreds of miles from home. You talk about memories of your hometown and, when he admits that he has always had a thing for you, you smile and tell him that you feel the same way. You believe this was meant to be. However, your faith and love are challenged when it is time to go to your next gig. Will you stay with your one true love or continue spreading the word?

You're a hopeless romantic. Although the ton can be tiring and you're not exactly pleased to be on your second season, you're trying to maintain a positive attitude. After all, your dance card is always full, and you've received two separate proposals. Thankfully, your parents agreed that neither match was advantageous enough to warrant your displeasure. But you've barely got a week left of this season, and no one has your eye. You're worried you'll be forced into a marriage that you don't want just because you're aging out. One suitor is nice enough, but there's no spark. Still, when he asks for your hand, you feel forced to say yes, deciding that perhaps a love story is just not in the cards for you. Yet during one visiting, you meet his cousin, the dashing Duke of Essex. The spark is instant—as well as the trouble you find yourself in.

You're a practicing atheist, which means you avoid all churches, spectacles, and other religious nonsense that rages on around you. But when a freak storm traps you and the pastor in a cabin with nothing but a fire and conversation, you realize that things might not be as they've always seemed. Maybe, just maybe, there's something to what the woman is saying. The light of day seems too bright, and a promise to attend worship with her brings doubt, but you've got to try. You realize that a connection this deep has to count for something.

You're a publicist secretly in love with your famous client, but his agent thinks you should cook up a story about him and his co-star to generate buzz for their upcoming movie. This involves arranging dates and photo ops for the two of them, but you can't help but notice he seems more interested in you.

You're a reporter investigating claims of violent crimes inside the ruins of an old house on the outskirts of town. Before you go, your father insists that you bring along a police officer he knows. After you begrudgingly agree, you meet up with this officer outside the house. You and the officer scale the chain link fence that surrounds the property and open the front door. The interior is surprisingly clean. There is no graffiti, no dirt, and not even a smidgeon of dust. There was just empty room after empty room with the occasional piece of furniture blanketed with a white cloth. You make it to the second floor and find an antique full-length mirror in one of the bedrooms. As you gaze at it, you notice in the reflection that the officer is walking around behind you. The guy is pretty attractive. Maybe you'll invite him for drinks after this. You look back at yourself in the mirror, but you don't see your reflection. Suddenly, a sheet that covered the bed behind you grabs the officer by the ankle and drags him under the bed. You turn around and the officer is gone.

You're a single mom who works two full-time jobs to make ends meet. The new manager at your second job asks you out on a date. He's hot, kind, and perfect, but your son hates him and shows that in many humorous ways. Will love blossom or wither under his disapproving gaze?

You're a teacher who loves her job and her students. However, when your contract isn't renewed due to budget cuts in your district, you find yourself at a loss. Luckily, a friend of yours knows of someone looking to hire a tutor with just your qualifications. You go to the interview and realize the job is to tutor and mentor the son of a renowned tech billionaire. The son has had behavioral problems in school and was threatened with expulsion, so the single father decided to hire a trained professional to assist in his son's issues. The more time you spend with the small family, the more you realize that the son's behavioral problems stem from his poor relationship with his father. The billionaire is smart, innovative, clever, handsome, and stubborn. He initially disagrees with your analysis, but then eventually gives way to your advice. The longer you spend in the role of caregiver to both father and son, the more you start to feel like this is where you belong.

You're a teacher, and you get a new student in your class – a shy little girl who needs some extra help with reading. You offer to tutor her after school, and you discover that she lives with her divorced father, who is struggling to balance single fatherhood with his work as a police officer. You offer to help out where you can, and romance blooms.

You're a third-generation soldier, proudly decorated and always ready to serve your country and your people. After three tours in Afghanistan, you barely think twice before signing up for a fourth. But then you meet her. She's everything you've ever wanted and a million things you never even dreamt possible. As you prepare to ship out in a week, the woman you love promises to write. Unfortunately, when you arrive back on base, things aren't quite as they seem. You discover a conspiracy involving your commander and certain members in your regiment, and now you face your most difficult challenge yet: Do you get in line, do your work, and go to home to the one you love or do you investigate your commander and find the evidence that will expose the conspiracy? One thing is for certain: If your commander discovers your investigation, everyone in your life will be at risk, including the love of your life.

You're a woman fleeing an abusive marriage and you meet your husband's billionaire boss. You fall in love and your husband learns the hard way that abusers don't win.

You're already having the worst day ever, and a fender bender on the way to an important client meeting is the last thing you need. Even the attractive guy you hit doesn't cheer you up…until he does.

You're an ambitious investigative reporter determined to uncover who's behind a string of jewel heists in the city. You find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time one night, and a handsome detective has to come to your rescue in order to save your life. The problem is, those behind the crimes now know who you are.

You're an orthopedic surgeon assigned to help a star basketball player get back on his feet after a sidelining injury. He's not exactly your favorite patient, but over time, you realize there's more to him than the arrogant front he shows the media.

You're an overworked accountant with little time for a love life. Desperate for a break, you join your girlfriends on vacation at a dude ranch. The handsome ranch owner is rough around the edges, and so are his books. He's about to lose the ranch and everything he's worked for. Will you extend your stay to help him out?

You're an up-and-coming chef whose culinary talent is getting a lot of attention in your city. You agree to compete on a new cooking game show that will give you national exposure and possibly prize money that will help you fulfill your dream of opening your own restaurant. But you are shocked to discover that your competition isn't just any old cook, but rather a charming, cocky, talented sous-chef you might have met before. Although you try to hide it from the producers, it's obvious that you two have history and chemistry off the charts—and the competition has just gotten that much more complicated.

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101 Romance Story Prompts

Do you want to write in the popular romance genre, but need a push in the right direction? Maybe all you need are some clever romance story prompts. If that's the case, we gotchu!

We have compiled a massive list of romance story prompts to help get your creative juices flowing so you can start conceptualizing your romance story.

1. A woman's date goes horribly wrong and meet-cutes the waiter. 2. One character thinks their relationship is a fling — the other thinks it's destiny. 3. Mutual friends set up a blind date. 4. A guy is auctioned off for a date at a company fundraiser. 5. Two characters at a vintage record store listen to the same record in the same listening booth. 6. A guy looking for an engagement ring for the wrong girl falls for the ring saleswoman. 7. A character goes on an online date with someone that lied about their looks. 8. A woman falls in love with the twin of the man she just dumped. 9. A man arranges for a random woman to call him during a date as an Escape Call — they fall in love. 10. Opposites attract when two characters pretend to be dating and fall in love. 11. Two characters are stuck on a Ferris wheel together and fall for each other. 12. A man delivers flowers to a beautiful woman that's being wooed by the wrong guy. 13. A fling goes south when one of them offers the other character a drawer in their apartment. 14. Characters meet their in-laws and discover that each has dated the other's sibling. 15. A woman discovers an old mix tape made by her high school boyfriend — she tries to reconnect. 16. Despite going on what are considered traditional dates, two people don't believe they're actually dating. 17. A couple breaks up and each is on the rebound. 18. A man uses his brother's baby to attract women. 19. Someone asks another out as a dare and ends up falling in love with them. 20. A man bets his female childhood friend that he can make her fall in love with him in two weeks. 21. A man asks his twin brother to fill in for him in the relationship after he grows tired of it. 22. Two people have a secret relationship. 23. Two people are stood up on their dates and end up falling for each other. 24. A teacher falls for her student's single parent. 25. A woman is always a bride, never a bridesmaid. 26. The third wheel of a couple struggles to find love. 27. The third wheel of a couple ends up falling in love with one of them. 28. Characters fall in love when the Tunnel of Love at the fair breaks down. 29. Two people that know each other only from an online fantasy football league meet for the first time. 30. A woman doesn't know her type and ends up seeking out every type of person to find her preference.

'If Beale Street Could Talk'

31. A woman seeks out the model that was used for a popular romance novel series. 32. One secret agent falls in love with another. 33. A popular character falls for an unpopular character. 34. An unpopular character learns that the popular character they had a crush on is not who they want to be with. 35. A character falls in love with an angel living on Earth for a limited time. 36. An angel falls in love with the human they are assigned to watch over. 37. A celebrity falls in love with a regular person. 38. Cupid is actually an angry relationship therapist. 39. A popular girl is highly attracted to nerdy types. 40. A popular guy is highly attracted to nerdy types. 41. The drama teacher's budget is reallocated to the football coach's program. 42. A chemist-by-trade finds a way to manipulate pheromones to make people attracted to them. 43. Two people drink a love potion that makes them fall madly in love. 44. An older woman is attracted to a much younger man. 45. A younger woman is attracted to a much older man. 46. A character falls in love with a fictional character, only to see them come alive. 47. A female coach's team budget is taken over by a male coach's budget. 48. A man who travels a lot falls in love with a flight attendant he always sees. 49. A woman who travels a lot falls in love with a small-town man that has never left his small town. 50. A woman falls in love with her AI phone. 51. A nanny travels abroad with the family she watches over, only to fall in love with a local. 52. One character must overcome a physical or emotional scar to find love. 53. There's a misunderstanding between a couple that is destined to be together. 54. A woman is attracted to both a man and a woman and must decide which one to choose. 55. A woman who was shamed by a bully in high school falls in love with him at the reunion. 56. A character comes home for the holidays. 57. A career-driven woman inherits a small-town property. 58. A businessman whose car breaks down while traveling cross country falls for a rancher. 59. A businesswoman whose car breaks down while traveling cross country falls for a rancher. 60. A character falls in love with the first human-looking android.

'La La Land'

61. A couple that thought they were divorced is not. 62. Enemies in business fall in love. 63. A fake engagement leads to love. 64. A big city character falls for a small own character. 65. A small-town character falls a big-city character. 66. Characters are trapped in a confined location and fall in love. 67. Friends of a couple enjoy disliking each other but soon fall in love. 68. A character unknowingly falls in love with a ghost. 69. A grieving character falls in love with their deceased significant other's sibling. 70. A rich girl doesn't want her rich lifestyle anymore. 71. A rich guy doesn't want his rich lifestyle anymore. 72. Identical twins agree to change lives to see if sparks fly with the significant others they've grown tired of. 73. A character falls in love with their abductor. 74. A character is learning a new skill under the teaching of another — they fall in love. 75. There's a love triangle and only true love will prevail. 76. One character gets a makeover and finds love. 77. Characters have a marriage of convenience and agree to seek love elsewhere. 78. Medical industry co-workers fall in love. 79. A character falls in love with the police officer that saved them. 80. One character is actually a mystical creature living a normal human life for a short time. 81. The new girl in town finds love. 82. The new guy in town finds love. 83. The mysterious stranger in town attracts locals. 84. Police officers assigned as partners fall in love. 85. A character wins the lottery and falls in love. 86. A character thought dead returns home to the surprise of those that have moved on. 87. A rock star falls in love with a local during a music festival. 88. A runaway bride finds love elsewhere. 89. A runaway bride discovers that the groom she ran from is actually the right one for her. 90. High school sweethearts reunite.

'Happiest Season'

91. High school best friends reunite, only to discover they should be a couple. 92. A rich character hides their true wealth to find true love. 93. A werewolf falls for a vampire. 94. Single parents find love together. 95. Soul mates finally find each other against all odds. 96. A character falls in love with someone that is terminally ill. 97. A character falls in love with someone that is traveling in time. 98. Two characters that had a fling discover that they're having a baby together. 99. Characters fall in love at a wedding. 100. Characters are accidentally married. 101. Two characters vowed years prior to marrying each other if they had not yet found love.

If you loved our list of romance story prompts, take a look at our other genre story prompts !

Should you write in the romance genre.

The romance genre — specifically the romantic comedies that are so popular right now on platforms like Lifetime and Hallmark — is booming. Those two cable networks produce dozens upon dozens of titles each year for their networks and streaming platforms. Why? Because audiences love them. They love the familiar. They love the formulaic. Both of which offer an easy and laid-back viewing experience at home. The networks that are producing and distributing them have created platforms more accessible to undiscovered screenwriters.

Only the top 1% of working screenwriters make a living writing for major studios and production companies.

Read More: How to Create Engaging Romance in Movies

Most working screenwriters could be referred to as blue-collar screenwriters — those that are signing non-Guild low-five-figure contracts for channels like Lifetime and Hallmark. Yes, there's a script market for Direct-to-Streaming action, science fiction, and horror thrillers that former A-list stars (and plenty of B, C, and D-list stars as well) make a living from, but nobody makes more movies per year than Lifetime, Hallmark, and other smaller networks and streaming platforms.

These are places where a screenwriter can build a resume of onscreen credits and compile a few noteworthy low-five-figure contracts that add up to a sustainable career as a paid screenwriter .

Even Netflix has seen the potential of these romance flicks. You can now see a steady flow of Lifetime-like and Hallmark-like titles produced and distributed on the Netflix streaming platform.

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed , and many Lifetime thrillers.

Follow Ken on Twitter  @KenMovies

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Romance Writing Prompts to Inspire Your Fiction

Do you dream of writing a romance novel? Are you writing romance or interested in writing your own love story? Then these writing prompts from Sunday Times bestselling author and The Novelry writing coach Libby Page should help.

Below you’ll find lots of romance writing prompts to inspire your romance writing. Maybe you’re looking for an idea for a romance novel, in which case use these prompts as a starting point to generate some love story ideas . You never know where these story starters might take you.

Or perhaps you are already writing your love story but feel stuck and in need of a fun exercise to boost your creativity or beat writer’s block. It can be helpful to turn to writing prompts if you’re unsure where to take your story next. Even if the writing prompts are completely different to the romance novel you’re writing, challenging yourself to think up new ideas with the help of a writing prompt can make you feel more creative and spark fresh ideas when you return to your novel. Working on a writing prompt takes the pressure off, which is sometimes what we need when we’re working on a novel. Let your imagination run wild and have fun.

