How to Write a Romance Novel: Step-by-Step Guide

• Jul 24, 2025
• 7 min read

• Tags: Book Writing, Fiction, Non-fiction, Novel Writing, Writing Tips

Do you enjoy reading toe-curling romance novels, and dream of writing one of your own, but don’t know where to begin?

We have curated a step-by-step guide to help you understand the romance genre and begin working on your future bestseller!

Understanding the romance genre

Before you start writing, it is important to have a thorough understanding of the romance genre. Here are some important points to keep in mind before you begin outlining your novel:

What Defines a Romance Novel?

To put it simply, a romance novel is one where the central theme of the work is a romantic relationship. It can be between heterosexual individuals or non-binary/members of the LGBTQIA+ community. However, the main aim of the work is to follow and chronicle the ups and downs of their romantic relationship. 

The ending can either be a typical fairy-tale ‘happily-ever-after’ (HEA) where the protagonists walk off into the sunset to begin the rest of their lives together, or a ‘happy-for-now’ (HFN) situation, which focuses more on the immediate future and not the long term.

Popular subgenres in romance novels are contemporary (eg. Luv Shuv in New York by N. M. Patel), historical (the Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn), paranormal (the Twilight saga by Stephenie Meyer), romantic suspense (the classic Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier), erotica (the Fifty Shades series by E. L. James), fantasy (A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas) and so on.

While market trends keep changing, the romance novel has been a favourite, especially among female readers, for hundreds of years. While the current paperback trend (post the COVID-19 pandemic) favors non-fiction, romantic fiction maintains its bestseller status in the ebook category, with several novels going viral on Booktok, which many readers turn to for recommendations. Romance is especially popular with women aged 20s to 50s, most of whom like to imagine themselves in the place of the female protagonist and live vicariously through her adventures. 

Reader expectations and conventions

Given its popularity as a genre, there are certain tropes and conventions that are especially popular, and that some readers veer towards. Some classic tropes are enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, opposites attract, and grumpy/sunshine, where one character is a notorious grump while the other is all sunshine and daisies. 

No love story is a flat line—ups and downs are inevitable, and keep readers on their toes. Popular conventions are the meet-cute (a memorable meeting between the protagonists), will-they-won’t-they, and romantic conflict that keeps the readers guessing till the end.

It is important to keep in mind that emotional payoff and character growth and transformation are of prime importance—most readers like to read a happily-ever-after, and for this, the protagonists need to work through their issues and grow as human beings in order to be better partners. Protagonists with zero emotional growth are likely to quickly become unpopular.

Developing compelling romantic characters

Since romance novels spend a great deal of time following the daily life of the protagonists, it is important to make them both relatable and likable. Here’s how to craft protagonists that will stay with your readers long after they have finished the book:

1. Create relatable, multidimensional characters who have flaws, backstories, and interests and goals outside of snagging the hero/heroine. Avoid writing a Mary Sue who immediately gets along with everyone, or a Manic Pixie Dreamgirl who seems to exist only to complete the hero’s life.

2. Make sure your book passes the Bechdel test. The Bechdel test checks whether or not the female characters have been properly fleshed out by one simple metric—do the female characters converse with each other about anything other than the male characters? If yes, your book has passed!

3. Craft the personalities of your protagonists such that they have good chemistry and romantic tension. Give them dialog and body language that suits their personalities. Additionally, there is a delicate balance to be maintained between showing and telling in scenes of attraction and romantic tension—while you can ‘tell’ through dialog and the character’s internal monologue, and ‘show’ through their actions, eg. ‘tell’ by confessing their feelings, or ‘show’ by pulling in their love interest for a kiss.

4. Nobody exists in a vacuum—a believable protagonist needs a believable circle of family and friends, and maybe even an antagonist (like an ex) who comes in to spice things up! Give them backstories of their own and avoid turning them into one-dimensional caricatures. Their storylines can also be used as subplots and to create and resolve conflict.

Crafting a captivating romance plot

Like in every other genre, it is important to plot your story well. Most romantic novels follow a similar plot structure:

1. The setup—basic background of the characters and how they meet
2. The incident—the first spark of romance 
3. Rising tension—a series of events/conversations that amp up the attraction
4. Dark moment—an obstacle they encounter that could potentially pull them apart
5. Resolution—how they work through it and get their happily-ever-after.

It is important to pace your novel well and balance the romantic moments with the external plot—too much focus on either will make the story monotonous. You can use an old-fashioned notebook or online tools such as Spreadsheets or Google Sheets to plot out your story in a systematic fashion.

It is also very important to write conflict well. There are two kinds of conflict characters are likely to face—internal and external. Internal conflict refers to issues the protagonists deal with between themselves, such as hurt from a past relationship or reluctance to commit. External conflict refers to obstacles that appear out of their control, such as the actions of an antagonist or the reappearance of a lost-lost ex. 

If you wish to draw out the romantic tension before the protagonists finally admit their feelings and get into a relationship, establish compelling reasons why they can’t be together yet, and create believable situations that help them work through those problems without waving a magic wand and setting everything right in one go. Escalating and resolving conflict in an authentic and believable manner is of the essence in romantic novels.

How to write unforgettable romance scenes

Now we come to the fun part—how to write unforgettable romance scenes! There are different kinds of romantic scenes you can write, all of which are detailed below:

1. In romance writing, it is important to perfect the art of the meet-cute. How do the protagonists meet? Is it a dramatic encounter where one saves the other’s life, or something embarrassing, where one accidentally spills coffee all over the other, or is it love at first sight, where one looks across a crowded room and falls head over heels? Whichever it is, it is important to write a memorable and engaging first meeting that sets the stage for romance. 

