Secrets to Writing a Romance

By L O'Donnell and K Stanley

How do you write a romance novel readers swoon over? Go beyond the meet-cute.

Are you ready to create a romance full of chemistry? Readers of romance are greedy for a pattern. We say pattern, not formula, because every love story is unique. Our grand gesture is sharing the structure you'll find in commercially successful romance novels.

Secrets to Writing a Romance: The Structure of a Romance Novel is a step-by-step guide to writing a romance novel or a romance subplot. Use it to outline, write, or edit your romance.

You'll learn:

The four romance genre guidelines, including the Happily Ever After momentThe five romance story arc scenes: meet-cute, attraction admitted, false victory or defeat, the breakup, and the HEAHow to build an external plot when your romance is about internal strugglesHow to weave the romance and external story arcs togetherHow to choose a dominant trope, layer supporting tropes, and give each its own arcHow to choose a single or combined protagonist and POV strategy

You'll create:

Romance, external, and combined skeleton blurbsA main event for every story arc sceneA romance vault for every decision you makeA Romance Novel Checklist to use on every book

We break down six bestsellers: The Bodyguard, Happy Place, The Seven Year Slip, The Flatshare, Just for the Summer, and The Wedding Date.

"A valuable tool with an arsenal of actionable advice for seasoned and novice romance writers." -Jenna Moreci, award-winning author

Like every book in the Write Novels That Sell series, we give you the theory-the why behind our recommendations-and actionable advice you can use right away.

Trust the process, trust the structure, and trust your own voice. Write a romance readers fall in love with.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1738022161
• ISBN13: 9781738022168
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Fictionary Press
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"