Writing Romance Tropes

Everybody needs a little love and hope in their lives —that’s why romance novels are the most popular genre. Character and relationship growth are important aspects of a romance novel and remember the golden rule of romance - there must be a happily ever after. It’s these specific attributes that define the genre and set reader expectations.

The book title, cover, or back cover blurb often give away what the trope of the book is. This is a good thing, as readers can easily pick the novels with stories they want to read. And romance readers know what they like and usually what they want to read so why not make it obvious!

Mills & Boon are arguably the most recognized romance publisher and they like their covers and book titles to leave little surprise about what the story is about - for example fellow Aussie writer Annie West's new M&B book is titled 'Claiming his Virgin Princess' and has an elegant, young couple on the cover. The blond woman bejewelled and his arm around her chest. (I'm a sucker for Annie's story's and cant wait to devour this one!).

You can easily predict that a novel titled 'Pregnant After One Forbidden Night' will follow the Surprise Baby romantic trope. A reader who enjoys that particular trope would happily peruse the blurb, and probably even buy the book.

Aside from easy identification, tropes offer a starting point for readers by giving them something familiar to start with. The presence of familiar elements makes the novel a more comfortable read.

Tropes have common plot elements, themes and characters. I have listed some common romance tropes below for you, once you begin to read through them you will realise almost everything you've ever read has a trope, maybe not a romantic one.

1. Love Triangle - Hello Twilight! The old love triangle would have to be one of the most used tropes in romance, the main character unable to choose between two eligible suitors who are both perfect in their own way! Three characters competing for love and only two will luck out. In novels with this trope, you’ll always have your readers picking a team.

2. Friends to Lovers - I bet you have read a ton of these! They’ve known each other since high school, maybe their mothers are friends and it’s only now they see each other as a love interest. This is a great trope because you get to see the characters as best friends first! This means your characters will already be fairly open with each other and then you can let the sexual tension build.

3. Enemies to Lovers - So many readers love this trope, two people who hate each other often for ridiculous reasons. But they end up overcoming their differences and all the sexy angst before declaring their love for each other and giving in to it.

4. Ahhh Forbidden Love - Or otherwise known as the Romeo and Juliet trope. This is when two characters aren't allowed to have feelings for each other but they do, and they can’t stay away. There are a lot of sneaking around in these kinds of novels. This trope also lends itself to dating your brothers best friend or perhaps your boss!

5. Fake Relationship - This trope makes for a great novel when done right. Perhaps the main character is sick of telling everyone they are single or they have to pretend they are with someone to get out of an awkward situation. Maybe your main character is a rockstar who needs to clean up his image. Fake relationships can so quickly turn into love.

6. Surprise Baby - Oops she's pregnant or here's your child, sorry I kept it a secret, there was a good reason. So many authors and readers love this trope!

7. Second Chance - It didn't work out the first time, but maybe this time it will?

9. Fake Relationship - Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds stared in this classic Troupe in The Proposal! Maybe they’re tired of telling everyone they’re single, or they have to pretend like they’re in love to get out of an awkward social situation. Maybe two characters agree to a marriage of convenience in order to subvert the law or get a better tax break, or a friends with benefits situation to stave off their loneliness. But of course, in many “fake relationship” stories, what began as a fake relationship quickly turns into true love.

10. Amnesia - One of the characters gets caught in an accident and suffers amnesia. This trope establishes that one half of the couple knows more than the other about their relationship. The story usually revolves around the amnesiac trying to recover their memories while assisted by the other person.

Be wary of using too many tropes, or using them without blending in some originality. Readers want something familiar, but not continuously same-same-slightly different writing that just mimics the same stories they’ve already read before.