How to use these romance writing prompts

You could pick one writing prompt and spend a lot of time fleshing it out as a full chapter or complete short story. Or how about trying to plot out a whole romance novel based on one of the love story prompts, thinking about what the main plot points would be? You don’t even have to write any of the scenes—just use it as a helpful exercise in plotting a romance novel.

Or choose several writing prompts and have a go at writing the first chapter, a short scene for each of them or even a number of short stories.

Maybe challenge yourself by setting a timer for five minutes per writing prompt. Pick a writing prompt, set the timer and start writing! See how much you can come up with in that time.

You could even use these prompts with a writing friend: each write a response to the same writing prompt and then compare results. It might be interesting to see how you approached the same prompt differently.

The prompts feature a mix of male/female, male/male and female/female examples, and some where the gender isn’t specified, but of course you can adapt the examples as you like. Happy romance writing!

Historical romance writing prompts

A World War 2 soldier is given the task of guarding the prisoners of war in a POW camp. Except he forms an instant connection with one of the POWs, a connection unlike anything he’s ever experienced before and that cannot be described as entirely platonic…

As a debutante among polite society, your every moment is planned by your domineering mother and you’ve always obliged her, until the day your carriage collides with Clyde Hiddleston’s. He is a renowned scoundrel and bootlegger, and his escapades have led him down the path of ruining more than one lady’s reputation. He’s also about the most beautiful man you’ve ever laid eyes on...

It’s the First World War and you are a young woman whose sweetheart has been lost in action, presumed dead. Except one day he turns up unannounced on your doorstep. But you are engaged to marry later that week. It is a loveless union but the marriage, to a wealthy former soldier released from duty due to injuries, will pull you and your family out from poverty—which is especially important to you given your father is seriously unwell and needs money for his care. Do you choose true love or duty? And how do both men take this new turn of events?

Martha, a young lady-in-waiting, joins the household of a fiery young mistress who is intent on never marrying, despite the protestations of her family. At first, she finds her mistress rude, arrogant and infuriating. Until one incident makes her see a softer side and stirs feelings she has never experienced before… Describe the incident and what happens next.

An Earl and a young Lady are betrothed in an arranged marriage by their families, having never met in person. But they are both fiercely independent and neither wants the marriage to go ahead. So, they both adopt disguises as servants and escape. Except the two characters meet on the road and form an instant connection, each thinking the other a mere servant…

Science fiction romance writing prompts

A couple meet in a world that seems like our own and fall in love. But soon after news breaks that half the world’s population are actually very convincing cyborgs. How does this affect the new relationship?

An engineer is tasked with decommissioning a robot that has been deemed to have dangerous technical faults. But when she turns up to take on the task the robot is not at all what she was expecting. The robot appears not to be a robot at all, but a handsome, charming and very funny man…

An astronaut sets off for space on an important mission, leaving behind the love of their life. But when they return from their month-long voyage they find that time dilation means that ten years have passed on Earth. When they meet again things are vastly different—apart from the spark between them…

The world is being ravaged by an unexplained plague. Two scientists are enlisted by the government to come up with a cure and must be locked in isolation together while they work. They are exes, something neither realizes until they are locked in the laboratory together…

An anthropologist at the height of her career is selected after a long process and sent to make first contact with a newly discovered alien race. It’s a huge moment for her career and humanity. But the first thing she thinks on meeting the alien ambassador is how hot they are…

The wife of a leading robotics expert receives a sudden call from his laboratory. His latest experiment has gone wrong. She arrives to find her husband a complete amnesiac, and his personality and memories in the body of a robot…

Fantasy romance writing prompts

A werewolf falls in love with… Think of a scenario that you haven’t read before and that would make you want to find out more. Then write it!

Your female protagonist is a witch who casts a spell to conjure her one true love. But someone very unexpected appears…

During a magical tournament a wizard is tasked with casting a spell to summon their true love. But their best friend appears instead. Admitting the spell didn’t work would mean forfeiting the competition, so the two friends decide to go along with it. But as the two characters fake true love, it turns out that pretending to be in love soon becomes difficult to decipher from the real thing…

A necromancer brings their ex back from the dead just to continue an argument with them—but ends up falling for them instead.

Something is ridding magic from the world. A good witch and a bad witch must work together to save the future of magic, even though the way they want to use that magic is very different. Sparks fly along the way.

A crown princess must embark on a dangerous journey to save her kingdom. Assigned to protect her are a strong and noble warrior, a brooding, intelligent mage, a charming and charismatic bard, and a fiery and brave huntress. Of course, they are all devilishly attractive…

An assassin must kill an evil queen for the greater good, but soon realises the ruler isn’t as evil as they first thought. Is the assassin being led astray by their feelings for the ‘evil’ ruler? Or is the assassin’s cause less righteous than they first thought?

Our protagonist is placed under a curse by a witch. The curse can only be cured by true love. They search high and low for true love, but can’t seem to avoid or stop thinking about the witch…

YA romance writing prompts

In a charming costal town, an introverted teen character encounters a dynamic local indie teen rockstar at a planning event for the first ever music festival overlooking Oceanside.... Write a scene where one of their exes appears.

When a teen finds a journal which reveals a century-old mystery, this character is drawn into a captivating tale of forbidden love. This character teams up with a teen with their own secrets who edits the school yearbook. Write a scene where they have conflict with each other.

In a world forever changed by the plagues of the last decades, two teens train to fight each other. They’ve always known their destiny: one lives, one dies. Amid oppressive rules, they both have their own reasons for challenging the status quo. And either their shocking love will ignite a revolution and save their lives, or they’ll kill each other as The Fates intended. Write the scene where these two encounter each other for the first time...

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Contemporary romance writing prompts

Two characters from very different cultures meet at a festival. Opposites attract and they immediately hit it off. They spend every moment of the festival together. For three days and three nights it feels as if they are in a new world, away from real life. But once the tents are packed up the reality of their starkly different worlds and all the challenges that come with that culture clash starts to encroach on their new but profound love…

Two single parents get chatting at the local park. They hit it off and there’s immediate chemistry. They start to meet regularly, sharing a strong connection. But one day an incident occurs that makes them realize they have drastically different approaches to parenting. How do they navigate this new understanding?

Write about first love that is shattered by a tragic accident. Then write what happens when the two characters meet again for the first time since that accident—thirty years later.

During an election campaign the sons of the two main candidates find themselves in the same room at a rally. Despite their preconceptions about each other and the rivalry between their parents, there is an instant attraction and they form an unlikely bond. Theirs is a forbidden love that would have huge political ramifications. Can they make a relationship work?

A young woman who is grieving meets a mysterious stranger at a grief support group. He is kind, supportive and extremely handsome. He invites her to join a different local group for people dealing with loss. But when she turns up the group is decidedly mysterious. There are moments when she wonders if it might even be a cult. But the guy is still as lovely as ever. As they grow closer, things become more troubling… Write about her experience of falling in love whilst also worrying that all may not be as it seems…

Romantic comedy writing prompts

Two romance writers go on the worst first date of all time.

Two romance writers compete to organise the most romantic date ever. But neither date goes according to plan… Write about what happens. Then write the conversation when each writer tries to defend their failed date.

Two chefs go on the worst first date of all time. Write about it, including—in detail—what they eat.

The best date of all time is suddenly and very dramatically interrupted. What happens?

A new couple share a family Thanksgiving dinner from hell.

Write dialogue between two love interests where they each respond with only one-word answers. Try to make it funny!

A professional chef thinking of starting his own business takes a beginner’s cookery course to scope out the competition. He can’t let anyone know he isn’t a novice but gets annoyed when the—extremely handsome—instructor keeps making ‘mistakes’. But the instructor knows exactly who the chef is and is testing him until he cracks. Write about one of the cookery lessons, and make sparks fly!

Two romantic comedy writers pair up to try to write the funniest, most romantic romantic comedy of all time. To make it feel authentic, they go on lots of research trips together. But the line between fact and fiction soon begins to blur…

Enemies to lovers romance writing prompts

A character bumps into the roommate they haven’t seen ever since they moved out suddenly and stole something precious. Write what happens when they meet again, and what was stolen and why.

‘If …. hadn’t happened, they would have been the best of friends. But it did, so they are sworn enemies.’ Write about what happened.

‘Harry was the absolute last person Lara wanted to see walk into the room. But he was also the only person who would be able to help her get out of this awful mess.’ Write what happened before Harry walked in the door and what happens next.

Two sworn enemies join the same support group. Write about the first meeting.

You and your irritatingly handsome work rival are tasked with organising the office summer party and have drastically different approaches. Describe the first planning meeting.

Two work rivals at an advertising company are sent away on a client photoshoot on a tropical island. There’s a promotion up for grabs for one of them if the photo shoot goes well. But when they get there everything goes wrong. The photographer and models don’t show up and a tropical storm is on the horizon. They have to work together to decide what to do next. And as they spend more time together it seems there is a fine line between despising someone and finding them irresistible…

Two sworn enemies want to adopt the same dog from their local animal shelter. Neither backs down, so they agree to share custody. What happens next?

Best friends to lovers romance writing prompts

Someone is keeping the biggest secret from their best friend. They are on their way to a joint friend’s wedding when their aeroplane gets stuck on the tarmac for hours. As they sit and wait it becomes harder and harder not to spill the secret… By the end of the flight the two friends have a whole new understanding of their relationship and what they mean to each other. How are they going to get through the next few days at their friend’s wedding, where the focus should be on the bride and groom and not their own drama? Especially when they are sat next to each other for everything…

Two best friends take a road trip. Every single thing that could possibly go wrong goes wrong. Except each new disaster somehow brings them closer together and causes sparks to fly. Write about what happens.

Two best friends go on a double date, except they have much more fun with each other than their dates. When one character suggests they ditch their dates and go somewhere else the two of them the other character readily agrees. But is it a date? Or just two friends hanging out? Friends who happen to have the most amazing chemistry…

When two best friends were teenagers they made a jokey pact that if they were both still single at forty they would get married. Now their fortieth birthdays are fast approaching. One of them raises the pact and jokingly suggests they should get planning their wedding. Together they start planning a joint birthday party that gradually starts to feel more and more like an actual wedding…

Exes to lovers romance writing prompts

Former high school sweethearts are sat next to one another at a mutual friend’s wedding. They try to get through the whole meal pretending not to know one another, until someone says, ‘You two used to date, didn’t you?’ Write what happens next.

After the wedding, the two former high school sweethearts who have just spent an evening trying to ignore each other are left having to share the last taxi from the wedding venue back to the hotel where all the guests are staying. Describe the car journey from the venue to the hotel.

Two exes are paired together at a speed dating event. Write about happens in the five minutes they have together.

Former lovers reunite when their beloved cat, of whom they have shared custody since the separation, becomes suddenly ill. They decide to put their differences aside in order to nurse the cat back to full health. As they come together on this joint mission they are reminded of the things they used to love about each other…

Small town romance writing prompts

A small-town girl introduces her out-of-towner boyfriend to a beloved but extremely unusual family tradition. Describe the scene.

A real estate agent tries to convince an attractive out-of-towner not to buy the small town’s most beautiful house. But the out-of-towner is charmed, by both the house and the real estate agent. Write the scene, thinking about why the real estate agent doesn’t want to sell, why the out-of-towner wants to buy and what happens next.  

The owner of a local coffee shop agrees to let a film crew use the coffee shop as a set for a week, even though he can’t stand city slickers and show business, because his business which he inherited from his deceased father is struggling to stay afloat. Everything about the Hollywood crew arriving in his town appals him—apart from the very attractive lead actor…

A grumpy but loveable florist is happily minding her own business in the small town where she grew up when her old flame returns to the town for a family funeral. She fully expects the old flame to return to the big city after the funeral but instead they hang around, showing no signs of leaving. In a town this small, it’s only so long before their paths cross… The florist finds her former lover completely changed, and rather charming. But can she trust this new version of the person she thought she knew?

Lily has always held a grudge against her former college rival Jake for being frosty, antagonistic and generally irritating. But when she finds herself bumping into him on a business trip to the small town where he grew up, the way the people there talk about him makes her wonder if she really knows him at all…

Character writing prompts for romance writers

• Describe the contents of your main character’s pockets/handbag. Do the same for your love interest.
• If your main character found $100 on the ground, what would they do?
• Write about three places where your character has lived that meant something to them.
• What does your main character’s handwriting look like? What about your love interest?
• Describe three objects found in your main character/love interest’s bedroom. Make one of them surprising.
• What does your character like to read? And how do they organize their bookshelves?
• What would be your main character’s karaoke song of choice? What about your love interest? And would they both do karaoke willingly or begrudgingly?

More romance writing prompts

If you’re still feeling stuck for ideas for your romance novel, here are even more romance writing prompts to get you thinking!

Write a playlist of favourite songs for your main character and your romantic lead. Then write the scene where they swap playlists.

‘Sparks fly at the…’. Write a list of the most unlikely endings for this sentence. Choose your favourite and write the scene to go with it.

Write about a character getting the dream proposal—but from the wrong person.

‘They say that opposites attract. But these two really had nothing in common.’ Write a description of the most unlikely pairing you can think of. And then try to find some common ground between them—and a spark of chemistry.

What is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you? Write about that situation but make it happen to a character who is the complete opposite of you.

‍ For one-on-one help writing your novel, join us on a creative writing course at The Novelry today. Sign up for courses , coaching and a community from the world’s top-rated writing school.

Libby Page is the bestselling author of five novels. The Lido became a Sunday Times bestseller within its first week of publication and has been published in more than 23 territories around the world.

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How to Create a Romance Novel Outline

By Hannah Yang

So you’ve got an idea for a romance novel. You’ve come up with the core premise, identified your main characters, and maybe even envisioned some of the key scenes that you know readers are going to love.

Now you need to turn this jumble of ideas into an actual book.

How do you put it all together?

If you’re a plotter, like me, you’re probably excited to build a plot outline for your novel so you can plan out the story. But even if you aren’t a plotter and prefer to make things up as you go, story structure is still important to understand.

