Everyone loves a bit of romance in their lives—that’s why romantic novels and films sell so well. Aside from the lovey-dovey part, the romance genre also focuses on character and relationship growth. There’s an emphasis on the journey undertaken by two characters to reach a happy ending, which is almost always a non-negotiable in the genre.
When you pick up a romance novel, you’re usually in for a rollercoaster ride of tears and giggles. At the end of the read, you’ll be left satisfied, knowing love always finds a way to triumph. It’s these hallmark attributes that define the genre and set reader expectations.
Importance of Romance Tropes
When readers pick up a romance novel, they already have an idea of what kind of romance it is depending on the title, cover, or back cover blurb. This is a good thing, as readers can easily pick the novels with stories they want to read.
Most often, the title is the biggest clue. You can easily predict that a novel titled My Ex and Me will follow the Second Chances romantic trope. A reader who enjoys that particular trope would happily peruse the blurb, and maybe 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.
However, writers should be wary of using too many tropes, or using them without blending in some originality. Readers want something familiar, but not factory-like writing that merely mimics the same stories they’ve already read before.
Trope vs. Trite
There’s a fine line between a storyline that’s a trope and one that’s trite. Though tropes are definite clichés, a good trope is one that works well with the writer’s original story while trite storylines just follow what works, offering no original ideas.
Crafting a story about two people who fall in love, break up, and in the end, get back together is an overdone idea. If you really want to engage your readers, you have to introduce original concepts into your story and only use cliches as a foundation. Rather than following such a linear storyline like previously stated, why not mix in an unexpected rival, or reveal one of the characters to have a dark past?
It’s all about giving a fresh take to an otherwise predictable tool. Using the reader’s expectations against them is a great idea of adding depth and conflict to the story.
If you’re planning to write a romantic story, it’s good to familiarize yourself with the more popular tropes and get a feel of what readers love and hate. This will help you out in writing a story that feels comfortably familiar but still reads as original.
Popular Romance Tropes
Check out these romance tropes that are currently popular to the readers:
1. Friends to Lovers
Two people who have been friends a long time (usually since childhood) suddenly realize their feelings for each other and start going out. This is one of the most popular romance tropes out there, due to the fact that we see two character’s dynamic as friends first until they become lovers.
We see their interactions turn from comfortable friendliness to awkward attraction as they come to terms with their growing feelings. The best thing about this trope is that it also establishes a backstory for the two main characters.
In Love, Rosie, Alex and Rosie have been friends since the age of five, and know everything there is to know about each other. As the years go by, they grow distant, make bad decisions and fall in love with the wrong people. Only when they’re successful do they appreciate that they’re meant for each other.
2. Enemies to Lovers
In the enemies to lovers trope, two characters meet and start off hating each other’s guts, usually because of a misunderstanding or opposing views. Throughout the story, they engage in increasingly ridiculous spats. But as their aggravations escalate, the more they seem to be attracted to each other until ultimately realizing their feelings for one another.
The most popular example of this romance trope is probably Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth Bennet seems to be the polar opposite of Mr. Darcy, with the entire novel (and film) following their various spats create by their opposing personalities. In the end, Mr. Darcy surrenders his pride and Elizabeth her prejudice as they finally become a couple.
3. Second Chances
Estranged couples or lost sweethearts are brought together by chance, igniting past memories and dormant feelings. This trope explores the reason why the couples break up and how they get back together by fate or simple coincidence. It resonates well with the concept of “the one that got away.”
The Notebook tells of Noah and Allie having to break up due to their difference in social status and interference from Allie’s mother. Years later, a chance encounter gets the ball rolling for their romance again.
4. Pretend Relationships
For some reason, two people need to attend some sort of event while pretending to be a couple. Meant as a one-time thing, they seem to bump into each other quite frequently and are forced into situations where they must keep up the act. As the charade goes on, what started as pretend slowly becomes reality.
Easy A puts a twist on this trope by having Olive, the protagonist, run a paid service to increase unpopular boys’ reputations by pretending to sleep with them. This is after a false rumor about her promiscuity spreads around the campus. Rather than be ashamed, she turns the rumor around by embracing her new popularity.
5. Forced Proximity
Two people get snowed in together, stuck in an elevator, or stranded on a desert island. The point is two people who may or may not know each other are forced to spend time together. Their exposure to each other creates the perfect opportunity for feelings to develop.
In one episode of Friends (“The One with the Blackout”), Chandler gets stuck in an ATM with a Victoria’s Secret model. He tries various ways to impress her and pass the time but fails. He tries to blow some bubblegum but chokes on it, leading the model to save his life. After that incident, the awkwardness dissipates and they’re able to talk with each other more freely.
6. Destined to Be Together
These are stories of two people who were just “meant to be.” Every path they take in life seems to lead them to each another. Their intense bond gives them the resolve to stay together no matter the circumstances or the hardships.
In The Princess Bride, Westley and Buttercup know from the start that they’re meant for each other. Circumstances separate them, but they both do all they can to be together. Despite the overwhelming challenges, they succeed and live happily ever after.
