Adding a thread of romance to a story can complicate goals, influence crucial decisions, throw a career-minded man or woman into confusion, and always force a character to change and grow. In short, it adds power to character, plot, emotions, high stakes, and marketability.

Some writers balk at the idea of including romance in their novels. They don’t understand the reasons for allowing readers to experience the growing relationship between a man and a woman within the pages of a story.

I’ve heard the objections:

*“I’m a female writer who doesn’t want to get caught up in the lovey stuff.”

*“I’m a male writer who wouldn’t be caught dead writing about huggy-bear and kissy-faced characters.”

*“What’s the point?”

Here are a few statistics that might persuade you to add a little romance to your novels:

According to Book Sales Trends in 2024: What’s Hot and Why: “Subgenre blending: Romance is increasingly being combined with other genres, such as mystery, thriller, and fantasy.”

In an online article by Alyssa Matesic, What Agents and Publishers Are Looking for in 2024, romance was the number one pick.

NPR’s Books report states: “Demand for romance novels is booming in the U.S., with sales of print copies surging about 52% in 2022, even as overall book sales saw a decline.”

Books & Review reports: “Sales of romance fiction in American bookshops increased by 11% in 2023. Sales of printed romance books increased by 52% in the 12 months before May 2023, according to data from Circana.”

Book Trends to Look for in 2024 listed romance as number two, with fantasy taking the top spot.

Convinced?

Weaving romance through various genres is not difficult. The key to remember is that the emotional situation between the hero and heroine will not be resolved until the climax. They don’t have time to get involved—they have a job to do. Often, the job is more important than a relationship, and a sense of sacrifice occurs.

Study genres in which the primary focus is fantasy, suspense, thriller, western, historical, science fiction, and others. Adding a thread of romance increases marketability.

Statistics indicate that 18 to 20 percent of books sold are romance. That’s nothing to ignore.

How and Where to Add Romance

Besides plot, romance reveals itself through other techniques: dialogue, body language, setting, emotion, and symbolism.

Dialogue

The words a character chooses when a romance is brewing hint at deeper feelings—kinder, gentler, more tender. Many times, words ending in -ly contribute to a romantic tone. Compose dialogue that is unique to the character and their backstory. Readers want to hear what characters have to say, and it must involve conflict.

Body Language

Body language makes up between 70 and 90 percent of what a character is feeling. What a character says is not always what they mean—the truth lies in body language.

Setting

Setting is one area where writers can create an antagonistic environment. Placing a man and a woman in the same setting forces them to use their strengths to help each other. Respect leads to admiration, admiration leads to affection, and affection leads to love.

Emotion

How a character thinks, interprets, rationalizes, and experiences the world is unique to their personality. This is an opportunity for the character to fight, accept, shove aside, or embrace how they feel about the other. When we ponder a situation, we are honest with ourselves—unless we’re in desperate need of counseling.

Symbolism

Symbolism is an age-old method of taking a tangible item and assigning it a psychological meaning that is personal and unique. Consider a hair ribbon a historical character gives to her beloved. A sword or medallion a fantasy hero presents to a fair maiden signifies his devotion. Or a scene where a man proposes, offering his beloved a ring as a sign of his love.

A thread of romance weaves the hero and heroine together in conflict, raising the stakes for them and ensuring the reader turns the pages.

Where can you add power to your story by incorporating romance?