5 Tips for Writing Adventure Romance
When we think about adventure romance stories, there are a few stalwart examples that come to mind like The Princess Bride which is the perfect rom-com adventure. A few others are Stardust, both a novel by Neil Gaiman and a movie of the same name, the 90s The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz, and Romancing the Stone, an 80s movie that was popular in my household growing up because my mom loved it.
(6 Tips for Developing a Fantasy Adventure Premise.)
The big elements these stories have in common is that there is a romance central to the narrative and an adventure, but there are also other elements like memorable characters, crackling romantic tension between the leads, an adventure plot, and of course, a happy ever after.
So, if you are embarking on writing an adventure story with romantic elements or an adventure romance, here are a few tips to help you get started.
Tip #1–Pick One: Romantic Adventure or Adventure Romance?
Decide early if you want to write a romantic adventure or an adventure romance. And yes, there is a difference. If the adventure is the driving plot of the story with the romance as the secondary plot, then it’s an adventure story with romantic elements. The plot beats will center on the adventure that the main character embarks on, and the romance will be secondary to that narrative. Think Han Solo and Princess Leia in Star Wars. The plot of the first trilogy is about the rebellion vs the empire and the developing epic romance between Han and Leia is secondary. (That story is saved for the books!)
If the romance is the focus and the story concentrates on how two characters find their happily ever after, then it is an adventure romance. The Princess Bride is as the characters say “a kissing book.” It is a romance first, because the relationship between Westley and Buttercup drives the action.
Knowing which you’re intending to write early on in the process will make drafting and plotting much easier and will help you market later. In looking at my own works, So This Is Ever After is definitely a romance since the plot revolves around the main character trying to thwart a curse by wooing his quest companions while Spell Bound has a romantic plot that is secondary to the magic adventure and coming-of-age story.
Tip #2–Develop Unforgettable Characters & Love Interests
As writers, we create amazing fantasy worlds and write fun, full-throttle, gasp-inducing adventures, but all that is nothing without characters to inhabit that world or partake in that adventure. I mean, we all know Han Solo and Princess Leia. We love Westley and Buttercup. Ed and Stede from Our Flag Means Death have my whole heart.
Writing a great romance includes writing captivating characters. Which doesn’t just mean the protagonist but also includes the love interest. The worst feeling is reading a book with an amazing main character but the whole time thinking… why are they even with that person? when it comes to their potential love interest because the writer hasn’t taken the time and energy to flesh out that character.
To ensure that doesn’t happen, take as much care, and put as much thought into the love interest as you would the main character. And that means they need to be well-rounded, have lives outside of the romance, complex feelings, regrets, fears, strengths, back stories et cetera. They don’t even have to be likable as long as they are relatable and a good fit for your protagonist.
Tip #3–Include a Thrilling Adventure & High Stakes
What’s an adventure romance or a romantic adventure without the adventure part? Do your characters find treasure and accidentally unleash a mummy? Are they swashbuckling pirates who must fight not only the British Royal Navy but also other pirate crews?
Whichever you choose, be certain to include stakes for the main characters. It doesn’t always have to be life or death, though that is a popular one to use. It can be being trapped in a loveless marriage like Buttercup or losing the person who knows and loves you like Ed and Stede. It could be something bad happening to a loved one or loss of a life-changing opportunity. But whatever it is, it has to have weight and meaning for the main character.
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Tip #4–Build Romantic Tension
Okay. We have the characters, and we have the plot, now it’s time to add the tension. Do these characters have an antagonistic relationship upon meeting like Han and Leia and have to resolve that while fighting an empire? Are they best friends roped into a dramatic mystery plot and grow closer as they navigate intrigue? Are they strangers who have just met because of some chance event like Ellery and Knox in my book Otherworldly and have to work together to stop an eternal winter?
These are just a few examples of a set up that could lead to romantic tension. Dialogue is always a great way to show the evolution of a relationship from “Maybe you’d like it back in your cell, your highness” to the legendary “I know.”
But banter isn’t everything. There must be moments throughout the adventure plot that give your characters the space and breathing room to bond and for their romantic relationship to grow. There can be subtle gestures like lending an extra blanket if roughing it outside on a journey, or sharing a meal together when they otherwise wouldn’t. Or it can be grander like having a battle of wits with a Sicilian when death is on the line or fighting a whole battalion of an enemy to ensure the other’s safety.
The romantic relationship between the protagonist and the love interest cannot remain stagnant for the entirety of the narrative or the ending won’t be satisfying. They must grow closer over the course of the adventure and their journey toward romance should be intertwined with the events of the adventure itself. Then all the moments between them should build and culminate into the big romantic payoff.
Tip #5–Deliver The Happy Ever After
While this is a tip, it’s also a hard and fast rule for writing a romance. There must be a happily ever after or a happy for now at the conclusion of the story. It’s imperative. It’s a genre convention.
It’s okay for an adventure story to not have a happy ever after for the romantic pairing, but then it’s not a romance. This is one of the reasons why the very first tip was about choosing the genre of the book, because different genres do have different conventions. And if the story is a romance, then that means it must have a happy ever after for the romantic pairing.
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