Writing a beautiful and commercially successful romance novel is a dream of many. Sometimes, the desire to fulfill this aim turns into desperation when aspiring authors are influenced by external factors, Valentine's Week being one of them. It's is very natural for them to take inspiration from all the scenes of love around them and pen them down into a novel. However, that's much more difficult than said. To help you with this, here's a step-by-step guide to writing a romance novel.
Choose a subgenre
A romance novel is not only about 'romance'. Rather, it could have a subgenre and an alternative storyline as well. Thus, set your story within a context that you are passionate about. For example, if you are interested in ghosts, write a paranormal romance. Or if you are interested in history, a historical fiction romance is best suited for you. Similarly, you can opt for a futuristic or dystopian romance novel.
Don't forget the formula
A tried and tested formula for creating a romance novel is this: boy meets girl, boy loses girl, the boy finally wins the girl. There is no point in messing around with this traditional formula since our minds have been conditioned like that. Most romance readers will demand that your novel follows this formula. However, there are a million ways you can write the story while adhering to the formula.
Set the scene
Setting the scene is very important in romance writing. It will create the atmosphere for your romance and will inform the readers about your characters' backgrounds. Also, be as specific as possible when describing your romance fiction's setting. Always remember that a memorable setting will capture readers' imagination and create a backdrop for your novel.
Make your main characters as impressive as possible
A strong character can make it or break it for you. Thus, make sure that your characters have compelling backstories. If a character's backstory includes betrayal in relationships, then it is natural for them to be cynical about their present relationships. This will make your storyline a bit tenser. Thus, you should know how to create rich and complex characters.
A happy ending
You need to create a satisfying ending to your novel. If you don’t, it will completely ruin the story for your reader and maybe even discourage them from reading any other romance novel you publish in the future. Always remember that the best plot is the one where the boy gets the girl at the end.
