Summer On Berk

Summer on Berk

Subplot Romance

Over the years I've created some twitter threads on writing and history and I've decided it's a good time to start compiling and sharing them on this Tumblr. I'm going to tag them "writing".

-

Here's what I've learned about writing subplot romance. (People who write genre romance probably already know this stuff. It's those of us who are mainly leavening romantic subplots into fantasy novels that need this info).

1. Romance = fundamentally character-driven. All internal conflict & internal growth. (Can these two trust each other? Will their character flaws drive them apart?) The more study you put into creating characters and building character arcs, the better your romantic writing.

A romance arc is not the SAME as a character arc, but it 100% NEEDS solid character work undergirding it.

2. Romance needs two ingredients: a compelling reason for the characters to be TOGETHER, & a compelling reason for them to be APART. This forms the conflict in the romance so do not skimp on either.

Eg, a common mistake in male-penned stories: female lead has no compelling reason to want male lead. "He's a good-looking warrior dedicated to winning her throne!" Yeah nah, she's literally surrounded by good-looking warriors dedicated to winning her throne, why's he different?

3. Romance needs chemistry = a believable spark of attraction. Something that blew my mind when I realised it: romantic chemistry =/= sexual chemistry. Sexual chemistry (purely physical attraction) is simply PART of romantic chemistry.

Romantic chemistry is a good deal broader. (Read/watch some good romances to see how chemistry is built by different storytellers. One fave of mine is the Romola Garai EMMA. Peerless friends-to-lovers chemistry. Watch the actors' body language; the way they gravitate to each other; the way their faces light up)

Chemistry tip A: if the driver behind sexual chemistry is lust, the driver behind romantic chemistry is trust. Protag needs/wants someone to trust. It's the way you play with trust/distrust that will create romantic tension.

eg: love interest holds protag's hand. With sexual chemistry, protag simply feels a jolt at the contact. With romantic chemistry, protag feels comforted and trustful - then betrayed when it turns out LI is tracking her pulse to see if she's lying to him (see: MISS SHARP 😇)

Chemistry tip B: if protag is falling for someone, that person should occupy their mind. LI should be mentioned/thought of each scene, even when absent. When present: LI consistently provokes unaccustomed emotion - either positive or negative, depending.

Chemistry tip C: make the characters their best/most lovable/most iconic selves when with each other. Quirkiness, smarts, hilarity. Make these the most fun character scenes in the book & the audience will ship them. Passionately.

4. Build romantic chemistry/attraction through escalating moments of trust and tension. If aiming for happily-ever-after(HEA)/for-now(HFN), then the overall arc is towards greater trust, but you need those moments of tension to give the big payoff scenes appropriate catharsis.

OTOH, if you're writing a tragic/backstabby romance, you need the trust/comfort moments in order to sell the big tragedy/betrayal.

5. Trust, comfort, & happiness are POWERFUL. This is what genre romance thrives upon. Even in dark/spiky stories, the most surprising thing in the story can be the moment when the LI DOESN'T betray the protag. That too can be wildly cathartic. Use it.

6. Just as character-driven skills help you with romance, so if you master romantic writing, you'll be better able to write ALL types of relationship - platonic, friendly, hostile.

OK that's all so far. Two book recs: ROMANCING THE BEAT by Gwen Hayes & THE HEROINE'S JOURNEY by Gail Carriger teach you the rules/expectations of genre romance so you'll know what the rules are for a happy romance subplot & how to break them for a tragic version.

1500 🎉

welcome to my recent obsession:

followers 🎉

I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE ARE 100+ OF YOU FOLLOWING ME NOW THIS IS SURREAL 🎉

LMAO ANYWAYS THANK YOU

I LOVE FAIRYTALES also hello

📌 Writeblr Introduction

Hello! My name is Amadeus, but you can call me Ami, and I'm brand new to tumblr! I'm a Latine vsinger and booktuber in my 20s, so not your usual writeblr, but I hope we can get along! My mind's been dreaming up stories for as long as I can remember, and since I'm only just making my way into the booktubing scene, I wanted to challenge myself to actually bring one of those daydreams to life. I decided to make a blog here in hopes of being part of a fun, supportive, and likeminded group!

I can't wait to meet you all and get to know your works!

some facts about me . . .

I'm a gamer! My current obsessions are Cult of the Lamb and Baldur's Gate 3. I also play a lot of Pathfinder 2e~!

I currently live in Europe.

My birthday is September 7th!

I'm a contralto.

I'm a biracial POC. I'm also queer as heck.

goals . . .

write a fantasy novel.

connect with other writers.

support as many cool writers as possible.

put together a book club!

things i love to write . . .

enemies to lovers

tragedy

strong friendships

found family

morally grey characters

non-humans / supernatural creatures

soft boys

looking for writers who write. . .

fantasy (bonus points for queer fantasy!)

folktale/fairytale/myth retellings

NA or YA

extensive worldbuilding

supernatural creatures

anything involving fiends or the infernal

If this sounds like you, interact with this post so I can check your blog out! 🔥🌺

you're so real for this.

"Progress?"

not even gonna lie this will end me.

File Name: The Bolter 🤍

Pre-order the new edition of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT with an exclusive bonus track for a limited time on my website now

https://taylor.lnk.to/thetorturedpoetsdepartment

📷: Beth Garrabrant