How to Write Romance (By Wattpad Writers)

1. The Idea

Want to add your own advice? Just comment it below or check out our thread:
https://www.wattpad.com/forums/discussion/1131800/your-tips-on-coming-up-with-a-great-romance-story-idea-for-a-watty-magazine/#Item_3
It could be added!

If you found a piece of advice particular helpful, comment next to it with 1 to 5, with 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being enormously helpful.

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LaraJadeSchmidt:

Ways to come up with a good romance story idea is something as simple as reading, experiencing and observing (first-hand or second-hand).

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JackyDienda:

Remember that love is not about baby showers or wedding dresses or all the sugary things that teenagers going to prom think it is. Love is not a filter on instagram.

Love is disgusting and boring. It's leaving socks on the floor and not always taking a shower or putting on makeup. It's your boyfriend seeing your period panties or your girlfriend seeing your skidmarks in your boxers. It's about knowing which corners your partner cuts in their hygiene and still sleeping next to them in bed anyway.

Teen romance writers want to think that love is just this great thing that happens when a hot bad boy billionaire with a motorcycle and six pack abs locks eyes with them and sweeps a mousy, introverted protagonist off her feet.

That's boring, and love isn't like that. That's a crappy story and it's not interesting or real. Real romance comes from hardship and bad habits and disgusting things done while sharing a bathroom.

If you think true romance is about anything besides gas and blood and bodily fluids, you'll never be in love, and you'll never write it either.

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Charliewrites0:

Make the characters as real and organic as possible. Work on each character separately, their goals and personality and then put them together and see how a romance develops between them?

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AngelaAgbaji:

Sometimes, I like to think that the characters take a huge part of what it means to create the concept. Consider making the most significant characters as three-dimensional as possible, give them unique characteristics, talents, weaknesses, etc., characters of which will constantly appear in the story. Thus the story will nicely flow and flesh out itself ;)

Try reading and watching a lot of romances to teach yourself about cliches. You may accidently find yourself writing an overused plot, so studying about its constant usage would be good! Moreover, you could try thinking of distinctive ideas randomly then try to bring some logic/sense to it and make it flow with the story. Hope I helped! :)

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Shadamuse:

Do not force yourself to write something that you may have second thoughts on, as it might come back to haunt you later in your writing. Think about your idea first and even take time off your writing if you need too. Chances are, if you are not satisfied with your idea, your readers won't be as well.

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JasonTemple:

Backing up @Charliewrites0 it might be a personal preference but I like writing character driven anything, and as far as Romance goes it's the same. I start with a blank idea of who the person is and then I let them fill themselves in. I start with the major backstory and take notes as I go, and then I progree on to taking online personality quizes and such to fill them out. I grab a generalized idea and drop the characters in and see what happens.

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DracoNako:

Remember that each party exists outside of the relationship. Their entire life is not their partner, and if it is then this is... pretty unhealthy.

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FetchingPenumbra

Break the limits! Your lovebirds don't have to be teenagers. Your lovebirds don't have to know each other since childhood in order to fall in love. Your lovebirds don't have to fall in love just by an empty stare. Your lovebirds don't even have to be a boy and a girl! Build your way to the first kiss! Build your way out of the friendzone! But if you've never experienced love, avoid writing about it. Love is very complicated and makes each human go through many stages of emotions and actions. If you cannot imagine what it is really like, stop typing out how 'she' saw 'him' and he randomly pinned her against an imaginary wall to kiss her roughly. I doubt any reader would appreciate this. Not even one night stands work like this. The character will need a good backstory that will explain with details how (s)he ended up with a stranger in bed. Same goes for the 'stranger'. 

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ImperialSun

Hmm, well good romance needs to have interesting characters. It can't just be one of them either. Both have to be interesting and have their own quirks. Give them a life beyond being couple to make them seem like real people. Introduce obstacles, doesn't need to be a love triangle. It could be something about the other person that is a turn-off. Like maybe s/he doesn't wash their hands before eating or something along those lines xD.  

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Panchaali99

I, as a reader, think people should avoid writing clichéd romances. We have had enough of bad/rich boys and good girls. Enough of perfect relationships and cancer deaths. There is something new required.What I usually see is that the book's protagonist is a rich guy. It's not like only rich people have romances. A sweet romance would be something between two normal people like you and me, fighting through daily problems and keeping strong. A romance novel is not only about making out and sex. It's to do with the feelings involved, looks shared, about love and not lust.

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Do you have any tips on how to come up with a great idea? What are some pitfalls you should avoid?