r/RomanceWriters

What are your thoughts on the protagonist getting pregnant unexpectedly near the end of the novel? Is it bad? Is it the thing that kills your entire book? And is it cliche?

Hello all!

I've written a novel that is currently in beta reads, with agent queries starting around the end of the summer, and the latter brings up a crucial question: genre classification. I originally conceived of it as a contemporary romance, but there are certain elements that are now part of the story that complicate this question, and my partner and I have been having animated (but friendly) discussions over whether it is still a romance, or if it has crossed into the realm of "literary/upmarket fiction."

Here are the main points of debate:

1. FMC morally grey moments: grew up in evangelical "purity culture," as well as hyper-vigilant moral policing by church, parents, extended family. When she is asked to housesit for a new friend in act 1 (who becomes love interest in act 2), she walks into his bedroom, fantasizes about him for a moment before leaving, feels regretful. Later, acting compulsively out of her fear of losing the freedom she has found alone in his house, she undresses in his room, again feels regret. She discovers how she has been manipulated by "purity culture" after these episodes (near the end of act 1), though she delays telling him about her violations of his space until midway through act 3 (they are romantically together at this point), after crossing a significant threshold of self-actualization.
2. Is the romance itself is the center of the story, or her "coming-of-age/self"?: he is introduced at the beginning of the story, she is interested in him from the beginning (though she denies it throughout act 1, thinking he is just tied up in her fantasy of freedom), they get together halfway through the book, and the rest of the novel focuses primarily on them trying to get their families to accept them. But significant focus (i.e., whole chapters) is given to her building a life for herself, including escaping the moral repression of her old world, getting past the "temp job phase of life" (not to a "dream job," just something solid), establishing a real, non-romantic friendship with a co-worker at her new job, and negotiating a more functional relationship with her parents. Also, during the Act 1 "self-liberation" sequence, he moves mostly "offstage" for about 6-7 chapters while he is at a work conference (for which which she is housesitting), except for a handful of text exchanges; this is done so that the initiation of her self-liberation arc is unmistakably hers, and in no way interpretable as "inspired by" or "thanks to" him. And to answer the most important question, it does have a HEFN ending, with their front-porch wedding with their new "found community" as the setting of the final two chapters, though their hope of reconciliation with family is partial, with his father rejecting them outright, one of her grandmothers "blessing" the wedding but refusing to attend, the other grandmother rejecting them, but not stopping the main character's favorite cousin (her grandson) from attending.
3. Romance tropes, repurposed: this one concerns me the least, since romance authors do it regularly, but still... Examples include her seeing his "warm eyes" when they first meet, which she finds more disconcerting than enticing, because she feels like she cannot "read" them/him; a "secret underwear" scene that is about her desire to feel good about something she knows no one else will ever see, rather than feeling ready to entice her romantic interest; and more generally, her use of classic romance tropes as part of her dissociative tendencies to escape into fantasy to escape reality, especially by continually reminding herself that she is "no one's main character" (i.e., not the love interest in her own story, because she feels unworthy of that kind of love).

Any thoughts you would like to share will be deeply welcomed and appreciated!

TL;DR: Can you market/sell a book as a romantasy if the main couple do not end up together at the end of the first book, but the plan is that they will eventually end up together later on.

Hi all! I've finally finished a manuscript draft and I'm powering through a second draft before it goes to an editor. Originally, it was supposed to be a dark romantasy, but *spoilers for the book you've never read or heard of* I've wound my way to no 'happily ever after' (does this subreddit flag the abbreviation for that? It gave me an angry message) as the manuscript has found itself. TL;DR it ends in tragedy. (Not really, just . . . the MMC thinks the FMC is dead.)

Anyway! Ze plan is that the main couple end up together, just after, you know . . . several bloody wars and such.

My question is about marketing. I've seen discourse about readers feeling betrayed when something is marketed as a romance when the main couple do not have, at minimum, a 'happy for now'. Which, in this case, they have a 'not so happy for now, but happy later'. Can I market this as a romantasy, or would it be safer to market it as a romantic fantasy/fantasy with heavy romance sub-plot? It is probably 65% romance, 35% fantasy. There is, to borrow BookTok lingo, spice. Open door, peen and all.

