Writing Romance: How to Build Chemistry Between Main Characters + Writing Prompts

Romance is one of the hottest book genres storming the market. It has a variety of tropes that excite readers and keeps them wanting more. Some of my favorite tropes are enemies-to-lovers, awkward roommates, and second chance romances.

While the selling point of a romance novel often includes the trope, it also thrives on connection between the main characters (MCs). A writer must be able to build chemistry between the main characters in a way that comes across as genuine and grows with the plot.

How do you the writer capture attraction and maintain it? Here are some ways and writing prompts to get your spark to shine.

Start with Meet Cutes

Every classic love story starts with the MCs meeting. In romcoms, this often includes some kind of dramatic or comedic moment, such as a falling into a lake, helping fix a flat tire, spilling coffee all over someone, or bringing an injured pet to a vet check-up. Think of the meet cute as the spring board for your love story. You can also use it as a touchpoint in conflict later or a memory on which the character can reflect as they try to work through their building emotions.

Writing prompt: Write a meet cute that takes place on a family vacation.

Grow Characters' Romance Through Dialogue

The starting point of character interaction often includes an exchange of dialogue, either written or verbal. After all, if the characters can't connect on a conversational level, they likely won't be able to hold a reader's interest for 300+ pages. Dialogue brings the characters to life and establishes connection with the reader. If the reader grows attached to your MCs, they likely will want to root for similar couples in your future books too. Ways you can make your dialogue stand out is by including dual POV chapters, assigning certain words or phrases only to one character, or writing from your experiences with real-life conversations. Each character should sound believable and different to the reader, so they're easily identifiable on the page and in a reader's imagination.

Writing prompt: Craft a scene between two characters entirely through dialogue.

Get Intimate

The big winner for lots of romance readers is emotional connection. They want to see the love unfold on the page, physically and emotionally. Some writers struggle to gauge the level of intimacy they want their characters to experience. There are several ways to address intimacy, and it all depends on what audience you are writing for. Closed door romance leaves the level of heat between the two characters up to the reader's imagination. Open door romance doesn't shy away from details. And not all romance books have to include sex to win fans. First kisses, last kisses, and other displays of affection can capture the same flutters in a reader as spice. Tip: know your audience and write to their expectations of heat.

Writing prompt: Envision your characters' first intimate moment together.

Ask If It's Happy for Now or Happily Ever After

Romance readers often choose the genre expecting a Happy for Now (HFN) or Happily Ever After (HEA) conclusion to the story. If you're writing a romance, have an idea of the story's conclusion in your head while fleshing out the narrative. Ask yourself if you want the MCs to be happy for now, leaving space for more books about them in the future, or happily ever after, leaving no questions as to how the characters will live out their days by each other's side. This last piece rounds out the characters' relationship arc and can help lead to satisfied reviews.

Writing prompt: Write a HFN or HEA ending to your own love story.

If you found my tips and prompts helpful, I'd love to hear from you. Try a prompt and see what you come up with and then share it with me. Every minute of writing time helps characters grow!