The romance genre has many conventions and tropes. Your readers will expect certain things from your novel at different parts of the story—tension, drama, heartbreak, and more.

By starting with the right plot outline, you set yourself up to fulfill those expectations and craft a satisfying romance novel that both new and experienced readers will love.

This article will give you a complete blueprint for writing a romance novel that will make readers keep turning the pages.

What Is Three-Act Story Structure?

What should i include in act one of a romance novel, what should i include in act two of a romance novel, what should i include in act three of a romance novel, final words about writing a romance-novel outline.

There are many story structures you can use to create a plot outline, from Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat” beat sheets to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.

In this article, we’ll be using one of the most popular outline templates: the three-act story structure.

The three-act story structure is one of my favorites. It’s simple enough to work for almost any novel-length story, but still detailed enough to give you specific scenes to work with.

If you’re new to the concept, check out our article on how to use the three-act story structure for a novel of any genre.

Essentially, the three-act story structure involves splitting your romance novel into a beginning, middle, and end. Each of these sections include core plot points to keep up the tension and keep your reader turning the pages.

Here’s an overview of the three acts we’ll be splitting your romance novel into:

• Act One: The Setup (0-25%)
• Act Two: The Confrontation (25-75%)
• Act Three: The Resolution (75-100%)

So how do you take this plot outline and apply it specifically to the romance genre? Read on for a detailed blueprint for building an irresistible romance novel.

We start with Act One—the setup stage of the story.

This act encompasses the first quarter of your novel. Your focus in Act One should be to lay all the groundwork you’ll need for the rest of the novel.

You need to introduce readers to your cast of characters, establish the setting, and set up the promise of what the narrative arc will be.

As early as possible, introduce the two main characters and make them feel like real people outside of their romantic lives.

Give the two characters external goals that have nothing to do with the relationship itself—such as starting a business, succeeding in a new job, or winning a competition.

Show that each character has fears and flaws that might make it hard for a long-term relationship to work out unless they’re willing to grow as a person.

Choose a Unique Meet-Cute

Around 1-12% of the way into the novel, we get to the first story beat in your plot outline: the inciting incident, which sets off the entire chain of events that follows.

In a romance novel, this is the meet-cute—the moment your two main characters meet.

A meet-cute is a necessity for any romance novel. You should establish the possibility for attraction without making it instantaneous. Leave the reader wanting more.

There are countless meet-cutes out there, and it’s a lot of fun to come up with your own. It could be as mundane as having your two characters sit next to each other on the bus, or it could be as dramatic as having one rescue the other from mortal peril.

If your characters already know each other—for example, if they’re childhood best friends, or if they’re ex-lovers yearning for a second chance—this scene should be the first time we see them together on the page. If they don't know each other yet, this should be the first time they meet.

Keep the Protagonist Thinking About the Love Interest

No matter what the meet-cute is, there must be some challenge that stops the two love interests from getting together right away. Love can’t come easy in a romance novel. To keep readers turning the page, you need to build tension and suspense.

After the inciting incident, the protagonist should agonize over whether or not they actually want to take the next step forward. It’s important to set the stage for the conflict that will get in their way.

The protagonist might deny that they’re attracted to their love interest to protect themselves from the possibility of rejection. Or they might assume they can’t be together because of some kind of external conflict.

It is important to get the pacing right at this crucial point in your novel. Too quick and readers will not have developed a strong enough emotional attachment to your protagonist.

Too slow and they may become bored and— gasp —stop reading. To avoid disasters, try out ProWritingAid's Pacing Report , which highlights slow paragraphs and suggests that you do not have too many in a row.

In spite of this conflict, however, the protagonist can’t stop thinking about the love interest and wondering if there might be a way to make it work. This brings us to the first plot point.

Force the Protagonist to Make a Choice

After all this internal debate, your protagonist will accept the call of the meet-cute and agree to take the next step forward. This plot point should happen around a quarter of the way into the novel.

Whatever this next step is, it means the protagonist and their love interest will be seeing a lot more of each other.

This is a good time to consider which tropes you want to use in your story, since many tropes come with a built-in first plot point. If you're looking for romance-plot ideas, these tropes can definitely help spark your imagination.

Here are some examples of tropes that all romance writers should know:

• The fake-dating trope: the protagonist decides to pretend they’re in a relationship with the love interest
• The rivals-to-lovers trope: the protagonist agrees to enter a competition in which the love interest is a rival contestant
• The friends-to-lovers trope: the protagonist decides to accept a job, new house, or other external circumstance that will bring them into close proximity to the love interest

While the inciting incident could be something that happens out of the blue, the first plot point should usually be an active choice for the protagonist, even if they still have their reservations.

Until now, they could always walk away. But after this, there will be no turning back.

This decision will push the story into Act Two.

Act Two is the meat of the story, where you bring the two love interests together and enjoy the drama that ensues.

This act is where you build momentum for the relationship. Now that your two love interests are stuck in the same place and forced to get to know each other better, the romantic tension should begin to pick up.

You want to deepen the attraction and the conflict at the same time, hand-in-hand. They key is to make the reader think “Will they be able to end up together?” without us giving a definitive answer until Act Three.

Build the Romantic Tension

This section of the story is your chance to fulfill the expectations that made readers pick up your book in the first place. Different sub-genres will have different expectations they need to fulfill. These can help you understand what your readers expect.

• In a Western romance novel, readers will want to see rodeo shows, ranching events, and/or other traditionally Western activities
• In a Regency romance novel, readers will want to see ballroom dances, gossip and scandal, and/or strict social rules
• In a paranormal romance novel, readers will want to see a hidden magical academy, a dystopian society, and/or paranormal creatures

Fulfilling these reader expectations has the added benefit of giving you more romance plot ideas. With all of these sub-genre conventions as the backdrop, the action should steadily rise until you get to the midpoint.

As the two characters get to know each other more, they learn to trust each other and to like each other in a deeper way. The romantic attraction should simmer and build.

Give them ample opportunity to spend time together. Perhaps they share secrets about themselves or begin to reveal vulnerabilities. One way or another, they begin to see each other in a new light.

In spite of the attraction growing between them, at least one of the two characters needs to be hesitant to jump into the relationship. All romance novels need conflict. Otherwise, you get to your happy ending too early.

As the two characters get to know each other better, they also deepen the fundamental conflict that might make it impossible for them to be together.

Here are some examples of external conflicts you can use:

• Friends or family who disapprove
• Ex-lovers who try to interfere
• A job or other external obligation that physically keeps them apart

And here are some examples of internal conflicts you can use:

• Secrets and misunderstandings between the two characters
• Past baggage that prevents the two characters from fully trusting each other
• An inability to commit to a real relationship

Shake Things Up at the Midpoint

In the middle of your story, you get to the midpoint reversal.

This scene is a new turn of events that feels like either a false victory or a false defeat.

If it’s a false victory, you want the reader to think that the two main characters are close to their “happily ever after.”

A false victory might be the point when the two characters finally declare their affection for each other. They might share their first kiss, or even their first night together, depending on the spice level of your novel.

If it’s a false defeat, on the other hand, you want the reader to think that the two characters can’t be together after all. Some crisis arises that makes them deny their feelings or wonder if this was all a mistake.

Either way, it’s false, because the story isn’t over yet. If it’s a false victory, make sure to bring the conflict back into the budding relationship as soon as the midpoint is over. If it’s a false defeat, give us hope again.

After this, the two characters will be forced to be make decisions about what they really want. If they truly want to be together, they’ll need to find their way back to a middle ground.

It’s time to turn up the pressure and force the main characters to confront the problems they’re facing, both internal and external.

Don’t fully resolve the conflict yet. Save your trump card for the end.

Teach the Protagonist a Lesson

The process of the two characters finding their way back to each other should continue until the 75% mark, when you get to the second plot point.

The second plot point is when your protagonist looks deep inside themselves and realizes that their own flaw has been holding them back. If they want love, they need to confront their own flaw or misbelief first.

This should tie back to the inner conflict you've established throughout the story so far.

Even if you're using an external conflict, you should make sure it relates to the character's internal growth—for example, by being willing to stand up to their disapproving family.

Character growth is a huge part of what makes a novel captivating. If you nail this story beat, you’ll be able to tug at readers’ heartstrings while also imparting a nugget of wisdom.

Here are some examples of lessons learned:

• The protagonist was too afraid of commitment to let the relationship evolve, and now they realize they need to stop making decisions out of fear
• The protagonist always believed they needed to choose between falling in love and succeeding in their career, and now they realize they need to put in the work to have both at once
• The protagonist was pining after the wrong person because they thought they needed love to make them complete, and now they realize they need to put themselves first

Once the main characters learn this crucial lesson, they can finally move forward into the third act.

In the final act of the story, the two main characters will come back stronger—this time, armed with the new lessons they’ve learned along the way.

If your novel has a Happily Ever After (HEA), this act will end with the two protagonists falling in love.

If not, it will end with the two protagonist parting ways, having learned something new about themselves in the process.

Let The Protagonist Fall in Love

Between 75-90% of your romance novel, the two characters will finally admit they’re falling in love with each other. They’ve learned their lessons, faced their own flaws, and decided they want to be together.

This section is a good time for the romantic and even physical intimacy to escalate. It’s finally time to dial up the spice.

Make the reader feel almost certain that it will all work out—but then, almost at the last minute, take us to the climax and bring the conflict back with a vengeance.

Give Us a Climactic Breakup

In the climax, the conflict that’s been getting in the two main characters’ way should finally come to a head.

This scene is when you play your trump card—the terrible obstacle between them that we all knew was coming but tried to ignore anyway.

The reader should question whether the two main characters even have a future together. The climax usually involves a breakup, a moment when the reader truly thinks it’s over. Everything should appear hopeless.

To figure out what your climax should be, examine the faults and flaws of each character. What would get in the way of their happy ending if they aren’t willing to grow and change?

Here are some examples you could use:

• A disapproving parent steps in and tells the protagonist they will never approve of this relationship
• An ex-lover declares their undying love and makes the protagonist question if they’re with the right person at all
• The love interest discovers that the protagonist’s been keeping a big secret from them and feels blindsided and betrayed

Make sure the crisis is believable and grounded in what you’ve established throughout the entire novel so far. This shouldn’t be a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky—it should come out of flaws that we already knew would get in the way.

Put in the Work to Rebuild Their Relationship

The climax also shouldn’t be an easy solve. Whatever the problem is, it should be severe enough that it will take multiple chapters for the two main characters to overcome the issue to rebuild the relationship.

In the chapters following the climax, one or both of the two characters must make a choice. They must decide to sacrifice something in order to be together.

Here are some examples:

• If the climax was caused by the disapproving parent, the protagonist may need to stand up to their parents and sacrifice their family’s approval
• If the climax was caused by the ex-lover, the protagonist may need to turn down the offer and sacrifice the love they used to crave in the past
• If the climax was caused by the big secret, the protagonist may need to show more vulnerability and sacrifice their emotional shields and barriers

Whatever this choice is, it should prove that the main characters have grown throughout the story and are ready to make a true commitment to one another.

Afterwards, the relationship will come out even stronger for it.

Give Us a Taste of Their Happily Ever After

Now that the final conflict has been solved, it’s time to wrap up your plot outline.

If you’re writing a romance with a happy ending, this will usually involve a declaration of love.

Keep the denouement short and sweet—don’t draw it out so much that you lose the romantic tension you’ve worked so hard to build.

You can end with a snapshot of the couple together—perhaps as an epilogue, a year or two down the line. Tie up loose ends and give the reader a hint at how the couple could make a long-term relationship work.

If you’re writing a romance novel with a tearjerker ending, you should make sure some of the protagonist’s other goals are achieved instead. The reader should still feel some amount of satisfaction, even through their tears.

If you can hit all these plot points, congratulations—you'll have a fantastic plot outline for your romance story.

What are your favorite romance novels? Do they fit into this three-act story structure? Let us know in the comments.

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Hannah Yang

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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100 fantasy romance writing prompts

February 7, 2024 by Richard Leave a Comment

100 fantasy romance writing prompts: Need a spark for your next fantasy romance writing project? Get ready to let the imagination catch fire. An extensive list of 100 fantasy romance prompts has been compiled, ranging from star-crossed lovers to captivating alternate worlds to paranormal and magical encounters.

These story ideas run the gamut from vampires, werewolves, demons, angels, magic wielders, and Greek mythology-inspired tales to creative takes on classic fairy tales, curses, immortal souls, and destiny. The prompts provide a jumping off point to craft rich worlds of fantasy romance characters, fresh plots, one-of-a-kind settings, and plenty of action and intrigue mixed into the heady romantic relationships.

Whether the route goes to a gothic castle, enchanted island, secret realm of creatures, or new planet colonies, the vivid possibilities are endless. And the romantic tension and conflicts inherent to many of these supernatural situations and pairings promise lots of passionate scenes and heart-wrenching decisions.

One should immerse in these fantasy romance writing prompts and see which ones stir creativity and get writer’s wheels spinning. There’s something here to appeal to all sorts of preferences from sweet, sentimental love stories to steamy and scandalous affairs. Fantasy romance unleashes wildest dreams so get writing and enjoy the adventure!

