Podcasts Arts Fiction Writing Made Easy Romance Genre Conventions

Romance Genre Conventions

Published: Feb. 9, 2021, 8 a.m.

In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the conventions of the romance genre. I'm also going to show you how these conventions show up in the movie Twilight. Here's a preview of what's included:

[01:30] What makes the romance genre unique? In romance novels, everything centers around two characters falling in love despite the odds, and despite the risks.
[01:55] Readers choose romance novels because they want to feel all the excitement of falling in love without taking any of the emotional risks. And like all genre fiction, you have to deliver the emotional experience readers are looking for in order for your story to work.
[02:30] Genre conventions are the character roles, settings, and events that are specific to a genre. They’re what help us writers write a story that works AND evoke emotional reactions in our readers.
[04:00] #1 - There is a love triangle between two or more characters.
[05:55] #2 - There are characters who are for the relationship, and those who are against the relationship (aka "helpers" and "harmers").
[07:05] #3 - The protagonist is pursuing a specific goal that drives the story forward (usually, it has nothing to do with romance).
[08:40] #4 - There's a clear sense of masculine and feminine sensibilities (or differences in how each character approaches love).
[09:45] #5 - There's external conflict that occurs outside the protagonist (usually related to whatever goal he or she is chasing).
[11:00] #6 - There's internal conflict that occurs inside of the protagonist (like a character flaw, a fear, an outdated worldview, etc.).
[12:20] #7 - There's at least one secret.
[13:25] #8 - The couple shares intimacy rituals.
[14:25] #9 - There's an internal change in at least one of your main characters. In other words, they overcome whatever's been holding them back from true love.
[16:30] #10 - A happily ever after (HEA) ending.
[18:25] Key points and episode recap.

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