Romantic novels have always been a great way for people to go into a world of
fantasy and romance, where men are ideal and love is forever in the air.
Romance novels have always been a solace for both men and women during
times of heartbreak and pain. It is also quite a lucrative genre as
evidenced by the Twilight novel series. But it’s not as easy as it
seems. There are so many ways for a romance novels to go wrong and seem
too mushy or sentimental. This is why you should follow a formula if you
want to be write a great Romantic novel. Here are 6
tips to creating a great Romantic novel.
- Make your leading man unique!
Your leading man should be as unique as possible. He should have a
certain trait that makes him truly unique. These traits could be
anything. He could be a god, he could be a superhero, he could be an
astronaut. All in all your hero should stand apart from other men. One
great example of this is the leading man in the Twilight novels Edward
Cullen. He’s a vampire, he has lived a long time and he addictively
drawn to only one woman.
- Your leading man should be very attractive but still achievable
A leading man should be
very attractive because it will make him desirable to readers.
But he should not be too attractive that makes him unattainable to
readers. Give him traits like a sculpted jaw, blue eyes, a muscular body
and more but you should give traits that also make him more attainable.
This could come in the form of a broken nose or scar on his cheek.
These imperfections will make your leading man seem more real.
- Give your leading man a tragic past
Your leading man would be quite boring if he was perfect in every
way. Which is why you should give your leading man a tragic past. This
gives him a vulnerability that will ultimately make him endearing to
readers. He could be a former priest who lost his faith due to a
forbidden love affair, he could be a warrior who accidentally killed his
love and vowed never to love again or a young millionaire who lost his
fiancée to a mountain climbing diet. The more tragic his past the more
vulnerable and likeable he will be to audience. He could also have a
morose and temperamental attitude which is a façade for a more kind and
sensitive personality underneath.
- The setting could be practically anywhere
When you’re
writing a story the setting is very important.
And in Romance novels they are even more important because these
settings need to set the tone for the romance. The setting could be in
during the First or Second World war, or in a small mining town in
Alabama, or New York during the roaring twenties. Try to be as detailed
as possible and give the readers a chance to travel to these places
themselves.
- Give your Leading man and heroine admirable values
What you should remember when you are writing a novel, especially a
romantic one is that readers always root for the good guy or girl. This
is because they will always see something
admirable in good values. Which is why when you are writing a book,
always highlight the innate goodness in your characters. They don’t
have to be saints, but they need to show that when the time comes to
make the hard decisions they will always so the right thing.
- Make your villain complicated
It can be annoying if the book you are reading has a cliché villain,
with all the usual traits that are associated with villains. Traits such
as ugliness, selfishness or underhandedness. It is usually more
preferable if your villain is more realistic. He or she could be
handsome and kind at a glance but has a festering bitterness towards the
hero which leads him to antagonize the hero, or he could be a misguided
person or even a past victim of the hero. Although the villain should
be antagonistic towards the main characters he does not need to be hated
by the readers. Because who knows the villain may only be a victim of
circumstance himself set upon an unhappy path.
All in all when you are writing a romantic story, you should always remember that a story does not need to be corny to make an impact with readers.
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