Here are 100 fantasy romance writing prompts to spark ideas for your next story:

• A shapeshifting dragon falls in love with a human peasant girl in disguise as a noble lady.
• An elf warrior gets injured during battle and is nursed back to health by an enemy kingdom’s healer mage. They fall in love despite being on opposite sides of the war.
• A witch casts a spell allowing her to enter the faerie realm and falls in love with its ruler, causing tensions between the two worlds.
• A vampire invites a human writer into his gothic castle to document his family history, but she discovers his dark secret.
• A werewolf alpha must take a human mate to produce an heir, but he unexpectedly falls hard for the defiant woman chosen for him.
• A mermaid saves a drowning human prince and longs to be with him, so she strikes a bargain with a sea witch to gain legs and go on land.
• A half-fae captain of the royal guard is assigned to protect a rebellious fae princess and they begin a secret romance that breaks all protocol.
• A half-angel cursed with demonic visions is healed by a righteous crusader who sees goodness behind the darkness in her.
• Star-crossed lovers – one who can only exist in darkness, one who can only exist in light – find a way to meet at dawn and dusk.
• A paladin sworn to celibacy and duty falls for the bride of the ancient enemy his order has sworn to defeat.
• A noblewoman must learn magic from the land’s most infamous warlock, but the real magic happens when they fall in love.
• A gnome engineer and halfling chef team up to open a bakery for non-humans and find love while spreading hope.
• An elf seeks revenge on the orc band who massacred her family but is captured and saved from execution by the orc leader’s brother.
• The princess of the Autumn Court of Faeries is abducted by the King of the Unseelie Winter Court to be his bride.
• Angels and demons are forbidden to love. An angel saves a demon’s life and their secret affair begins.
• A Medusa’s lonely island exile is interrupted by a shipwrecked sailor who alone is immune to her stony gaze.
• A loyal hobgoblin servant is granted one wish from his wizard master and he wishes to be made human to marry a witch.
• A siren falls for the one man strangely immune to her deadly song – a deaf musician – and must decide if love is worth becoming mortal.
• Beauty and the Beast – in a magic crystal shop, the beastly owner has until his 21st birthday to find true love and break his family’s multi-generational curse.
• After drinking a potion, a vain prince becomes an invisible spirit unable to communicate with anyone except a peasant girl who had already found him repulsive.
• The spirit of Spring itself chooses a mortal form each year to live among humans. One year Spring falls in love with a human.
• An archaeologist unwittingly awakens and falls for the ancient vampire Queen buried beneath a dig site.
• Every full moon the captive werewolf prince retains his human mind and meets with the young lady of the manor house who has discovered his secret.
• An apothecary witch foretells she will fall for a mysterious cloaked stranger who buys deadly poisons. She suspects him of dark plans until she learns he is a vampire hunter buying wolfsbane.
• When a fairy king uses trickery to make a blacksmith’s daughter his bride on Midsummer’s Eve, the Summer Court revolts, led by the new wild Queen of Summer.
• A seer relives her soulmate’s death in visions and learns he’s reincarnated for a second chance for them to meet. But in this life he’s the prince and betrothed to another.
• Beauty and the Beast twist – curse broken after years, the beast resumes life as a man and searches for the woman who loved him in beast form.
• A ruthless fae warrior buys a delicate siren at a black market and she must use her wits and voice to tame the beast and win her freedom.
• An alpha werewolf bites a human while in wolf form, against pack law, and must help her through her first transformation and coping with her new life.
• After drinking the blood of a demigod, a dying witch binds her life force to his to stay alive. He now wields god and mortal magic – and she holds his heart.
• Every Hallow’s Eve the veil lifts to allow one loved one to return from the spirit realm if summoned. A grieving widow tries desperately to resurrect her lost husband.
• An elf assassin misses his mark and hits Cupid’s arrow, causing it to spin astray and pierce him, making him fall for his target.
• The fae folk and elves have always been separate and forbidden to intermarry…until now. Princess Royal has fallen for a fae prince. War is coming.
• A half-fairy servant is sold to a cruel nobleman bidding for power. She steals his magic amulet and runs away. But he always gets his prize.
• A broken-horned unicorn, lame Pegasus, and fairy unable to fly are drawn together by a lonely dryad who loves all things flawed and makes them whole again.
• Dragon riders compete in high stakes races, but the golden trophy is no match for winning the heart of the prize: a rare female dragon who can breed more for the victor’s empire.
• Once infected by the vampire virus, a cure must be administered within 48 hours or you change permanently. A newly-bitten woman tries to get help before time runs out but she finds herself strangely drawn to the irresistible vampire who bit her.
• Reincarnated angel and demon soulmates meet again generation after generation, in light and shadow form. This rebirth brings revolution on both sides.
• Fated soulmates feel intense pain when separated too long. A matched pair are separated as children when he’s sent to study magic and years later fight to be reunited.
• A shy scribe and bards’ apprentice writes herself into a romance novel with the endless inspiration of the Bard Prince, who then discovers he’s a character.
• The fae trick a widowed man into soul-marrying one of them. He refuses to cooperate. Enraged she locks him in an enchanted manor house. He tries desperately to escape.
• A cursed immortal warrior has memory wiped with each rebirth, living countless lives. His soulmate witch has chased his soul across centuries to break his curse.
• The prince must marry by his 25th birthday or he forfeits the crown. On 24th birthday, he’s yet unbetrothed until masked stranger arrives at ball and sweeps him off his feet.
• A fairy king falls for a vampire queen. The advanced aging of mortals prevented their past romances, but these two powerful immortals can share eternal rein side-by-side if they seize this chance.
• An alpha siren targets passing ships to drown for wealth but creates a small sanctuary island for survivors of wrecks she caused. A ‘widowed’ merchant falls in love with his beautiful rescuer.
• A scholar spends a semester interviewing a lovesick water nymph. She tells him if he records her tragic story in writing, her broken heart may finally heal when read.
• Angry gods flood the planet. The only survivors will be a small group launched into space to propagate magical races off world. Could new love bloom on their private ark?
• A half-fae bodyguard is hired to serve and protect the spell-casting tournament champion he has secretly loved for years. Keeping professional and personal separate proves difficult when threats appear.
• The lighthouse keeper who guided so many to safety is unable to save his lover from a shipwreck in the storm. He vows to keep the light on until her soul returns in another vessel.
• The Pearlship launches with 500 blank slate colonists to seed a new magical world free of ancient prejudice. Crew are matched soulmates butcolonists pair naturally – hierarchy and racism reemerge.
• An elf maiden dreams her soulmate lives in the forbidden demon realm. After 200 years secretly observing him from afar she risks banishment and crosses realms for an introduction.
• Angels vs demons war is raging. A double agent angel infiltrates the demons by day while falling for the artisan demon rebel he spies on by night.
• A gnome inventor’s fiancé leaves him when his steam automations fail and loses their savings. A wealthy fae investor offers funding if he spies on her rival’s airship company.
• A vampire lip-reader sits in the opera house reading hidden plots of the elites in the private boxes unraveling secrets for the greater good. An idealist fae soprano star thinks her biggest fan is human until he visits her dressing room.
• In a realm where magic users are relegated by law to servitude, a noblewoman and her indentured battle mage tutor fall perilously in love as they secretly train against the tyranny.
• The prince must marry by his 25th birthday or he forfeits the crown. On 24th birthday, he’s yet unbetroth until masked stranger arrives at ball and sweeps him off his feet.
• The Pearlship launches with 500 blank slate colonists to seed a new magical world free of ancient prejudice. Crew are matched soulmates but colonists pair naturally – hierarchy reemerges.
• Star-crossed angel and demon soulmates meet again in newest generation. Shocking all, their child is born perfectly neutral with both species traits. What future awaits a being with abilities to bridge realms and broker peace?
• A collector of supernatural oddities buys a genie’s lamp at auction but finds it houses not only a powerful djinn but her demigod master of old. She must try gaining both their favors if she hopes to have any wishes granted.
• At supernova High where students control cosmic forces, a black hole shifter and star empath are Galaxy Squadron teammates… and perhaps soulmates. But supernovae and black holes don’t mix well in nature without massive destruction. Can they survive the explosion?
• A rare male siren was rescued by pirates as a boy. Now captain of that infamous ship, his hypnotic voice gives them an edge until they attack a vessel with a mysteriously immune female captain.
• The famed museum acquires a new relic – a ring housing the trapped soul of an ancient genie. After months trying to free her, the kind curator and the cynical wishing ghost find themselves falling in unexpected love.
• A Naga prince must take his place as ruler of the water realms when his father is assassinated. He kidnaps the land King’s daughter whose forbidden magic over the sea he believes killed his sire.
• A paladin holy warrior hero from an ancient war 800 years past is awakened from enchanted slumber to a strange new realm – and even stranger is his instant attraction to the unaging immortal mage who woke him.
• The prince wakes after 100 years to find his kingdom destroyed by a cataclysm and merged with the underground fairy realm. The ruthless new Fae Queen is strangely familiar… as is her attraction to him.
• A pirate captain finds a fae stowaway and her broken magic leaves them stranded together on a deserted island cursed island where the magical ruins may hold the secret to escape.
• A selkie’s sealskin coat was stolen by a sea witch centuries ago trapping her human form. A shipwrecked sailor washes ashore, pulling her from her solitude. He might just brave the witch’s lair to make the selkie his bride.
• A monster slayer falls for a werewolf while undercover in her pack. She’s concealing a dangerous secret cure – now he must choose between his profession and the heart of an immortal beast.
• A wishing tablet falls into the wrong hands and the world is flipped – monsters rule while humans scavenge. The vampire king spares one mortal servant girl irresistibly drawn to. She secretly leads the resistance.
• In a realm of powerful magical dynasties, the child of a forbidden union between rival houses is born with the ability to wield both opposing forces – and is fated to bring the realms crashing together or tear them further apart.

The realm of fantasy romance allows writers to dream big, get lost in boundless imagination, and explore the magical side of love. It is hoped this massive list of 100 story ideas sparks plenty of tales, worlds, characters and romances. Whether inspiration comes from one specific prompt that resonates or mix-and-matching different elements, creativity should guide the crafting of an enchanting narrative. Give your inner muse permission to have fun playing with these fantasy romance seeds and see what blossoms! Intimidation should not hold anyone back – passion and originality are the most important ingredients.

It would be intriguing to hear which prompt stands out most and why it appeals in the comments below. What kind of fantasy romance might be created from these prompts? Which magical characters or realms seem most exciting to develop? Are there any facets of paranormal love not covered here that would be interesting to read or write about? An engaging discussion about the boundless potential of fantasy romance writing and the journeys these prompts could catalyze seems in order. The portal is open, so step through and start imagining! If you enjoyed these prompt, we have many more on our site . 

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About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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5 February 2024

How to Write the Perfect Romance Novel (with Downloadable Template)

The romance genre is a tapestry of human emotions that has captivated the hearts of readers for centuries. With a myriad of sub-genres—ranging from historical to contemporary, paranormal to romantic comedy —romance novels offer a rich and varied landscape for creative exploration.

At its core, a romance novel is more than just a tale of love ; it’s a reflective mirror of our deepest desires and fears. As a genre, it celebrates the triumph of the human spirit through the power of emotional bonds, and offers readers escapism with the hope of “happily ever after.”

In this guide, we peel back the layers of the classic romance narrative, breaking down the essential components that make a romance novel resonate with readers. Whether you’re a seasoned writer looking to refine your craft or a newcomer eager to pen your first love story, this plot breakdown can help provide a structural blueprint to help your next romance writing project.

“Every great love starts with a great story…” Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook

Part 1: The Ordinary World

In every romance novel, the journey begins somewhere familiar, a place where the protagonist is comfortable. A window into their life before it’s upended by love.

The Ordinary World serves several pivotal functions in storytelling. Firstly, it grounds your readers in the protagonists’ reality by offering a glimpse into their daily life. Readers can form a connection with your protagonist by understanding their routines, desires, values, and the social fabric that makes up their existence.

Your protagonist’s Ordinary World isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a narrative device that foreshadows the protagonist’s arc and the thematic elements you want to explore as the story progresses. In a romance novel, the Ordinary World might also subtly hint at the protagonist’s deep-seated yearnings and the void that love will eventually fill.

Essential elements to include in this section are:

• Introduce the protagonist : who is your character? What do they do? What are their relationships? Your protagonist should be content with life but unaware that they are missing love.
• Establish the setting : whether your story takes place in a picturesque small town with a close-knit community or a bustling cityscape where everyone seems to be in a rush, your setting is an essential backdrop to where the romance will take place. Even if the romance happens away from the initial setting, showing the contrast between the protagonist’s ordinary world and where love can flourish can be effective.
• Show a daily routine : Your protagonist’s routine should be well-ordered and predictable, involving work, friends, possibly a pet or a hobby that they love. This will highlight the change that happens when they finally find love.

Part 2: The Meet Cute

Every great romance novel hinges on a pivotal moment that ignites the flame of love—a moment known affectionately as “the Meet Cute.” This is the moment where your protagonist encounters their love interest under circumstances that are charmingly serendipitous and brimming with potential.

The Meet Cute is the first element that will push your protagonist out of the status quo of their Ordinary World. Despite the defences that the characters have built around their hearts, the Meet Cute allows a glimpse of the possibility, however fleeting, of love.

Crafting the perfect Meet Cute requires a delicate balance. It should feel both utterly unexpected and entirely inevitable, a delightful dance of happenstance and fate. Whether it’s a chance encounter that leads to a comedic mishap or a poignant intersection of lives in an otherwise ordinary day, the Meet Cute plants the seeds of romance.

• A catalyst event : The protagonist has an unexpected, quirky, and charming first encounter with their Love Interest.
• First impressions : There’s an undeniable spark, but both have their defences up for various reasons. There are many tropes that can come into play here, from bad first impressions, love at first sight, or forced proximity.
• Showcase instant connection : No matter what the first impression is like, there should be some kind of instant connection that forces the characters to think about each other or means they will be in each other’s company a lot.

Part 3: Resistance to Love

In this crucial turning point of your romance novel, the magnetic pull of attraction meets the immovable force of inner turmoil. It’s a testament to the complexity of the human heart, a demonstration that the path to love is often strewn with hurdles, both internal and external.

Here, the protagonist confronts their doubts and fears about pursuing a relationship. This is a dance of advance and retreat that tests the strength and resilience of the budding connection between the protagonist and their love interest.

Resistance to Love serves as an emotional crucible, forging a deeper understanding of your characters. In this section of your narrative, you must portray the nuanced struggle that accompanies the realisation of love. Your characters must grapple with the cost of opening their hearts, the possibility of pain, and the leap of faith required to embrace true intimacy.