7. Forbidden Love
Some force, which might be cultural, political, or geographic, prevents a couple from being together. Whatever the case, their love is met with resistance by the people around them.
Brokeback Mountain deals with the forbidden romance between two men. Rather than focusing only on bigotry, the movie also explores their relationships with their families, their troubled pasts, and even their financial stability—all factors that may have an effect on their secret relationship.
8. Love Triangles
John and Tony both love Jane. Or Jane loves Tony, but Tony loves Michelle; Michelle loves John, but John loves Jane. This trope creates tension, making readers play matchmaker and wonder who’ll pair off with whom. In the end, someone’s going to get hurt.
Pearl Harbor tells the story of two army pilot buddies and their love for one nurse. With the war at its height, certain events further increase tension until one of them dies in the end.
9. Secretly Rich
A rich person gets bored or tired of the high life and decides to lay low by disguising themselves. They meet someone who treats them like an ordinary person. Intrigued by this new interaction, they pursue the person and get to know them better. They form a relationship that blows up when rich person’s secret is revealed, and they break up. After some soul searching, they reconcile.
Coming To America chronicles the adventures of an African prince who wants to find someone who loves him for himself instead of his status. He travels to America disguised as a poor student and meets the love of his life.
10. You’ve Changed
Different from the others, this trope starts out with two people who are already in love. Person A gets a new job, meets a new friend, or undergoes an event that changes them negatively in some way. Person B raises a concern over their changing relationship, eventually leaving. Depending on the story, Person A reaches an epiphany and reforms their ways, or both of them go their separate ways permanently.
In The Devil Wears Prada, Andrea gets a new job in the fashion industry that consumes her and changes her personality to the point of almost being a different person. Her boyfriend leaves as a result. It’s only when she quits her job and remembers who she really was that they end up back together.
11. Suddenly a Parent
A one night stand leads to the girl getting pregnant, or some other situation ultimately leads to the couple (or person) suddenly being thrust into parenthood. This trope delivers moments where characters realize nothing will ever be the same, and forces them to grow for the sake of their children
Jane the Virgin is a TV series that offers a humorous take on this trope, with the virgin protagonist accidentally getting pregnant by way of artificial insemination by her gynecologist.
12. Belated Love Epiphany
Two characters spend time together in a neutral relationship. Either they don’t register as potential love interests to each other, or one overlooks the other. In any case, only in the absence of the other person do they realize what they mean to them. This often ends with a chase scene.
In Gone with the Wind, only after a series of unfortunate events does Scarlett realize that it was Rhett that she loved all along. But by then it’s too late and Rhett walks out on her.
13. Workplace Romance
For some reason, coworkers fall in love with each other, or at least pretend to. They’re thrown into increasingly desperate situations where they try harder to keep it a secret, or keep the act going. This creates tension, because if they’re being found out, there will likely be consequence for one or both of them.
In The Proposal, Margaret, in order to not be deported, persuades her assistant Andrew to marry her. Their fake love slowly turns genuine as they spend time together.
14. Lost Memories
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.
50 First Dates puts a spin on this by creating an amnesiac character, Lucy, whose memories reset every day. The entire film is spent detailing how Henry, a marine veterinarian, tries to woo Lucy and overcome the challenge of her amnesia.
The Romance Genre
In academic terms, romance is a narrative genre that focuses on a character’s inner growth as they go on a mysterious and spiritual quest involving strong values and emotions. It’s not necessarily about romantic love. A romantic work could easily be an adventure, a thriller, historical fiction, or even horror.
Modern romantic writers, however, have given more emphasis on love as the central component of a story. This is the version of the genre that we’re most familiar with. It showcases the emotional, mental, and spiritual growth of two people who are in a relationship, and usually features a happy ending.
Deal Breakers and Story Makers
Writers of romance need to keep in mind that some tropes can be deal breakers. Stories that focus too much on infidelity or death are more likely to be negatively received. Though having these kinds of topics doesn’t necessarily mean your book’s bad, you’ll be able to market it better when it focuses on the good moments. If you decide to add some gloominess to your story, make it count.
Your stories need to have an emotionally satisfying journey. Most romance readers are looking for some form of escape, so positive endings are preferred. Romance is a great way to get away from the heavy stuff and lose yourself to a story that is guaranteed to have a happy ending.
Don’t hesitate to make these tropes yours by throwing in twists of your own creativeness. Though tropes work fine on their own, elevating them to suit your purposes is a great way to let your own voice stand out as a writer.
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- How to Write Character Mannerisms to Bring Your Characters to Life
- How to Write a Romance Novel: 11 Tips for a Passionate Bestseller
- 11 Enemies to Lovers Books: Unconventional Romances You’ll Love
- The Great HEA Debate: Can Romance Be Romance Without a Happily Ever After?
Cole is a blog writer and aspiring novelist. He has a degree in Communications and is an advocate of media and information literacy and responsible media practices. Aside from his interest in technology, crafts, and food, he’s also your typical science fiction and fantasy junkie, spending most of his free time reading through an ever-growing to-be-read list. It’s either that or procrastinating over actually writing his book. Wish him luck!
