My favorites are always stories with action, adventure, danger, magic, and romance. Thus, fantasy romance is the ideal genre for me, as it enables me to include many interests in my stories.
Writing a book with a fantasy narrative and a romance plot might be challenging because of the intertwined nature of these two genres. So, to help you get started on your ideal romance, here are some pointers.
The definition of a fantasy story.
Fictions classified as fantasy typically have magical themes like magic and fantastical creatures.
Aside from human characters, many fantasy series incorporate non-realistic creatures like werewolves, vampires, wizards, and superheroes.
Fantasy writers captivate their audiences by creating vivid worlds, interesting protagonists and antagonists, and interesting romantic arcs between these characters.
The novels by George R. R. Martin and J. A few well-known examples of a fantasy novel series are the Harry Potter books by author K. Rowling.
However, there is no single format for fantasy fiction; they might be novels, short stories, films, TV shows, radio shows, or even podcasts.
Epic fantasy, such as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, urban fantasy, such as Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere, and superhero fantasy, such as Stan Lee’s X-Men comic books, are just a few examples of the many subgenres of fantasy.
Tips for Writing Fantasy Romance
Build your setting, then add romance.
Writing a fantasy (or science fiction) novel demands a little more work than writing a book in any other genre because of the need to create a fully realized and believable world.
It can be difficult for a writer to get started just thinking about what kind of magical world, abilities, and monsters they want to create.
Also Read: What Is A UX Writer?
Adding a love story to a challenging undertaking like writing a book may be highly burdensome.
Concentrate on establishing your fantastic setting at the outset of your novel. How magical is your protagonist, exactly? How does she use her abilities? Why does she want to do this? Which groups does she have supporting it? Who are her rivals, exactly? Answering questions like these is where I find the romance, at least in my experience.
Consider how many books you plan to write.
Consider how many stories and books set in your fantasy world you’d like to create. Do you need more to read it, or can you read it alone? A trilogy? An extended run? Your overarching fantasy arc (such as saving the kingdom) and romance arc will be much easier to plan if you have some concept of how many novels you intend to write in a given universe (like two people falling in love).
Writing a fantasy romance that stands alone can be more challenging than writing a series because of the pressure to wrap up both the fantasy and romantic themes in a single volume. You should plan your fantasy and romance arcs with the novel’s length.
Think about some of the cliches
The chosen one with the great destiny (in fantasy) or enemies-to-lovers (in romance) are both cliches that have come to define their respective genres (romance).
Also Read: How Do Meteorologists Predict The Weather
To figure out what kind of story you want to convey, tropes might be a helpful guide. Is rescuing the kingdom a goal for your protagonist? Strike back at an enemy? Discover any long-forgotten wealth?
Is a fast-paced love story not what you had in mind for your heroine? Have a marriage arranged for them just because? Play act a love connection with someone?
One approach to ensure that your novel’s fantasy and romance themes are evenly distributed is to give some thought to the types of stories you want to tell.
Similar objectives, separate groups
Your protagonist shouldn’t develop feelings for an irrelevant character in your fantasy novel. In the absence of this, your narrative may come out as jumbled.
The question then becomes how to combine the stories of fantasy and love. One technique for doing so is to have your characters strive toward similar ends for different motivations.
In Capture, the Crown, the first novel in my Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series, my heroine, Gemma Ripley, encounters Leonidas Morricone, a deadly prince, while investigating a plot against her nation.
Gemma and Leonidas are puzzle solvers (with similar aims), yet they serve different masters/nations (different squads).
This generates wonderful tension in their personal, romantic relationship while also helping to tie the characters and their fantastical story arcs together.
These are just a few examples of how to strike a good balance between the two genres while penning a fantasy or romance novel. Everyone, have a wonderful time putting pen to paper!