• Introduce obstacles : These could be your protagonist’s past experiences, a fear of being vulnerable, or external factors like career ambitions, societal pressures, or health concerns.
• The opinions of friends : Some of the protagonist’s friends may question the wisdom of this new relationship, or others might be supportive, pushing your protagonist to open their heart and take a chance.
• Show inner conflict: The protagonist grapples with their growing feelings, conflicted between the safety of their familiar world and the risk of embracing love.

Part 4: That’s Convenient

In this section, the stars align to cast your characters into the embrace of serendipity. It’s the orchestration of seemingly random events that are anything but; a narrative nod to the universe’s unseen hand in guiding the course of love.

Here, your protagonist should receive a gentle nudge or a forceful push, propelling them closer to their love interest. This is where popular romance tropes will play a big part. Some ideas could be an unexpected ally, forced proximity, or a fake relationship.

This segment of the narrative is critical—it is the turning of the tides, the softening of the protagonist’s resolve. This section serves as the bridge between resistance and romance, a necessary passage that allows your characters to explore the depth of their connection in close quarters, setting the stage for the emotional revelations to come.

• An unexpected ally : Someone close to the protagonist encourages them to take a chance on love, or forces them into a situation where they must explore it.
• Forced proximity : Circumstances push the protagonist and their love interest together, like a work project or a mutual friend’s event.

Part 5: Getting to Know You

In this section of your story, the tough facade of the protagonist falls away, piece by piece, and they allow themselves to really get to know their love interest. Walls are lowered, and both the protagonist and their love interest are open to sharing their true selves.

Against the backdrop of shared laughter and whispered confidences, your protagonists will explore the uncharted territory of love. Here, they are more than just love interests; they are potential partners, seeking the common ground upon which a lasting bond might be built.

This phase of the narrative is imbued with a sense of wonder and discovery. It is in these moments that the seeds of love, sown in the earlier chapters, begin to sprout. Shared personal stories, dreams, fears, and laughter are what will draw the reader in, and allow your characters to convey the nuance of budding intimacy. Every shared secret, every moment of vulnerability, every discovery of a shared interest or history is a step closer to love.

Essential elements to include in this section:

• Share intimate moments : The protagonist and love interest start sharing personal stories, dreams, fears, and laugh together.
• Find common ground : The characters discover that they share surprising interests or have similar histories.

Part 6: Coming Around to the Idea of Love

This section is where your protagonist starts to see their world differently, their heart slowly opening to the possibilities that love brings. It’s a subtle shift, but one that changes everything.

After spending time together with their love interest and getting to know their quirks and dreams, your protagonist begins to reconsider what they thought they knew about love. It’s no longer just a far-off concept or a fleeting thought; it’s becoming a real possibility that’s both exciting and a little scary.

In this part of the story, we watch as the protagonist and their love interest start to care deeply for one another. It’s a dance of emotions where being vulnerable feels risky, but also right. They’ve laughed together, shared secrets, and found out they’re not so different after all. Now, they’re coming to terms with the fact that this person, who was once a stranger, has become incredibly important to them.

• Character growth : The protagonist begins to see life from a new perspective, influenced by their love interest’s views and actions.
• Emotional depth : The protagonist and love interest begin to care deeply for each other, willing to be vulnerable.

Part 7: We Knew It Couldn’t Last

This is where your story takes a dramatic turn. Until now, your protagonist has been enjoying the sweet moments of getting closer to their love interest, but as with all great love stories, trouble is just around the corner. This part of the narrative reminds us that the road to true love is rarely smooth.

Just when things seem to be going perfectly, a challenge or misunderstanding appears and threatens the happiness of your characters. The strong bond they’ve been building is shaken, and doubts fill their minds and the characters must face the reality that their relationship might not be as solid as they thought. Your protagonist starts to question if they should be together.

• Introduce conflict : Misunderstanding or external conflict threatens the growing bond between your protagonist and their love interest.
• Questioning the relationship : One, or both characters start to question whether they should be together after all.

Part 8: Is This Goodbye?

In this section, the obstacles your characters have faced seem too big to overcome. It feels like the end of the road for your couple, and the possibility of parting ways becomes all too real.

This is the low point where your protagonist faces the deepest pain. A major event or realisation has turned their world upside down, and it looks like the relationship is over for good. Amidst this turmoil, your characters are left to grapple with their feelings and the heavy weight of their decisions.

Here, your protagonist is challenged to confront the true depth of their emotions. It’s a test of their love and resilience, but there’s a glimmer of hope that love can still find a way.

• Pivotal low point : A major event or realisation makes it seem like the relationship is over for good.
• Emotional turmoil : The protagonist grapples with the loss of their relationship and what it means for them both now, and in the future.

Part 9: Rekindling the Relationship

After the storm comes the calm, and in this section of the story, the calm ushers in a chapter of renewal. This is where your characters, after facing the possibility of losing each other, begin to find their way back to love. The journey isn’t easy, but the most precious things in life seldom are.

The beauty of this section lies in showing character growth. A grand gesture, a shocking event in their personal life, or a heartfelt conversation can act as the catalyst for your protagonist to realise that love has not been lost. It’s a reminder that sometimes, we must fight to keep the flame of love alive.

Here, the protagonist comes to understand the true depth of their feelings. The risks and fears that once seemed so daunting now pale in comparison to the thought of being without their love interest. It’s a time for bold moves, for laying hearts on the line, and for the kind of honesty that can heal past hurts.

• A catalyst for change : This could take many forms, from a grand gesture on the part of the love interest, and personal shock or tragedy for the protagonist, or even a change in circumstance; anything that prompts a change in viewpoint that allows the protagonist to see the truth of their love.
• The protagonist’s realisation : The protagonist must come to understand the true depth of their feelings and what they are willing to risk for love.

Part 10: Love is Worth Fighting For

In this section, our characters truly understand that their love is special, and they’re ready to do whatever it takes to make it work. They’ve been through tough times, and now they see that their relationship is worth the effort.

In this part of the story, your protagonist and their love interest work together to overcome their problems. They talk, they listen, and they learn to compromise. It’s not just about feeling love; it’s about acting on it, showing each other that they’re committed to making things better.

This section is about showing your characters building a stronger and more resilient bond. The couple has weathered the storm, and now they’re ready to face the future together, knowing that they can handle anything as long as they have each other.

• Working together : Your protagonist and love interest actively address their issues, learn to compromise, and fight for their relationship.
• Stronger bond : The relationship between your characters is now stronger and more resilient, having weathered the storm. Show this strength in the way they behave and speak to one another, and ramp up the passion.

Part 11: Happily Ever After

As the story reaches its finale, we see the rewards of all the struggles and challenges your protagonist has faced. They’ve learned that love is not just a feeling, but a choice to stand by each other, through good times and bad.

In this section, your readers will get a glimpse into the future of your couple. They’re enjoying life together, blending their dreams and aspirations into a shared reality. It’s the part of the story where everything comes together, and we see that your protagonist has found a balance between love and life.

• Hints of the future : Show the couple enjoying their new life together, incorporating both of their dreams and aspirations into a new shared reality.
• New status quo : Your protagonist will have found a balance in life and love, creating a new status quo in contrast to the Ordinary World original set up in the opening moments of your story.

Download the template

You can  download the template  below to use it for your next project and import it directly into Novlr. If you go to the  Projects  page from your Novlr dashboard and click on “Import,” the template will automatically split your project into sections for easy plotting!

There is no “right” way to outline a romance novel. That’s why there are lots of different story structures out there. The trick is finding one that works for you and adapting it to suit your needs. Once you understand the way story structure works, it’s easy to bend the rules to make something completely unique to you.

What a good plot template can do is provide a springboard for your ideas, giving them fertile soil in which your imagination can help them flourish into the novel they deserve to be.

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How to Write Romance Novels

Last Updated: May 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 353,721 times.

Writing a romance novel is a great way to practice creating compelling characters and believable relationships. Our guide will help you get started, from drafting an outline to crafting the perfect romantic ending!

Brainstorming Ideas for the Novel

• For example, you may take a passionate but doomed relationship in your past and change around real life names to fictionalize it. You may also change the setting or small details to make the situation more dramatic.
• You can also use the real life romances of others around you as inspiration. Maybe you have a friend who is in a stormy romance. Or perhaps you have a sibling who had a passionate relationship in the past.

• You can also use romantic books and songs as inspiration for your romance novel.

• For example, you may have a main character who is a high-profile criminal lawyer by day, and a single woman struggling to meet someone on her level at night. Or you may have a main character who is left by her husband and copes by going back to her hometown.

• For example, if you are writing a romance set in 1930s West Virginia or during WWI, you are writing historical romance. If you are writing about a romance between a ghost and a woman, you are writing paranormal romance.

• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
• Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Off Campus by Amy Jo Cousins
• The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Dive deep into your chosen genre. "Focus in on the genre you want to write, and read books in that genre. A LOT of books by a variety of authors. And read with questions in your mind."

Writing the Novel

• You could also have the girl be of a certain race or background that clashes with the boy she falls for. Or the girl could be from a family that does not get along with the boy’s family.

• For example, you may set the novel in modern-day Savannah, Georgia, where the characters have Southern accents and the heat is unbearable in the summer. Or you may set the novel in a naval vessel in the ocean, where the characters are nauseous from seasickness and bad weather.

• For example, you may have a central conflict where the main character has to choose between a high stakes criminal case and her budding romance with her next door neighbor. Or you may have a conflict where the main character’s illness gets in the way of uniting with her true love.

• For example, you may describe the setting of the sex scenes using sensory detail, such as how it smells, feels, sounds, or looks. Providing context for the sex scene can make it more emotional for the reader.

• For example, rather than write, “he was tall, dark, and handsome,” you may write, “he was good looking in a stylish professor kind of way.”

• For example, maybe your main character and her love interest finally get together. Or perhaps your main character recovers from her illness long enough to see her love interest one last time.

Polishing the Novel

• You can also read the novel aloud to catch spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Try reading the novel slowly so you can check that each word is spelled correctly.

• You can also join a writing group or start your own writing group with friends so you can workshop your novel.
• Be open to constructive criticism from others. It will only make your novel better.

• After you have revised the novel, you may consider sending it out to publishers so it can be read by a wider audience.

Romance Novel Samples

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• ↑ https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wVL7NamC9s/
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn__v80q7_w/
• ↑ https://www.govst.edu/uploadedFiles/Academics/Services_and_Resources/Writing_Center/WC_Inside_Pages/Basic%20Rules%20of%20Grammar%20WORD%202003%20Document.pdf
• ↑ https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/2303/chapter/13/

About This Article

To write romance novels, create an engaging main character and develop a central conflict for your protagonist to navigate. To capture your readers' imaginations, be sure to create a strong setting and strive to write unique content that doesn't repeat typical romance novel cliches. You may want to focus on a specific type of story, like historical or paranormal, since the romance genre includes a lot of niche territory. Don't forget to wrap up your novel with a satisfying conclusion, since romance readers tend to prefer "happily ever after" endings. For tips on revising your first draft, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Home » Blog » How to Write a Romance Novel [In 13 Steps]

How to Write a Romance Novel [In 13 Steps]

Generate Full-Length AI Romance Novel Instantly

Table of contents.

On the surface, romance can seem like an easy genre to write in. However, knowing how to write a compelling romance novel takes skill and practice.

Writing a romance novel takes just as much time, effort, and planning as any other piece of fiction. Following these steps will make the process easier for you, especially if it’s your first novel:

• Choose your subgenre
• Create the setting
• Choose a novel writing tool
• Know the romance recipe
• Use plot devices
• Know your readers
• Present your heroine
• Present the love interest
• Identify the driving force
• Carefully consider the intimate scenes
• Craft your secondary characters
• Find some tools
• Write the happy ending

While it may not require the extensive research and worldbuilding that a fantasy novel does, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. If you’re going to write a fantasy romance or a successful romance you do need to learn how to write a novel well.

Here is a breakdown of the steps to write a romance novel:

1. Choose Your Subgenre

Romance is versatile. If you want to write a straight romance, that’s fine! There is a huge market for this.

Many readers live for a good, dramatic story that focuses on love.

But, fans of other genres want some romance too. This is where you can consider writing in a subgenre of romance. You can weave romantic plot lines into almost any other type of story, but the most popular romance subgenres are:

Contemporary

• Supernatural or paranormal

If you’ve been thinking that your idea isn’t appropriate for a romance, you’re probably wrong. Even if fantasy, thriller, or the supernatural is where your heart is, you can always incorporate romance.

The amount of emphasis you put on the romance is up to you. It can be subtle or it can be a focal point throughout the plot. You should add at least a small amount of romantic tension to any novel.

Even if it is a very small part of the story, it is something that helps the characters become more believable. Because everyone needs love in their own life, readers will relate to the character’s yearning for it as well.

If you haven’t already, it’s a good idea to read some romance before attempting to put it into your novel in any significant way. Even if you are a dedicated horror fan, pick up a few romance novels. If you don’t love reading them – consider it research.

This guide is not specific to any one subgenre or type of romance. It is here to teach you the important elements of learning how to write a romance novel. What you learn here can be applied to a romance of any kind.

2. Create the Setting to Write a Romance Novel

No one who is learning how to write a novel should neglect to create a good setting. However, in a character-driven romance, it is especially important.

The setting creates the atmosphere and the atmosphere can hold a lot of weight in what goes on.

A contemporary romance, for example, often takes place in a simple and modern location. This can include an idyllic small town or a university campus.

These settings are perfect for your main characters to spend a lot of time together and have lots of drama ensue. These locations are also usually small enough where larger-scale drama is realistic – such as flying rumors and fast-traveling news.

All of this makes for a perfect contemporary romance setting. An exotic vacation town with lots of tourists or a quiet countryside would not be as effective.

Historical romance can be set anywhere, as long as you have chosen a specific time period in history. Historical romances can be beautiful, exciting trips back in time. But, they are only successful when you do the proper research on your setting.

