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23 Romance Key Scenes and Conventions

The document discusses the six key scenes that are common in romance novels: 1) the characters meeting for the first time, 2) sharing their first kiss, 3) confessing their feelings for each other, 4) breaking up or separating temporarily, 5) proving their love for each other, and 6) reuniting at the end. These obligatory scenes help move the protagonist's journey and evoke emotions in readers. Beyond these scenes, the document also discusses common romance genre conventions like love triangles, helpers and harmers to the relationship, and ensuring a happily ever after ending.

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Gerardo Izquierdo Perez
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506 views2 pages

23 Romance Key Scenes and Conventions

The document discusses the six key scenes that are common in romance novels: 1) the characters meeting for the first time, 2) sharing their first kiss, 3) confessing their feelings for each other, 4) breaking up or separating temporarily, 5) proving their love for each other, and 6) reuniting at the end. These obligatory scenes help move the protagonist's journey and evoke emotions in readers. Beyond these scenes, the document also discusses common romance genre conventions like love triangles, helpers and harmers to the relationship, and ensuring a happily ever after ending.

Uploaded by

Gerardo Izquierdo Perez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The 6 Key Scenes Every Romance Novel Needs

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE AT: www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/romance-obligatory-scenes

If you're writing genre fiction, you'll want to know the key scenes that make stories in your
chosen genre unique. These obligatory scenes are the key events, decisions, and discoveries that
help move the protagonist along his or her journey from A-Z. They’re also what helps us craft a
story that works AND that will evoke emotional reactions in our readers.

The 6 Key Scenes Every Romance Novel Needs:

If you're writing a romance novel, you can use these key scenes as a framework to outline your
story or as a checklist to help you revise your first draft. Here they are at a glance:

A scene where your characters meet or first appear on the page together.
A scene where your characters share their first kiss or their first intimate moment.
A scene where one or both of your character confesses their feelings for the other.
A scene where your characters break up or separate temporarily.
A scene where one or both of your characters prove their love for the other.
A scene where your characters come back together and reunite.

Beyond these key scenes, there are a handful of conventions that are unique to the romance
genre, too. Conventions are the character roles, settings, micro-events, and values that are
specific to a work of genre fiction.

Learn more about them here: www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/romance-conventions

Notes, Insights, and Reminders:

FICTION EPISODE 23: THE 6 SCENES EVERY ROMANCE NOVEL NEEDS


WRITING
made easy www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/romance-obligatory-scenes

1
Conventions of the Romance Genre

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE AT: www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/romance-conventions

If you're writing genre fiction, you'll want to know the conventions that readers will expect to see
in a story like yours. Conventions are the character roles, settings, and events that are specific to
a genre. They’re also what help us craft a story that works AND what help us evoke emotional
reactions in our readers.

Conventions of the Romance Genre:

If you're writing a romance novel, you can use this checklist to help you brainstorm, outline,
write, or edit your first draft. Here are the genre conventions at a glance:

A love triangle or a rival love interest.


Helpers and harmers (aka those for and against the relationship).
A specific external goal that drives the story forward.
Masculine and feminine sensibilities (or different ways of approaching love).
An external force of conflict that comes from outside of your character.
An internal force of conflict that comes from inside of your character.
Secrets kept from your protagonist or by your protagonist.
Intimacy rituals that bring the couple together (ex: shared traditions, jokes, etc.).
A change within the protagonist so that they can finally open up to true love.
A happily-ever-after (HEA) ending.

Beyond these genre conventions, there are a handful of obligatory scenes that are unique to the
romance genre, too. Learn more here: www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/romance-obligatory-scenes

Notes, Insights, and Reminders:

FICTION EPISODE 38: ROMANCE GENRE CONVENTIONS


WRITING
made easy www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/romance-conventions

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