Romance is one of the most extensive literary genres in the Western world – significantly larger than poets – and is read and loved by millions of readers worldwide. More and more self-publishers are writing in this genre.

Nowadays, “romance” is often associated with love, but literary-historical romance can be about any emotion, not just love. However, it is typical that it contains a lot of emotions and a poetic language. Romance has varied in popularity and trend, but it has continued to exist in various art forms ever since it broke through. Today, fiction (in books and film) has an essential place in our lives. So romance becomes very relevant in our day.

A forbidden love, intense belonging, complicated obstacles, heartache, sparkling eroticism, emotions that go up and down as in a roller coaster that ends in great love and happiness, are typical features of a love novel. Romance is often about special people with particular destinies and love adventures. The characters are often mysterious. A successful romantic text should get the reader to escape from everyday life, escape from the present, and let other cultures inspire.

Many love novels are reminiscent of each other so being unique is extra important. Only the writer who develops his strategy and gives a personal touch to his love story will achieve success.

7 WRITING TIPS FOR YOUR LOVE STORY

1-Find the main theme of your love novel:

Whether it is realistic, fantastic, erotic or sad, this genre includes many subcategories or sub-genres. What kind of story is that? There must be a story. What should your story be about? Choose the environment your romance should play out in. The time can be present, historical or future. If you write a historical love novel, it will take a little research, if the events and the environment should correspond to the chosen time. So while it is a love novel, the subcategory is a historical story.

2-Define your target audience:

Before you start writing, think about which target audience you want to reach with your love novel. This is important because your writing style and events in the story should be tailored to your target audience. The more your readers get into your story, the more you will be able to catch and convince them.

Therefore, you must think about what language style you should use, what age you are targeting or what experiences they can recognize and understand. If your love novel contains a lot of eroticisms, the text should be age-appropriate.

3-Sketch the most essential aspects of your plot:

Plot contains conflicts and turning points in a dramatic curve until the end. It is up to you how detailed you want to write, but it is used as a basis during your story’s writing process and will help you develop the flow of story. Then think about where your story will take place, what romantic cities will come into play, and any potential obstacles your characters must overcome to finally reach a, possibly, happy ending.

4-Find the right environment when writing:

Each author has their habits and individual needs as they write. While some writers are very structured and spend their time writing their manuscript for a certain amount of time each day while continuing your everyday life as usual, others retreat to their realm over a long period to concentrate exclusively on writing. Many romance writers love to write in a romantic, relaxing and quiet environment. Discover for yourself what environment you feel most comfortable in and where you can best focus on writing.

5-Bring your characters to life:

To create a realistic character, it takes more than one name, specific look or age – the subtleties give life to your characters and awaken the emotions of your readers. Develop your own, individual life story and personal characteristics for each of your characters. The more authentic your characters are, the more your readers can sympathize with them. Don’t hesitate to take inspiration from your environment!

6-Expressive adjectives for every emotion:

A good love novel stimulates the imagination, speaks to the senses and awakens the reader’s emotions, but how to achieve it? Using expressive adjectives and rich vocabulary, you can express feelings and descriptions in words. Find suitable adjectives for what you want to express. Before you start writing your novel, write down your various adjectives as detailed on paper that expresses the emotions and give the idea of ​​your characters or situation you want to create.

7-Decorate your words with beautiful book design:

Our final tip is less related to your love story’s actual writing and more related to the book’s design and appearance. An appealing book design begins with a beautiful cover and continues with the book’s setting of the insert. Decorate your love story with an attractive design. Choose your font carefully so that it matches the impression you want to give your readers.

Also, do not forget to plan the font size, line spacing, chapter headings etc. All this together creates the individual reading experience and the atmosphere that you want to give your readers.

Best, Melissa Mayer…