You need to know what everything was like in your chosen place at your chosen time. Consider these questions when creating your historical setting:

• Who was the president that year?
• What was the economy like?
• What was the social hierarchy? Ie – were women and people of color being treated as equals? What was the balance of the poor/middle class/rich?
• What was the most common mode of transportation?
• How far along was technology at that point?

These are just a few things to get you started. You will need a lot of information before your historical romance will be accurate. But, all this research will be worth it when you have created the perfect setting for the story you want to tell.

Lastly, take paranormal romance as another example. This is a story that could take place in that lonely country town where neighbors are few and far away.

Perhaps the main setting is even a haunted house or street. This creates an effective, gloomy atmosphere for a spooky, ghostly love story with a darker feel.

Creating Good Setting

Of course, you can set your story wherever you want, there are no rules . But, guidelines and common suggestions are in place for a reason – they work.

What matters most about your setting is that it makes sense and captivates your readers. Your goal as a writer of any type of fiction is to pull your readers in and transport them into your world. Once you have chosen the specific location of your story, keep these elements of a good setting in mind:

• Balance description with action. Don’t write endless paragraphs that only describe.
• Use the location within the conflict. Perhaps a physical obstacle or an unreasonable local law.
• Use all the senses when describing your setting.
• Make your setting real by using names. Street names, building names, and even local nicknames are given to landmarks such as a forest or park.
• Be specific about the time of year your story is happening, and even the time of day. This helps the reader visualize what’s going on. It also helps certain scenes make more sense – like something that would only ever happen at night.
• Even if they are not central to the plot, talk about the social and political environment. These things impact everyone’s lives and your characters are no exception.
• Use several different elements to set the mood and atmosphere. Things like temperature, weather, lighting, and the emotional atmosphere will all contribute to how everyone feels.

3. Choose a Novel Writing Tool

In the quest to craft a captivating romance novel, the choice of your writing tool can make all the difference. There are multiple tools out there but Squiber wins the race with AI Smart Writing features.

Squibler emerges as the indispensable ally for aspiring romance authors, offering a plethora of features designed to elevate your storytelling. 

Squibler harnesses the power of AI to effortlessly create and seamlessly integrate various elements, like characters, settings, and objects, into your narrative. Crafting scenes becomes a breeze as Squibler transforms your selected elements into vivid and engaging storylines.

If you feel stuck or need insights then Squibler’s serves as your personal assistant to answer your queries, guiding plot points or character nuances. 

If you want to rephrase, summarize, add examples, add more inner conflict, or enhance the intensity of your romance plot, use Squibler and let its Smart Writer instantly elevate the richness and detail of your content.

The Smart Writer ensures a smooth flow in your storytelling journey. Squibler analyzes your previous writing and generates fitting paragraphs, maintaining the tone and direction of your narrative. 

You can also visualize your story in a whole new light with Squibler’s, allowing you to create images and short videos of characters, settings, and plot elements.

Add depth to your scenes by using Squibler’s Describe feature. Highlight text, choose the senses you want to evoke, and watch as Squibler helps you paint a vivid picture with sight, smell, taste, sound, touch, or even poetic metaphors. 

If you need to expand a particular section, Squibler will assist you in developing it further.

4. Create the Recipe

Many cooks and chefs spend years practicing and perfecting their signature recipes. Why? Because when you have that tried and true recipe that everyone loves, the meal will always be a success no matter how many times you make it.

The same can be said for romance novelists . While any novel follows some sort of story structure , most successful romance novels have six key ingredients. These ingredients are included because they are proven effective.  Even when repeated throughout different stories, audiences love it.

The six basic ingredients:

• Boy and girl meet.
• Boy and girl are attracted to each other.
• Boy and girl begin their romance.
• Boy and girl separate.
• Boy and girl become reunited.
• Boy and girl live happily ever after.

Of course, these elements can go in any direction. This is the absolute bare bones of your romance. But, it’s a structure that works.

This recipe can be tinkered with, added to, and expanded. If your love story is unique and original, it won’t feel like a cop-out just because you stick to the basic romance formula. Why mess with a proven, age-old method?

5. A Plot Device is Essential to Knowing How to Write a Romance Novel

A plot device or “trope” is a specific person, object, or situation that is used to advance the plot in the way the writer wants. It is a means to an end – the writer knows what result they want so they figure out a way to get there.

Many plot devices within fiction are common. Earlier I talked about certain settings working for certain types of romance stories – plot devices are no different. Some plot devices just work to drive a romance forward.

Just because a plot device is common doesn’t mean it’s bad. It is up to the writer to make their use of a plot device original and unique.

Common Romance Tropes

There are many more but these are some of the most popular. You can probably think of at least one book or movie right away that matches each of these tropes. Take these stories and ask yourself – did you thoroughly enjoy it or did it feel overdone and cliche?

You might have a mix of answers. This is because it is easy to take these tropes and be lazy. This creates a tired story that won’t stand out.

On the other hand, many writers make these effective devices work for their story in a fresh, unique, and interesting way.

Don’t shy away from plot devices that you know will work, just be sure you are being creative. Put in the effort to write something people will love to read. You can also do this by combining several different plot devices to create a unique flow.

6. Know How to Write a Romance Novel by Knowing Your Readers

Knowing your readers is an important part of knowing how to write a book of any kind – fiction or nonfiction . Being aware of your target audience will help you write in a way you know will resonate with them.

For some books, this can require a good amount of research. For nonfiction especially, you need to find out exactly who needs your expertise, and exactly which parts of it they need at this time.

For romance authors, however, your basic readership is pretty simple and consistent.

About 80 percent of romance readers are women. This is overwhelming compared to most other genres. While this does leave about 20 percent of your readers as male, you know you’re writing to a female majority. It is women you want to reach with your story.

Some other facts to keep in mind:

• Most of the women who read romance are between the ages of 20-50.
• Romance makes up about 30 percent of all fiction.
• Around 30 percent of regular romance book readers will buy more than one romance novel in a month.

That last one is especially important. This means they are constantly exposed to different romantic plot lines, and will easily spot one that is overdone or boring.

To gain a loyal readership that won’t hesitate to pick up your next book, make every effort to stay unique, original, and different.

Writing for Women

While you don’t want to completely alienate the small number of male readers you have, it is important to know how to write for women. Women are the overwhelming majority of your target audience, so pleasing them is a top priority.

Here are a few tips to help you resonate with your female audience:

• Focus on the setting – especially the home. In days past, caring for the home was the women’s job. While society is moving forward from this and embracing the working mom and gender equality, the home is still important to a woman. The way things are arranged and decorated, how it’s kept. Don’t neglect this in your story.
• Don’t be afraid of feelings. It’s no secret that women can be more emotional than men. Don’t be afraid to write strong and deep emotions into your female characters. This is why character development is important.
• Don’t leave out the kids. Not all women have kids, but the reality is that most do. Don’t be afraid to use them in the story. They can be a useful source of conflict. Especially if your reader is a mom, she will directly relate to any emotions about children.

Keep these things in mind, but also ensure you are creating balance. Unless you want to dive right into women’s fiction specifically, maintain a balance. Remember your small section of male readers.

7. Present Your Heroine

This is where knowing your reader becomes even more important. We’ve established that most romance readers are women. But, there are still different age groups to consider.

Narrow Down Your Target Audience

Writing a story about a college girl who falls in love with the arrogant quarterback will not always interest a woman in her forties because she wants a character she can connect with.

So as you write about your heroine, keep your specified target audience in mind. Are you writing for the young adult fresh out of high school, or do you want to target the middle-aged mom?

It’s an important question to ask yourself, but don’t overcomplicate it either. Older women can enjoy a story about young women and vice versa. But, it’s good to keep the general target in mind especially when creating a female heroine.

A romance book will connect with its readers when they have something in common with the heroine. There are a few details you can keep in mind as you begin bringing her to life:

• Your heroine’s age
• Her worldview and personality
• Physical features of your heroine – height, hair color, etc.
• Where she lives
• What she does for a living

Create Believability

Now that you’ve chosen what kind of character to write , you need to make sure they are believable.

Nobody, anywhere in the world, goes through life without struggle. It is imperative that you also give your characters some struggles and obstacles. A character that has the perfect experience every time will not only be entirely unrealistic, but they will also be boring.

Nobody wants to read about a perfect relationship because that’s not interesting. It’s not real and there is nothing to invest in. This is why temporary separation is part of the basic romance recipe.

So, give your characters some flaws and put them through some struggles. These struggles can include any number of things:

• Job troubles
• Financial troubles
• Relationship troubles (romantic and friendships)
• Family drama

That is just naming a few.

Usually, it’s most effective to write your main character(s) as round and dynamic. Give them deeply complex personalities. In addition, brings them through some change and growth as the story progresses.

Not every character needs to be like this. That would be exhausting and flat characters have special functions of their own. But, your main characters need to be multi-dimensional to create the maximum level of believability and relatability

8. Present the Love Interest

Much like your heroin, imperfection is the key to creating a successful second character. Or in this case, the love interest.

Like any character, they should be flawed. Perhaps your hero’s more prominent flaws cause the heroin to wonder if they made the right choice or if he is the right one.

It can be tempting to write a perfect love interest because a perfect person is easy to fall in love with. However, this is a bad choice. It will take away from the conflict in the story and the believability of the character.

Don’t Make Them Hated

Many stories start with the heroine hating or at least disliking the eventual love interest. This is effective, but it doesn’t mean the readers have to hate the love interest as well.

There is usually a specific reason your heroine hates him – a past betrayal, something he has done, who he was before a transformation took place, etc. This makes the distaste personal and your readers don’t need to share her opinion.

Give him some redeeming qualities that appeal to the reader, and don’t objectify him. Even if your main character hates him for a while, the readers should be able to tell that he genuinely loves her and is a good person at the core.

From here, you can positively develop him. As your heroine begins to fall in love with him, your readers will just like him that much more.

Don’t Fall Victim to the Stereotype

When we speak of romance, our minds often drift to the typical tanned, tall, well-built Don Juan who sweeps her off her feet. He is suave and charming. But, this puts you at risk of creating that too-perfect love interest.

These characters are sometimes effective, but it’s not the only type of man that can be romantic. Sometimes, a shy, nerdy gamer is what your character will love.

Don’t be afraid to go outside the box and create a unique love interest who is charming in his original way.

9. What is the Driving Force?

In her popular book GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, Debra Dixon says: “External motivation is necessary to establish early in the book. Internal motivation can take a bit longer to develop and be woven into the fabric of the story one thread at a time.”

This is the perfect illustration of the driving force. There is a difference between goals and motivation. Both of them combined are what create your character’s driving force.

For example, let’s say you have a character training for a marathon. He may have a couple of goals here. One might be to make it to 5k. Another might be to win and get the glory.

These goals are logical and important, but they are not enough. What makes him different from every other person training for that 5k marathon and wanting to win? His motivation.

What is really behind that desire to win? It could be a burning desire to feel powerful or superior. Maybe he wants to prove wrong someone who never believed in him. Perhaps he wants to honor a family member or even a beloved coach who has passed.

Each of these motivations will have different people doing the same thing – training for that marathon. But, it’s what drives them that speaks to who they are as a person.

Determine What Drives Your Characters

So, what drives your characters together?

To answer that, you need to dive into your characters and figure out every little, personal detail. Motivations often come from their past. This is why it’s important to know everything about your character , even if the reader doesn’t.

For example, your heroine might struggle to trust in a relationship because she was cheated on by an ex-fiance of five years. This part of her past will drive her behavior within her current romantic relationship as well as other actions and decisions throughout her life.

At some point in the story, this betrayal may be revealed to your audience. But, you need to keep it in mind from the very beginning. Her actions need to remain consistent even before their reasoning is made known.

10. The Intimate Scenes

Within the romance genre, you will find different levels of intimacy.

On one end of the spectrum is straight erotica. Here, physical intimacy is the focus. Writers go into excruciating detail with every scene. And there are a lot of scenes.

But, graphic sex scenes are not a requirement for successful romance. If you are writing about teenagers for teenagers, it would be highly inappropriate. On the other hand, if you are writing for grown women and you mention nothing more than a kiss on the cheek, they may feel a bit ripped.

Knowing your audience is crucial in determining how intimate you get in your romance writing . Your level of comfort will also come into play. Not all romance writers want to be known for the straight sex appeal of their books.

You may also just not be into it, and that’s fine! If sex scenes aren’t your thing, your book won’t necessarily hurt for it. Much can be implied and well, people have good imaginations.

Don’t Neglect Them

Regardless of how much or how detailed you get with your more intimate scenes, knowing how to write romance in a romance novel does not mean you need some .

The general “show, don’t tell” rule works well with scenes of physical intimacy, especially between characters who already have a deep connection. You don’t have to be graphic to let your reader know, through her reaction, how a kiss from her partner makes your female protagonist feel.

Unless you are writing young adult romance, your intimate scenes should have a specific purpose. They should serve to advance the plot in some way. Whether it’s the moment you’ve been building up to for half the novel, or it’s a means to create conflict, it shouldn’t be there just because.

If you are interested in writing intimate love scenes, that are more detailed, there are some things to keep in mind:

• Remember that pushing or breaking physical boundaries requires a building of trust.
• Don’t do everything all at once. Build intimacy over several scenes before finally reaching the finale.
• Don’t skip steps. In real life, some people will go straight to kissing and straight from kissing to sex. While it may happen at times, it is not interesting. Make the process slow and intense. One thing at a time. This will keep readers turning the page rather than yawning.

11. Secondary Characters are Important in Writing a Romance Novel

While secondary characters are important to any story, they play a unique role in a romance. For a female main character, it is usually her sister and/or her best friend from whom she seeks relationship advice.

This right here is a limitless pool of potential conflict. Sometimes, best friends give well-intentioned but very poor advice. And then, the advisee follows said horrible advice and lands in a highly compromising situation.

Sometimes these poor results can be hilarious, other times they are heartbreaking. Either way, they add tension and conflict.