2. A smooth journey to a happily ending is boring. It is important to include instances of tension to build anticipation that will make the ending that much sweeter. For example, let one character be head-over-heels in love, while the other needs to be pursued (in a non-creepy way!) and wooed. Create suspense by giving the characters secrets and creating misunderstandings (when appropriate) so that the resolution brings them closer. For example, one character has a deep, dark past they’re running away from, or another has a child from a prior relationship, and this could potentially be an obstacle in their story.

3. There is a difference between love scenes and sex scenes—it takes a good balance of both to write a good romance! A love scene focuses more on building emotional intimacy through confessions, kisses, and bonding through dialogue. On the other hand, a sex scene is more about the physicality of the characters—how they look, how they approach each other, and how they take their physical relationship to the next level. Using all five senses of the characters—sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smell—will help you write an immersive sex scene.

4. Finally, it is very important to avoid clichés that would make your story predictable. Subverting common tropes would make the reader sit up and take notice of your book in a sea of similar stories. For example, instead of writing a bad boy hero and a nerdy, good girl heroine, make the heroine the bad girl, and the hero the lovable nerd. Get into the shoes of the character when writing their dialogs in order to keep it authentic and believable. For example, a tough guy confessing his love isn’t likely to suddenly use flowery, romantic language—he would most likely convey his feelings through his actions and a few impactful words.

Setting and world-building in romance

When writing fiction, it is important to build realistic, immersive settings that help make the story more believable and visual for the reader. The setting also plays a major role in setting the mood for romantic scenes. 

When it comes to writing contemporary romance, it is easier to set the scene as you are already familiar with life and conventions in the modern era. One popular trope is incorporating text-messaging scenes to show how characters interact with each other, interspersed with their thoughts behind the scenes that go into the formulation of each message that they send in their courtship phase. The works of bestselling American author Meg Cabot frequently involve texting and email scenes where the hero and heroine attempt to flirt virtually.

When it comes to historical romance, on the other hand, you would need to put in more research to ensure you get the dialog, dress, hair, costumes, and settings right. It is a good idea to watch period dramas set in your preferred era and place to get a clear mental image of how to describe the setting and backdrop. For instance, if you want to write a romance set in the Scottish highlands, reading or watching the Outlander series is a great option.

Revising and editing your romance novel

With any book, it is important to run some basic quality checks before submitting it to publishers. While reading and editing your manuscript yourself is helpful, it is better to view it through a fresh pair of eyes, such as a beta reader or professional editor, to pick out any errors that you may have missed.

Feedback from beta readers—whether friends, editors, or members of online writing communities like Reddit—can also help you improve on certain characterizations, dialogs, and plot points that may not have otherwise occurred to you. Working with a developmental editor is especially useful to gain feedback on how to improve the finer aspects of your work beyond simple grammar and punctuation, and turn your manuscript into a masterpiece.

Navigating the romance publishing landscape

The good news is that romance authors have plenty of options to get published! Whether you opt for self-publishing services (check out our end-to-end self-publishing services here), prefer to publish online on Kindle Direct Publishing, or choose to go with a traditional publisher, it is important to keep certain factors in mind:

1. It is important to write a good query note/pitch that brings out the important aspects of your novel and is likely to catch the publisher’s eye. It would help to begin by introducing the characters and their backgrounds and then introducing the potential conflicts, making it clear to the publisher how you intend to build up the story.  Highlighting how your novel is unique and different from others in the genre is essential.

2. Cover design is of prime importance in the romance genre—whether historical, fantasy, or contemporary romance, it is important to work with a designer who understands your brief and creates a cover that reflects the story so that it draws more eyeballs. 

3. As a romance author, you need to build your author platform on social media sites like X, TikTok (hop on the Booktok bandwagon!), or Instagram to connect with romance readers and build your author platform.

There are also publishers like Harlequin, Mills & Boon, and Avon that have specialized in romance for generations that you can explore. 

Whether you choose to opt for traditional or self-publishing should be decided by a few factors:

1. How soon do you want to be published? Traditional publishers typically have a turnaround time of about a year, whereas self-publishers work faster.

2. Do you want to have complete control over monitoring sales? While traditional publishers pay royalties at fixed times of the year, they are in control of monitoring sales. Self-published authors, on the other hand, can monitor their sales numbers themselves in real time.

3. How much are you willing to invest? Traditional publishers do not charge authors to publish their books, whereas self-publishers do. Plan your budget and choose your path accordingly.

Advanced tips and common challenges

Now that we have the basics in place, here are some common challenges faced by romance writers, and tips to overcome them:

1. Maintaining a fun and sustainable writing routine goes a long way in helping you complete your novel. Set small goals of about 500–1000 words per day (whatever you are comfortable with) and sit down at the same time every day to achieve this goal. A goal of 500 words per day would help you finish a novel in about 100 days, and 1000 words per day will help you complete your novel in roughly 50 days. Eventually, it will become routine and you will be able to improve your productivity.

2. Most writers face writer’s block at some time in their career. The best way to overcome this is to read extensively in your genre of choice—in this case, romance—in order to get your words flowing. 

3. It is important to include diversity in your work (as realistically as possible) without falling prey to harmful racial and religious stereotypes. Draw on real-life interactions or interview people belonging to the groups you would like to write about so that you represent them correctly.

4. If you want to expand your novel into a romance series or write a spin-off on a particular character, it is important to leave important cues and plot points in your first novel that can later be picked up and expanded upon. Plotting out your series—deciding how many books to write and the events and characters of each book—will go a long way in helping you meet your writing goals.

We hope this extensive guide helps you plot and write your romance bestseller! Happy writing!

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Tanvi

With a foundation in Life Sciences, Tanvi enjoys curating technical writing tips tailored for ESL students. When she's not translating complex concepts into bite-sized nuggets, she can be found playing with dogs or painting landscapes.