This is where we talk about writing romance. Everyone is welcome!
Tips Corner is an interactive learning format rather than teaching. We all love to read or write romance and whether we realise it or not, are experts and have ideas to offer.
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Since the dawn of time, music has always been a form of entertainment for human beings, a tool to give emotions of any kind. Whether accompanied by a story or not, music is able to ignite human emotions, whether good or bad. Just as Debussy's Clair De Lune or Chopin's Nocturne can do it, so can a love story.
Today we talk about music as the purest form of love, in particular the romance subgenre where it becomes the absolute protagonist.
What is this genre about?
This romance subgenre has music as its main topic, which can be handled in different ways. Most of them are inspired by popular movies like A Star Is Born or The Idea Of You, telling love stories under stage lights or secretly.
You can tell about a rising or fading star, the most hated rock band, or the most famous billionaire singer in the world. Whether they are fantasies or not, each book is capable of dragging you and imagining your music crush serenading you in front of the door of your house.
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The aim is to bring two music lovers together, for better or worse. You come across love stories between a rockstar and an ordinary boy/girl, members of the same band or your manager, be their assistant or secretary hoping for sparks to strike. You may even come across a guitarist looking for a new haircut... the combinations are endless!
The male character represents the main point of the story, the one who play his own love song to win over his love interest (and also the readers!). He's not always the frontman of a boy band. We may fall in love with a drummer, a bassist, a keyboard player or a conductor. Who grew up on the streets or in a wealthy family, those who are the son of the most important icon of the music industry, each with their own nuance.
The female character isn't always a huge fan of the band or the solo singer. Those who are close to her lead her into that world made of musical notes and instruments, reviving the musical spirit that was hidden in her. Often it is the roommate/relative/best friend who covers the role of the "stan", trying in some way to involve the protagonist as well.
But who says that the "singer boy = ordinary girl" cliché is always present in the plot? Could the heroine be the real star of the stage? That the story could end differently, maybe with a queer twist? The magic of this subgenre is in adding several eighth notes of narrative tropes such as "enemies to lovers" or "interracial love", with a queer chord in a fantasy key. Or a staff of "friends to lovers" quarter notes in a dramatic key.