My issue is that the story could exist without the romance, I guess, but the main relationship does drive a significant portion of the plot — it would exist if they were just friends, but wouldn't be as powerful. The relationship between the FMC and MMC really is the cause of the inciting incident, since it's friends to lovers background, enemies to lovers(?) present. Okay, this has just become a rant. Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone! I am writing a romance novel on a hope and a prayer. Concept is simple. Cam girl hires live in security. Live in security falls helplessly in love with her. The first couple of chapters show how he found her streams before becoming her security so there is some spicy content. In both POVs. Is that bad? Should I have a more establishing chapter for each first? I just really feel like it starts the book out nicely. There’s other content laced throughout. I’m writing chapter 39 right now and they have yet to actually do the deed. It’s pretty much self gratification on both sides.

This is a slow burn for feelings. The spice is thoughts of each other and actions on themselves. Nothing done to each other.

Give me your honest thoughts!

Thank you!

I got locked out of all of Meta today, they even banned my personal facebook of 17 years, I have no idea why, but according to them I am a bot. I can't make new accounts because through Evil Meta Powers they know it's me (trust me, I tried on both my spare emails).

How the fuck do I market my novel? I was planning on putting it out in September. I'm incredibly upset right now and also all of my family is texting me trying to figure out why I disappeared. Like what do I even do? I can't reach out to anyone, I can't get followers, I have no idea how to even get follows on twitter or bluesky. Am I just fucked? Incredibly depressed right now.

Saying this right off the bat: I know I can find one on Reddit etc for free. I don't want to do that, for a few reasons but the main one is that I don't want my work stolen, so if I'm trusting someone with it I'd rather it be in a professional setting than just some rando from the internet. Call me an idiot or a snob all you want, I'm allowed to do things the way I'm comfortable with.

With that said, I wondered if anyone used a paid service that they would recommend, I don't really want to get a developmental edit at this stage because that's some serious $$, and I think this is a good option for me.

Thank you!!

I'm trying to learn to write romance for future writing, but I don't know where or how to start. What are some ways I can study and learn?

hi !! im brianna (21f) and ive been writing my YA contemporary romance novel for over a year.

im looking for other contemporary romance authors to buddy up with and become accountabilibuddies and, read eachothers work, help eachother, ETC!!!

its been really hard for some reason finding other contemporary romance authors interested, so let me know!

I've just finished the 3rd draft of a dual POV sapphic political drama/romance based on the 2024 election, and I would love some thoughts on something I’ve been struggling with since drafting a query/thinking about marketing. I've seen reasoning that if you can take the romance out of the book and it still has a driving plot, it's not strictly a romance. Fair! I think mine would fall under that, since the main objective of my two leads is the same: for one to help get the other elected as President (which succeeds, spoilers for a book you might never read lol), and they happen to fall in love during the course of the campaign (and get a happily ever after ending).

Now here's where I'm not sure: the romance directly impacts the plot because their relationship gets used towards to climax of the book as an attempt to blackmail/derail the candidate's presidential campaign. Their relationship development also takes center stage in most scenes, it just happens to also lend to the plot well because they are working torward the same goal, make a great team, and generally don't have time to NOT be working toward their goal (the main plot lol). I would also say that the romance helps one of the FMC complete her character arc. She is a very rigid professional with an "ends justify the means" perspective on politics, but inside she feels very deeply about it all, she just believes showing it or tapping into it won't help her candidate. She softens a lot throughout the course of the campaign, both personally and on what she’s willing to do to get her candidate elected.
 
Anyway, I have two main questions: will it still be genre with romance elements? And general question, does it sound like a compelling story/romance? Next step is beta readers, so if anyone is interested, please let me know!

Thank you!

What would you guys consider second chance romance? And what do you like/dislike about it?

Just as the title says: what would you consider second-chance romance? Like, what if the story starts before they first broke up? And if they never even broke up? Woukd you consider a book where the mc gets a second chance at love (not with the same love interest) to be secon-chance romance? Also, what do you dislike or like about those, either when reading them or writing them?

Also, what if the first love interest died (like, in the middle of the book or maybe at the start) and the mc were to try to find love again.

I'm an experienced writer, but romance is not my forte. I've been working on an idea and finally got a draft of the first chapter written. I don't have any avid romance fans in my usual circle of readers.

Would someone be interested in taking a look and sharing their thoughts? I'm looking for a critique of the romance aspect and whether or not the first chapter has enough of a hook.

It's only 1200 words...if I need to pivot the genre because it's awful, I don't want to go too much further.

Hi all! I'm diving back into writing romance after about ten years away from it, and about seven years away from writing at all.

What would you say is the difference between writing romance vs. fiction with romantic elements?

In my current project, at the moment I'm more focused on and excited about the external plot than the romance. Granted, it's very early in the process, but it's making me think.

How plot-driven are your works vs. character-driven?

Now weekly!

