Romance is one of the most common subplot styles to add to your story. After all, humans like connection. Oxytocin–the relationship hormone–is one of the four brain chemicals that creates happiness, and therefore one of the things that we crave.

It just makes sense that if we want to give our story a little addictiveness boost and keep readers racing through page after page, we put a little relationship drama in there too.

Of course, not every story needs a fully developed romantic subplot, or even romance at all. But if you’re planning to introduce some romance, here are five tricks to keep it as smooth as possible.

1) Give Characters a True Love Connection

Ever been set up on a blind date where your friends thought, “She’s single, he’s single, it’s perfect!”? (Friends did this to me many years ago, for an entire weekend no less. Suffice to say, it was the most awkward 48 hours of my life.)

Please don’t force your characters together just because they’re there.

Maybe your reader won’t care that much, but a relationship that would be inauthentic in the real world is probably going to feel inauthentic on the page too. At the very least, it’s not going to do you any favours.

Before you write your romantic subplot, take a minute to decide what it is about these two people that makes them perfect for each other? Remember, we’re always looking to create the ending that ‘couldn’t happen any other way’. Romance is no different. Why wouldn’t your characters fall in love with any other person?

2) Share Your Best Relationship Advice

Fiction is our way of sharing our beliefs with the world. Stories have an incredible power and ability to shape the way readers think. Whether we’re telling them to stand up for the things they believe in, to believe in themselves more fully, or to embrace the power of love, we need to be mindful of what we are saying.

Pay attention to the things that work for your character and the things that don’t. Because your reader is, and your reader is either judging a scenario for how realistic it is or taking notes about things they can try in their own life.

For every subplot, ask yourself, what advice is this story sharing? What thoughts / beliefs / actions am I promoting? If this was my mom / sister / best friend / daughter, would I be happy if they made choices similar to the ones that appear to work out for this character?

It’s a serious question that should extend to every story that we tell. Because at the end of the day, readers are learning from what they see, even if it is just in fiction.

3) Honour Your Characters’ Personality

No matter the genre, your character has goals they are working towards. They also have believes, values, and motivations. In other words, they have a personality based around things that are important to them.

A romantic subplot should enhance who they are, not change it.

Just like I would hate to see a friend give up who they are for a relationship, I don’t want to see a a character suddenly become someone else in order to fit the subplot.

A strong romantic subplot will fulfil some of the characers’ needs and values. (Often romance can fulfil a character’s need to take care of others, experience more connection, more fun, try a new adventure, or seek emotional healing.)

Bonus points if you create a romance that fulfils one need while clashing with another. ie, the heroine who wants to be strong and independent, but finds emotional strength in a relationship. This creates internal tension for the poor character who will war with themselves trying to decide whether they want the relationship or not, and which value is most important to them.

4) Use Your Romantic Subplot to Enhance the Main Story

A story is about a character seeking to succeed at one goal only. They will fac one Main Story Problem. Everything else is secondary.

But, a good subplot enhances the main character’s ability to understand or overcome the Main Story Problem. The things they gain for the subplot (in this case, romantic connection) will help them succeed in some way.

For example, maybe the heroine learns to trust others by trusting her new romantic partner, and in the end, her succeed depends on her newfound ability to trust.

Or maybe the new romantic partner has a secret connection / power which she uses to defeat the Big Bad.

The sky is hte limit, but remember to ask how the romantic subplot (or any subplot) adds to the main story.

5) Keep the Tension Going

The #1 thing a romantic subplot can do for your story is add tension. Human beings are chemically addicted (thanks, oxytocin!) to a will-they or won’t-they story.

It’s tempting when you’ve got two characters who are perfect for each other, and a lot of reasons for them to get together, to give in and let them be together right from the start. But this is a huge missed opportunity.

Give your characters a reason to not be together, and let the tension (and heartache!) soar! Uncertainty is what keeps readers turning pages, so work that romantic subplot until your characters are inside-out with feelings.

It will make the moment they eventually do get together that much more satisfying too!

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As an author who is a sucker for a solid romance, I’d love to hear from you: Do you plan to add romance to your stories, do you like to let it happen naturally, or do you avoid romance like the plague?

What about for the books you read? Do you get wrapped up in the love story, or does it just take up valuable space on the page?