Crazy sisters, eccentric best friends, jealous guy friends, and protective family members all add value and drama to your story. Don’t neglect these characters and their relationship to your heroine and/or hero.

12. Learn How to Write a Romance Novel With Tools

Knowing exactly how to write a book takes time. While nobody will ever write a perfect book the first time, there are ways you can tighten up the process and make things easier on yourself.

There are many book-writing software out there, and most of them have something good to offer.

For editing, you have things like Grammarly and Hemmingway . These are powerful editing tools that scan your work and give you a lot of helpful insight.

Grammarly scans for and alerts you to basic grammatical errors:

• Punctuation
• Missing words
• Repeated words

It will highlight your mistake and offer a solution. To use their correction, simply click on it and the document will change itself. Text can be edited in the Grammarly app, or you can integrate it with Chrome, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs.

Hemmingway is a different novel writing software that checks for readability. It won’t tell you if you’ve spelled something wrong, but it will tell you how easy your piece is to read. It does this by looking at a few specific things:

• Passive Voice
• Complex words or phrases
• Hard-to-read sentences
• Very hard-to-read sentences

The editor is available to use online for free, or you can pay $19.99 for access to the desktop version as well as a few other bonuses and features.

Before you can edit, you need to have written something. The writing process has many elements:

• Brainstorming
• Note-taking
• Planning/outlining
• Storyboarding
• Writing the story

Squibler is an AI book-writing software that can help you with all of these. It has a place for notes, research, your book’s actual content, and everything in between.

It teaches you how to write a book in the most efficient way possible with AI. It will have you on your way to publishing before the novel starts dragging on for months or even years. In the end, this will make you a better writer .

The Smart Writer lets you develop and expand your love story in just one single click. If you want to add more intensity to a current plot, describe a specific scene, or rewrite a chapter, Squibler does all this in just one click with the help of AI. 

Squibler is equipped with advanced organization features. It is not just a writing editor, but also a place where you can format, organize, and collaborate with authors and editors. It offers a lot more than just writing. The drag-and-drop feature for your chapters and scenes means you don’t have to worry about writing in chronological order. You can write whatever you want, whenever you want, and reorganize later.

The existing templates for romance, fiction, biography, and self-help books make the work 50% easier for authors. 

Squibler also offers assistance when it comes time to publish. Once finished, you can export your manuscript to PDF, Kindle, or print publishing formats.

Most book writing software helps you publish , but not many include print publishing as an option within the software. This is where Squibler is powerful and unique.

13. A Happy Ending

There is an unspoken rule within the romance genre. And that is the happily-ever-after. Or at the very least, a happy-for-now. No matter how much trauma and emotional turmoil an author puts their characters through, readers just know that they’ll be okay in the end.

Many criticize romance for being too formulaic. This is because romance does have a formula, which isn’t always a bad thing.

But, the formula does include the HEA. It’s like an invisible line of trust between the author and the reader.

Some try to break conventions. They write a wonderful , romance story but end it with a less-than-happy situation. These often conclude with one or both of the lovers dying. Some argue this would no longer even be considered a romance, but a tragedy.

The issue is up for debate. But, the fact remains that a romance without a happy ending will leave readers, and especially dedicated fans of the genre, feeling betrayed.

That’s not to say you can’t think outside the box. Just be aware of what people are expecting. With romance, unhappy endings can lead to failure if you are not very careful.

If you want to break the mold without enraging your readers, you can try to compromise.

Types of Happy Endings

Here are the common happy endings that you can adopt for your novel:

• Let the lovers end up together, but one is permanently sick/disabled.
• They are together but have a constant thorn in their side – like a nasty and manipulative mother/mother-in-law who disapproves of the relationship.
• A historical romance could have them ending up together but still living in a war-torn, poverty-stricken country.
• Let them be together, but their relationship has the permanent stamp of someone’s mistake or betrayal – perhaps a child with another person.

These types of melancholic endings will still give your readers the satisfaction of seeing the lovers together forever. But, it lets you add a sense of realism and tragedy. Some people will love stories with a darker twist and will appreciate an ending like this.

Learning How to Write a Romance Novel is Always a Good Idea

Romance novels will always hold a special place in the hearts of everyone. Even those who are too “tough” or “hardcore” to admit it, will always have a soft spot for a good romance.

This is due to our inherent desire for love and companionship. Everyone craves it – needs it, even. We have many connections throughout our lifetime – friends, colleagues, family – but our partners become the most important.

It’s this love of love that has people gobbling up these romance books like there’s no tomorrow. Be it a novel that is entirely romance, or a romantic subplot in a different genre, readers love it when there’s love. It adds an element of relatability that lets them connect to the characters .

For this reason, it is smart to know how to write a romance novel. Whether you want to be known as a career romance novelist or not, writing great romance novel is a crucial skill.

Romance is becoming more and more popular, with many romance novels being turned into movies and TV series.

While there is much to be gained from taking formal classes, there are ways you can learn how to write a romance novel on your own. This includes research, experience, and practice.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be head over heels in love at the very moment. Your love life is your business – which is why I have outlined all the essential elements of writing a romance novel. Perfecting the craft will take time, but you can use these strategies to get started.

Final Remarks

Whether you want to learn how to write a novel with romance woven throughout, or you want to write in the romance genre specifically, you can now write your first romance novel with confidence.

The basics of outlining and structuring a novel are the same across all genres, but romance does have a few of its own quirks and unwritten rules. Familiarize yourself with these things and you’ll be able to expertly craft that winning romance in no time.

Here is a list of common questions that authors ask on writing romance novels:

How do I create engaging and relatable characters for my romance novel?

Focus on their quirks, desires, and flaws. Develop characters with relatable qualities, allowing readers to connect emotionally. Give them goals and challenges that resonate with the romantic theme.

What’s the key to building tension and chemistry between the main characters?

Establish a balance of conflict and shared experiences. Create situations where emotions run high, and the two characters must navigate challenges together. Allow their connection to evolve naturally, building anticipation for romantic moments.

How can I write realistic and heartwarming dialogue in a romance novel?

Capture the authenticity of human interaction. Use colloquial language, sprinkle in humor, and express emotions through dialogue. Keep it concise and let the words convey the emotional depth of the characters’ feelings.

Should I follow a specific structure when plotting a romance novel?

While flexibility is crucial, a classic three-act structure often works well. Introduce characters and their worlds, build tension in the middle with obstacles, and resolve conflicts in a satisfying conclusion. Let the romance unfold organically within this framework.

How do I avoid clichés and bring originality to my romance novel?

Infuse uniqueness into character traits, settings, and plot twists. Challenge traditional romance tropes and add unexpected elements to keep the love story fresh. Focus on the specific dynamics between your characters, steering away from overly predictable scenarios.

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Romance 101: How to Write Characters Falling in Love

Any story can be enhanced with a good romantic subplot, but if romance isn’t your genre, you’re probably worried about how you’d pull it off. You want it to be emotional and meaningful, but not sappy and cliché. Sooner or later, it’s a genre you’ll end up having to explore at least briefly in order to create dynamic and varied relationships between characters. But… even if you’re in a happy relationship, you might still be lost on how to convey romance authentically in your stories.

The most difficult part about writing a romantic story is the initial meeting between the love interests and the romantic spark between them. It can be difficult to write characters falling in love, since it’s such a natural experience for people in real life. Too often, romances feel unrealistic, forced, or just downright problematic. It’s easy to mess up, so how should you approach writing characters discovering and developing their feelings for each other? Well, there are a few techniques that you can utilize to create an authentic, emotional romantic plot that will keep your readers hooked. 

How to Avoid Romance Clichés

First and foremost: “love at first sight” does not exist . This isn’t a hot take, it just isn’t a real thing that happens. Love is complicated, and you can’t expect such a deep connection to develop on its own. It doesn’t simply manifest after one look. Real love is something that grows over time as people get to know each other and make the effort to foster an intimate connection. Love doesn’t evolve overnight like a Pokémon. In fact, romance stories hardly ever involve realistic depictions of love—most of them don’t even come close . 

With that said, “attraction at first sight” does exist. You can meet a person and be physically, emotionally, or intellectually attracted to them. Attraction doesn’t come with any attachments. You don’t need to know someone to know that they’re gorgeous, you just have to look at them. But finding someone attractive does not mean you’re in love with them. Too many times, fiction writers rely on the notion of “love at first sight” to create the basis of their romantic relationships, when all that really is is lust. It just doesn’t feel authentic. 

That is probably the most prevalent (and worst) romance cliché that writers litter throughout their stories, but that is by no means the only one. Clichés can kill an otherwise good story, and they are unfortunately abundant in romances. Even if the story you’re writing is primarily some other genre, like comedy or mystery, romantic clichés can work their poison into the storyline. 

It’s difficult to describe every type of romantic cliché, since there are just too many to count. The best way to avoid clichés is to be able to spot them yourself, and you just can’t do that if you aren’t familiar with the genre. Although it might seem counterintuitive to read a bunch of romance stories to learn what not to do, that’s the best advice I can give you. Immerse yourself in cheesy romance stories, watch every rom-com you can, and read every sappy romance novel you can get your hands on. 

Then, when it comes to writing your own story, you know the types of tropes that work well and what feels wrong to a reader. Never forget that you are a reader as well. If something doesn’t feel right to you in someone else’s story, don’t put it in yours. Your reactions to an incompatible relationship, unrealistic flirty dialogue, or bizarre romantic scenarios are likely going to be in-line with how your readers would react too. 

How to Write Attraction

Let’s jump back a few steps and focus on the notion of attraction. Attraction and love aren’t the same thing, clearly, but an initial attraction can inspire people to pursue a conversation, which can lead to feelings of love developing. Being physically attractive, having a good sense of humor, or having similar hobbies can all inspire conversation between two hopeful romantics, but it’s not until after they’ve gotten to know each other can the attraction become something that resembles love. 

When it comes to writing attraction, subtlety is your friend. The last thing you should consider doing is having your character see someone else and simply announce “they’re cute.” That is a boring way of really slapping your readers in the face with the fact that the other character is likely to be the story’s love interest. And honestly, in reality, no one looks at someone with wonder when they enter the room, no matter how attractive the other person is. (Remember those clichés we talked about above? Any time you feel tempted to write about “time slowing down” or “nothing else in the room mattering” or something along those lines, you should really stop yourself and consider how creepy it would be if someone just stopped to stare open-mouthed at someone who just entered the room. Yeah… not cute, is it?)

Instead of being obvious about the attraction, you should draw attention to smaller details . Have the main character notice little things, like the way their love interest’s skirt flows when they move, or the way their hair blows around in the wind. Eye contact is a fantastic way of conveying attraction more subtly, so have your character notice the color of the other person’s eyes, or the way they wrinkle when the person smiles. Have your main character think about the other person’s voice, the way they stand, or how they move. These aren’t things you would typically think about—unless you had a crush on someone. 

Along that same line, you can also use this technique to show romantic interest budding between two friends. Even if two characters have known each other for a while, throwing in one simple line can be a strong clue to readers that the character is slowly falling in love with their friend. For example: “how had I never noticed before how blue his eyes were?” That not only suggests a peaked interest, but it also tells your readers more subliminally that the two characters shared a moment of eye contact long enough for the main character to notice that detail. 

Letting readers notice on their own that the main character likes another character is much more rewarding for them than simply being told. This allows them to become more invested in the relationship, which is important for any love story. However, there are many other ways you can influence readers to make them care more about the characters, the relationships between them, and the story as a whole. 

How to Make Your Readers Care About the Romance

You can put a lot of effort into the relationship between two characters, but that doesn’t obligate readers to care about it. In order to make your readers care about the romantic plot, you need to make it interesting, and you need to make it meaningful to the storyline. Romance in a story shouldn’t exist just for the sole purpose of existing. It should create conflict in the story, illustrate a character’s shortcomings or personal development, or just create a fun dynamic that is interesting to read. Ask yourself: “what is the purpose of this relationship?” If you don’t have a good answer, then you need to find a way to make it more integral to the way the story plays out. 

In addition to having a purpose in the story, the relationship between the characters should be inherently interesting. In order to achieve that, you should consider a few different factors that would influence your readers’ perceptions of the relationship. 

Make the Characters Individually Interesting

Long before you even consider the romantic relationship, you need to make sure the characters are interesting on their own. In addition to that, you need to make sure that your readers have time to get to know the characters before you rush them into a relationship with another character. You don’t want any character’s identity to be tied to their relationship with another person—they need to be complex and unique individuals, both within and outside of their interactions with other characters.

The process of making a compelling character is a little difficult to cover in just one short section, but fundamentally, you should establish several distinct things about each character long before you should consider how to make them fall in love. These things are:

• Likes and Dislikes

Each of those aspects is important, but I don’t have the space here to talk about all of them. So, I will be focusing on what is arguably the most important point: flaws. Characters should have behaviors or fears they need to overcome, warped beliefs, or some sort of bad habit. These traits might make them confrontational, difficult to love, or even a bit dysfunctional—but that’s the whole point. No one in the world is perfect, so your characters shouldn’t be either. 

Flaws create conflict, which drives a story forward, and above all else, they make characters more believable and relatable. If a reader can root for a character to achieve something they struggle with, overcome personal obstacles in their life, or find love despite their flaws, then they’re going to be much more attached to that character.

Some great character flaws that work well in romantic stories are:

• Emotional coldness
• Fear of commitment

With that said, it can be difficult to create flawed characters that aren’t over-the-top, annoying, or just generally unlikable. If you want some more guidance on the topic, I have another article that could be helpful: How to Create Complex Flaws for Characters .

Ensure the Characters have Romantic Chemistry 

Only after you have unique individual characters should you begin thinking about crafting romantic interactions between them. Your characters should be interesting by themselves, but when your couple comes together, they should have a dynamic that’s interesting too. The pairing needs to have Romantic Chemistry, meaning that they have to be compatible and make sense together. Romantic chemistry between characters cannot be forced, and trying to pair two characters together that aren’t a good fit for each other just isn’t going to work. That kind of relationship isn’t going to resonate with your readers.

