When people hear I’m a writer, they often respond with something like, “Oh, I’ve been thinking about writing a book,” as if a novel can be conjured up over a long weekend. And when I mention that I write romance, the respect level usually drops, even though it shouldn’t.

Romance is the top-selling genre in fiction, accounting for nearly a quarter of all sales, about $1.5 billion in annual revenue. That’s a lot of readers eager to fall in love with a story. But before you grab your favorite mug, settle in with your keyboard, and start crafting that ode to love, it helps to know that there’s a real precision to storytelling. Writing a strong romance isn’t just about chemistry; it’s about structure that supports emotional payoff.

Learn How to Write a Romance

That idea is what inspired Kristina and me to write Secrets to Writing a Romance. We wanted to help writers understand not just how all stories work, but what makes a romance feel different. Every successful novel relies on what we call the five story arc scenes, the key turning points that give a story its spine. Without that foundation, pacing drags, tension fizzles, and the story can lose its way. Structure holds everything together, even in a genre built on emotion.

If you love romance, you already know that a happy ending, whether it’s a Happily Ever After or a Happy For Now, is non-negotiable. But what many writers don’t realize is that the other story arc scenes in a romance differ from other genres. In our book, we map how romance delivers its emotional beats through its core structure: from the meet-cute, to the admission of attraction, to the middle’s emotional pivot, the break-up moment, and finally the declaration of love. These specialty scenes are what make readers sigh, swoon, and turn the pages late into the night.

Imagine writing a romance with a clear sense of direction, one that keeps readers hooked through every emotional high and low. Secrets to Writing a Romance offers exactly that: a guide to pairing structure with purpose and letting emotion be informed by design. Think of it as a toolkit for crafting love stories that truly work, both on the page in the heart.

Kristina Stanley, CEO and founder of Fictionary, award-winning writer, and the driving force behind The Fictionary School for Writers & Editors, laid the foundation for this book with her deep expertise in story structure. Together, we shaped our shared knowledge into practical strategies romance writers can use.

Tips for Writing a Romance

Each month, I’ll be sharing a blog post with a practical tip from the book, bite-sized lessons on structure, specialty scenes, and emotional craft you can apply to your own project, no matter where you are in the process. I hope you’ll follow along and join the conversation as we explore how to turn the timeless magic of romance into stories that truly connect.

If you’re ready to dive deeper into the craft of romance, Secrets to Writing a Romance is now available in eBook and print. I hope you’ll pick up a copy and bring its tools into your own writing practice. 

Written by Linda O’Donnell

Linda O’Donnell is a writer, certified structural editor, certified copy editor, and a writing and editing instructor. She co-authored Secrets to Writing a Romance with Kristina Stanley and together, they’re working on their latest book, Secrets to Writing a Novel. Linda’s romance novel, Behind the Scenes, is coming soon.

Want to Learn to Self-Edit?

Join the Fictionary School for Writers and Editors

Thank you, Raimey Gallant for organizing the #AuthorToolboxBlogHop. Today is the fourth post of this new series!

This is a monthly blog hop on the theme of resources/learning for authors: posts related to the craft of writing, editing, querying, marketing, publishing, blogging tips for authors, reviews of author-related products, anything that an author would find helpful.

To continue hopping through other great blogs in the monthly #AuthorToolboxBlogHop or to join, just hop on over to Ramey Gallant!

I’ll focus my entire series on self-editing. Here is what I’ve covered so far in the series:

•  Why Learn To Self-Edit. 
• Characters In The Context of Editing.
• Emotional Impact of Setting

Today’s topic is OPENING A SCENE.

Treat every scene like you would treat the opening scene in your novel. You’ve got to hook the readers so they don’t put your book down. You want them to be so intrigued by your scene opening, that they HAVE to keep reading.

You can do this be evaluating the scene opening type,  the scene entry hook, and scene anchoring.

Scene Opening Type

Don’t Bore Your Reader With Repetitive Scene Opening Types. You have four choices for scene opening type:

• Dialogue
• Thought
• Description
• Action

Go through each scene of your novel and label the scenes with one of the above. Then check that you haven’t been repetitive. Do many scenes in a row starting with one type is tiresome.

Scene Entry Hook

Get The Reader’s Attention With A Great Scene Hook

When creating a scene entry hook, consider:

• Starting in media res (opening in the middle of action)
• Foreshadowing trouble
• Using a strong line of dialogue
• Raising a question
• Not wasting words on extraneous description

After your first draft is complete, check each scene and list how you created a hook. As with the scene opening type, you want to vary the method you use. Variety will keep the reader engaged.

Scene Anchoring

Anchor Your Readers, And They Won’t Put Your Book Down

Anchor The Point Of View:

Check whether the reader will know who has the point of view within the first paragraph or at least within the first couple of paragraphs of each scene. If not, the reader might find this frustrating.

If you write your entire novel from one point of view, like many first-person novels, then you don’t need to worry about this.

Anchor The Setting:

You know where the character is because you wrote the scene, but does your reader? If the reader can’t figure out the setting within the first couple of paragraphs, you may lose them–the reader I mean and not the character.

There are exceptions to this. If your scene is about a character waking in a dark place and confused about where she is, then it’s okay for the reader to be confused about where she is, too. This will add to the tension. The reader does need to understand the lack of setting is done on purpose

Anchor The Timing:

 The timing of the scene can mean:

• Time of day
• Time passed since the previous scene
• A particular date

Your readers will get disoriented if they can’t follow the timeline. Check each scene and make sure the timing is clear.

Want to Learn to Self-Edit?

Join the Fictionary School for Writers and Editors