Blurbs can be the bane of an author's existence - both for self-published authors, who have to come up with an enticing hook all by themselves, as well as for authors seeking traditional publishing, as they are usually included in queries.

We want to help! Post your blurb draft and let the community help shape it into the perfect snippet of info.

To participate, please comment on this thread with the following info:

• The title or working title of your WIP
• The romance subgenre of said WIP
• The draft of your blurb you've got so far
• Any content warnings and additional info you deem necessary!

Anyone who wants to help can then reply to your comment to workshop your blurb.

Happy crafting!

Greetings all. This is my first time posting, and was hoping for some advice. I'm in a bit of a conundrum.

I am about 75% into my novel, a time-travel romance that takes place in feudal Japan. At this point, I'm at 83,000 words and 29 chapters in. I originally plotted the story for only 30 chapters, but as I wrote, characters appeared that needed to be included to make the story richer. As I continue to write, I'm growing concerned about the cost associated with editing the manuscript.

In a situation like this, what do you all do? Do you self-edit before you send it to the editor? Or do you suck up the cost and send it as is?

Thanks!

I’m writing a Mafia dark romance. Enemies to lovers? More like “enemies who stay enemies, but he’s obsessed with her and she’s terrified of him.”

I’m at chapter 50, over 80k words. And I just had a meltdown:

There’s plenty of “forced” but almost no “love.”

The MMC is possessive, controlling, watches her every move. The FMC is smart, hates him, wants to escape. That part works. But when I try to make her start feeling something — anything — I freeze.

I think I’ve been protecting her.
I don’t want readers to accuse her of having Stockholm syndrome. I don’t want her to look weak. So I keep her cold. Rational. She never admits, even to herself, that his arms feel warm after a nightmare, or that her heart speeds up when he looks at her a certain way.

And now the “love” part of the dark romance is just… not there.

Worse, his “forcing” has gotten softer. Because I’m afraid to make him too dark. But without the darkness, the eventual “groveling / chasing” arc has no weight.

So here’s my ask for anyone who loves reading (or writing) this genre:

What specific moments make YOU feel the romantic tension in a dark romance?

Not the external “we’re enemies” or “he locked her in a villa.” I mean the internal gut punch.

• A line he says that made you hold your breath.
• A tiny gesture she notices even though she hates him.
• A moment where she wants to push him away but her hand doesn’t move.
• When she hates herself for noticing how his voice sounds when he’s tired.

I need examples of heart-racing tension that isn’t just fear. Desire mixed with fear. Attraction she’s ashamed of. Small cracks in her walls.

And for the MMC: how do you show his obsession turning into something softer but still dangerous? Not “I love you.” More like “I don’t know why I care, but I can’t stop.”

Please share scenes, lines, or even micro-moments that lived rent-free in your head. I’ll literally compile them and study them.

Thank you. A very stuck writer.

This is just my experience writing a romantic subplot for an urban fantasy book. I'm not saying the buildup and tension isn't unimportant - it is. I'm saying I know I pump out more words per hour / per day when the romantic tension is on the downward slope. At least to me, this fluff is healing, calming. Heck, I went so far as to write this romance arc out of order, where the two finally get together after a months / years long slow burn with plenty of heartbreaks along the way. This isn't a bad thing, because there's more interesting things I want to write about in this urban fantasy world than how this sapphic romance goes from dream to reality.

I take it this feeling is normal? I'm not crazy? This isn't a bad thing?

Lmk if youd like to see the rest ;)

I cried out, back arching off the bed. My hands flew into his hair, gripping tight as he ate me like a starving man. The wet, obscene sounds of his tongue and fingers filled the room, mixed with my broken moans. He was aggressive, greedy, growling against my pussy every time I clenched around his fingers.
I couldn't help as my hips started to dance against his face.
"That's it, darling," he snarled between long licks. "Fuck my face. Use me. I want this greedy little cunt dripping all over me."
He sucked my clit harder, fingers thrusting faster, curling perfectly. My thighs started to shake around his head. The pressure built so fast I could barely breathe.
"wait — oh fuck — I'm—"

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I know the hidden child/ pregnancy trope can be way overdone but I was hoping to get an opinion on a way im thinking to go to see if its any good.

My FMC is SA'd on prom night ( not shown in book) which results in a baby. She continues with her goals for college with parents support and hides all this from her BFF MMC because he has a hero complex and she knows hes head over heels for her and dosnt want him to derail his life to rescue her/fix everything.

He moves back to town after college and they manage to hide said child for almost a year before he finds out. But hes been in love with her since they were 14 so....

No graphic scenes, just aftermath emotional drama. He tries to save her, she tries to save him blah blah blah