There are four main types of romantic chemistry. You don’t need your couple to check all four boxes, but you should at least take the time to consider each one.

• Physical – the characters should be physically attracted to each other, at least a little. This plays into the characters’ sexuality, and a strong sexual bond can help support trust in a good emotional relationship. 
• Emotional – the characters should feel emotionally supported by each other, and they should trust in their partner.
• Spiritual – the characters should share similar beliefs or lifestyles, at least in some aspects of their lives. Conflicting cultures, religions, and ideals can still work together, but you should make sure it’s still a realistic dynamic. 
• Intellectual – the characters should have similar degrees of intelligence. This is less about particular areas of intelligence, and more about critical thinking abilities. An artist and a scientist could get along fine, since their individual pursuits both require a degree of intelligence, skill, and critical thinking to achieve. However, a scientist may have trouble feeling attracted to a bumbling idiot.

So, how do you create romantic chemistry between two characters? Well, you need to think about them as individuals again. I know that sounds redundant, but bear with me.

In order to make a couple romantically compatible, they need to have character traits that complement each other. That doesn’t mean that they should always be opposites, however. Complimentary doesn’t have to mean they balance each other out. The two characters could share many similar traits and still be compatible. Two characters that are similarly sarcastic could riff off each other’s sarcasm and get along quite well, but that same situation could also end up frustrating everyone involved if the characters’ other traits conflict. 

In addition to the pairing working well together, you need to consider what each character wants, and what makes sense for their personality. A character struggling with addiction and depression might benefit most from a relationship with someone patient, caring, and doting, but if that’s not the type of relationship they want, then it would be difficult to justify. You should take into consideration the characters’ sexual preferences, emotional needs, and desires in a relationship. Two characters might be great for each other objectively, but if you can’t make it realistic given the characters’ preferences, then it won’t feel right. 

Use Conflict to Keep it Interesting

To get readers really invested in the romance, there needs to be some sort of conflict. You can’t make things too easy for your lovebirds, or you’ll bore your readers. Conflict is the heart of storytelling, so you need to put something in the way of the characters’ relationship to keep it interesting. 

The easiest way of creating conflict in a romance is to have an obstacle in the way of the lovers’ relationship. This obstacle can take many different forms, but here are a few example scenarios that you could use to create some difficulty for your couple:

• One character’s family is unsupportive of the relationship between the two characters. That could be because of an arranged marriage, a conflict of beliefs, or just good old fashioned helicopter parenting. This is especially applicable if the other character has bad habits, a general disregard for tradition, or a hard emotional exterior. 
• One character has a destructive habit that just can’t continue if they expect the relationship to work. If they smoke, and the other character is against that despite being compatible in all other aspects, then that could be enough to disrupt the relationship. The original character would be forced to choose between their vices and their love for the other character.
• One character is offered a great job that they just can’t reject, but that would mean moving far away from the other character. The other character may be unable or unwilling to move with them, so each character has to decide between their individual futures and their future together. 
• One character has had bad luck with love in the past, and they’re having a difficult time opening up to the other character despite their feelings. They could experience significant inner turmoil as they try to find a balance between loving the other character and protecting themself. 
• One character has a crush on another character, but can’t or won’t confess for whatever reason. This is especially entertaining if the other character feels the same way. 
• Two characters want to be together, but one character’s vengeful ex keeps trying to sabotage them with lies, trickery, or even just digging up their pasts. 

There are tons of other options you could choose for establishing conflict in the relationship. Whatever you choose, make sure it makes sense for the story, and doesn’t push the characters or their relationship too far. Too much conflict between the two characters could be perceived as toxic or unhealthy, even if they end up happy together in the end. 

Develop the Romance Over Time

Once you’re sure that it’s realistic for the characters to fall in love in the first place, then you need to figure out how to pace the romantic development. Love isn’t something that develops quickly, but rather builds up slowly over time. Sometimes, the onset of romantic feelings can be so discreet and so slow that your readers may notice the attraction between the characters before the characters themselves acknowledge their own feelings. 

One of the most irritating tropes in romance stories is the idea of falling “hard and fast” in love. Passion and lust can blossom quickly, but don’t confuse that with true feelings of love. If you want the relationship between your characters to be perceived as true love, then the longer you draw it out, the more authentic it’s going to feel. Additionally, if your readers get to watch the relationship unfold slowly, it will be more rewarding to read once the two characters get together. 

Sometimes, however, situations can force two characters together faster out of loneliness, desperation, or mutual fear. Two characters destined to save the world together may end up caring about each other much faster than two characters that meet for coffee on weekends. A night of passion could lead to feelings of confusion and self-reflection, which could end up developing into emotional and romantic attachment. Additionally, near-death experiences could pressure characters to face or admit their feelings earlier than they otherwise would, since they could fear they’d miss their opportunity if the other character died. 

You should approach these kinds of situations cautiously, however, especially if you want the readers to perceive the relationship as authentic and not just a product of the characters’ circumstances. 

Love in the Little Things: Writing Love Subtly

Love isn’t something that everyone expresses the same way. Everyone has their own ways of expressing and cherishing love, so don’t assume that there’s only one right way to write about it. Some characters may show their love physically, with kisses, hand-holding, and running their fingers through their partner’s hair. Other characters may show their love through their actions, by staying up with their partner even when they’re exhausted, always giving them the best part of things they share, and preferring to do everything together rather than apart. Some characters may go to great lengths to act on their love for another character, such as changing bad habits, learning how to do things their partner enjoys, and showering their partner in gifts.

Characters showing their love for each other doesn’t have to be dramatic. You can illustrate love between two characters in the thousands of little things they do for each other, in the way they look at each other, and the subtle ways they think and talk about each other. Hide hints of their feelings together in every action, every word they say, and your readers will understand their feelings without having to be told. 

Remember, when characters really truly love each other, your readers will love them too. 

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How to Write a Romance Novel People Will Love

This page includes a step-by-step guide on how to write a romance novel. For more writing tips and ideas, be sure to join our free email group .

What you need to write romance:

• a bar of good chocolate
• a beach vacation
• a gorgeous stranger ready to be your muse...

Okay, you don't really need any of those things, but if you can finagle them—why not?

What you DO need:

• two characters who were meant to end up together.
•  crackling chemistry between those characters.
• a problem or obstacle in the way of the characters' relationship—because, otherwise, the couple would jump straight to the happy ending, and there wouldn't be much of a story! Example: one of the characters is engaged to marry someone else.
• a reason for the characters to stick around each other long enough to overcome the obstacle to their relationship. Example: They are coworkers assigned to collaborate on an important project.
• a happy or optimistic ending—"Happily Ever After ("HEA"), or at least Happy For Now ("HFN").

Read on for advice on how to write a romance novel that readers—and editors—will fall head-over-heels in love with.

Skip to section:

• Romance Novel Subgenres
• 5 Steps to Writing Your Romance Novel
• Sizzling Red-Hot Chemistry (WOW!)

Romance Subgenres

The first step to writing a successful romance novel is market research. Yes, that means pouring a glass of wine or a mug of hot chocolate, curling up on your sofa, and reading lots and lots of romance novels. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

Tip: Market research may be more productive if you're receiving a foot massage while you do it. You might want to mention that to your gorgeous muse.

There are many different subgenres, or categories, of romance novels; including:

• Contemporary romance
• Historical romance
• Romantic suspense
• Paranormal romance (e.g., vampires, werewolves, etc.)
• Fantasy romance (or "Romantasy")
• Science fiction romance
• Inspirational romance (religious themes)
• Medical romance (set in hospitals or other medical settings)
• Regency romance
• Gothic romance (likely to include mysterious events happening in spooky settings like a crumbling old mansion)

Once you've chosen a subgenre for your own novel, you'll want to read a lot in that subgenre and get to know what its readers expect. Then you can write a book that satisfies those expectations, while also adding your own fresh twist.

To get ideas of the kinds of romance novels currently being published, browse the romance publishers' websites such as Harlequin.com

Harlequin also posts guidelines for authors . You can use these guidelines to get story ideas and to learn more about what one publisher is looking for.

If you write a book that meets the guidelines, you can then submit it to Harlequin!

How to Write a Romance Novel in 5 Steps

1) Create two characters who will fall in love

You want to create a moving, emotional, satisfying experience for readers. The secret is to create characters your readers will identify with and fall in love with themselves.

Your characters need to come alive on the page. They should be like real people, with desires, fears, strengths, and weaknesses.

And there should be powerful chemistry between the couple. More on that soon.

Think about what each character wants, both in love and in that rest of their life, and what internal or external factors are holding them back. This will also give you ideas for your story plot!

Here's a character profile questionnaire to help you imagine your main characters.

• Profession:
• Physical appearance:
• Positive traits:
• Negative traits:
• Relationship status at the beginning of the story:
• Describe character's current or last relationship:
• What do they look for in a romantic partner?
• What do they really need in a romantic partner (if different from above)?
• Kind of person they're attracted to:
• Things that turn them off:
• How could they meet the main love interest in the story?
• What obstacles could be in the way of a happy ending with the main love interest?
• What's something that might keep them in touch with the main love interest, in spite of obstacles?

Click here to get a detailed character profiling questionnaire.

2) Plan your story conflict.

What is the main problem standing between your characters and their Happily Ever After? This might be an external problem (for example, if a character's family forbids the relationship), or it might be an internal one (for example, your character was hurt in a past relationship and now is afraid to be vulnerable again).

Click here for romance story ideas.

3) Map out some scenes

The following questions will give you ideas:

• How will your couple first meet?
• When will they first feel attracted to each other?
• How will your story conflict start?
• What will be the most intense moment of the conflict?
• What will be the turning point that will lead to your happy or hopeful ending?

You can make a list of scene ideas, describing each scene in a few words; for example:

• J. and L. first meeting at company holiday party.
• J. and L. are forced to share an office. L. is rude about it.

You might find it helpful to write each scene idea on a separate note card. Then you can play with the order of the cards, adding new scenes to fill in gaps and removing scenes that don't seem to fit.

4) Start writing!

Daydream a scene from your story, letting it play out in your imagination, and then capture that daydream on the page, including dialogue, action, descriptive details...

(Jokes aside, daydreaming is an actual part of the job. You want to create a thrilling romantic daydream for readers. The best way to start is by enjoying some fabulous daydreams yourself.)

During your first draft, don't worry about finding the perfect words or crafting perfect sentences. If you start editing yourself while you write, it makes it harder to daydream. You'll fix everything later, during the revision stage.

Once you've finished a rough draft, you can go back and improve it. Tip: Eating chocolate helps with the revision process, or at least makes it more fun.

First, read your draft through from start to finish as if you were an ordinary reader. What are your first impressions?

It's a good idea to start by revising big-picture issues in your manuscript, and then work your way down to sentence-level editing.

Do the characters come to life? Do you feel the chemistry between them? Do you feel gripped by the story? Is there any places that feel too slow, or scenes that need more fleshing out?

Click here to get a free revision checklist.

How to create sizzling chemistry on the page

Instead of just saying that characters are attracted to each other, find ways to show it; e.g., lingering looks, teasing banter, small gestures. Maybe your character gets nervous around their future mate, or maybe they start making excuses to drive past the other person's house. Maybe an accidental brush of hands leaves your character's skin tingling...

Here are some specific tools for dialing the temperature up...

1) Commonalities.

You can give your two main characters something important in common; for example, similar childhood struggles, or a shared passion for music. This can provide opportunities for bonding and add to the reader's sense that they were meant for each other.

2) Differences.

You've heard that "opposites attract". Bringing together two seemingly very different characters (different backgrounds, styles, belief systems, personalities) can have dynamic results. Differences between the characters can create friction that turns into heat and electricity! And two characters who seem very different on the surface might turn out to have important things in common deep down.

3) Conflict and resolution.

Characters who challenge each other and then resolve their conflicts can create an emotional rollercoaster that adds excitement to your novel. (Though constant conflict is not fun in real-life relationships, it's exciting in fiction.)

4) Delayed gratification.

Delayed gratification is a way to build tension. The longer you can believably keep your characters apart while maintaining the chemistry between them, the more satisfying it will feel when they finally come together.

4) Vulnerability.

Put your characters in situations where they show vulnerability to each other. This creates intimacy, which adds to the romantic tension.

Witty and playful dialogue can create a kind of electricity between your characters. It is also a lot of fun to read!

6) Body language.

Do the characters avoid each other's eyes? Do their eyes meet and linger longer than they should? Do the characters go out of their way to avoid any physical contact, as if they're afraid that the most casual touch might be overwhelming?

7) Physical reactions.

A racing heart, a fluttering stomach, a blush, a nervous tick... Show how your characters' bodies react to each other.

Making their bodies ultra-sensitive and attuned to the other person's presence is a powerful way to show attraction.

And when the characters first touch... even if it is just an accidental brushing of sleeves... Oh la la! And then the first kiss...

How to Write a Romance Novel - Next Steps

Join our email group for red-hot writing tips and ideas . Get inspired with these romance novel prompts .

Take our 8-week online course, Bringing Characters to Life .

More on how to write a romance novel.

• How to Write a Romance

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Romance Novel I

Start writing your romance novel in this introductory course covering plot, structure, and industry guidelines.

What you can learn.

• Learn fundamental skills for writing compelling romance novels in a variety of subgenres
• Understand the current market for romance novels and how your work can fit in
• Study published works to identify what makes romance writing irresistible and powerful
• Create a plan for your own romance novel you can continue writing in the second class in this sequence

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Enrollment limited to 15 students; early enrollment advised. Visitors not permitted. Internet access required.

This course is held via video teleconference. Instructors use Zoom to offer live class meetings at the designated class meeting time. Students must be present at the course meeting time as each student’s final grade may include scores for participation. Please inform your instructor if you will miss a class meeting. You are responsible for any class information you missed. We suggest you arrange with a fellow classmate to share their notes when feasible.

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