How to write Romance & Dark Romance

Romance lives and dies on its beats: the meet-cute, the first kiss, the dark moment, the grand gesture. Readers track every one of them, along with the heat level and the boundaries darker work has to respect.

Includes

Romance, Dark Romance, Mafia Romance, Sports Romance, Small-Town Romance, Romantic Suspense

Beats readers look for

Meet-Cute
First Kiss
Forced Proximity
Banter
Touch-Her-and-Die
Slow Burn
Dark Moment
Grand Gesture
HEA / HFN

Story structures that fit

Save the Cat: The most prescriptive of the set: fifteen beats with percentages attached. Best when you want to be told where things go.
Three-Act Structure: The plain spine. Eight beats, no ideology. Best when other frameworks feel like too much scaffolding.
Story Circle: Eight steps around a loop, comfort to change and back. Best for character-led stories and tight, repeatable arcs.

Worth keeping track of

Tropes & Kinks
Triggers & Boundaries