The Five Necessary Scenes Every Romance Needs

My first language is romance. I started speaking it at 12 years old. But I do speak a little mystery and thriller, and I can get by on sci-fi -as long as the crew are hot blue alien males in need of an easy Earth girl.

I digress.

My point is, all my favorite books have to deal with relationships; romantic, friendships, familial. It's my opinion that every book about relationships, especially romances, are about feelings—those moments of heart-racing tension, emotional connection, and sigh-worthy satisfaction. If you’re struggling to get your relationship story to truly resonate with readers, it might be because you’re missing one of the five essential scenes that every book that involves relationships needs.

Remember, that I'm a romance novelist, and so I'm going to default to my natural language, but these five scenes truly apply to any novel featuring relationships.

There are five cornerstones of a compelling romance, the scenes readers look forward to and will remember long after they close the book. And guess what? I’m giving you a free guide that breaks them all down in detail! But before you download it, let me give you a sneak peek at what these five scenes are and why they’re so critical.

1. Creating Character Empathy

Your first job as a romance writer is to make readers care about your characters. Without empathy, the rest of your story won’t hit as hard. Readers need a reason to root for your hero and heroine.

There are three ways to build empathy:

• Show Extraordinary Qualities: Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s superhuman strength or Sherlock Holmes’s unmatched intellect.

• Put Them in an Extraordinary World: A lonely astronaut who was left behind has to navigate life on Mars, like Mark Watney.

• Save the Cat: Give your characters a moment to show compassion or vulnerability that makes readers love them, like Katniss rescuing little Rue in the Hunger Games. Or when Katniss actually saved her sister's cat!

2. Directing Meet Cutes

The “Meet Cute” is the moment when your lovers meet for the first time. Whether it’s a chance encounter or a calculated twist of fate, this scene sets the tone for their relationship. The Meet Cute should include:

• A Memorable Setting: Think classic ballrooms (Pride and Prejudice) or foggy days with little sunlight in the halls of high schools (Twilight).

• A Trope in Action: Enemies to lovers? Office romance? The trope builds stakes.

• An Attraction Dynamic: Are they instantly drawn to each other or completely put off?

• A Situation That Sparks Interest: Make it heroic, embarrassing, contentious, or star-crossed.

3. Planning Fun and Games

This is where the magic happens. The hero and heroine spend time together, develop their connection, and let readers see them fall in love. Think of it as “Three Dates and a Disaster,” a phrase that the brilliant Lisa Daily came up with.

• Date 1: Inkling It Could Work—Attack the false beliefs holding them back.

• Date 2: Deepening of Desire—Act on their attraction in a significant way.

• Date 3: Maybe This Time—Reveal a deeper intimacy.

• Disaster: The Dark Moment…dun dun duhnnnn

4. Surviving Dark Moments

Every relationship needs to be tested in the dark before the Happily Ever After. The Dark Moment is when everything seems lost. This could take the form of:

• A Revelation: A deep secret or betrayal is revealed.

• A Misunderstanding: A rift creates distance between the lovers.

• A Life-Changing Event: Something shakes their world and their relationship.

• External Forces: Antagonists, physical obstacles, or mystical forces come between them.

Whether the lovers work together or are broken apart to overcome this obstacle, the Dark Moment is what makes their love stronger in the end.

5. Pulling Off a Grand Gesture

The grand finale of any romance is the Grand Gesture. This is the moment when the character who has grown the most makes a heartfelt declaration, sacrifices something, or takes a bold action to prove their love. Types of Grand Gestures include:

• A Simple Declaration: The vulnerable “I love you.”

• A Public Act: Making their love known to the world.

• A Rescue: Risking their life for their partner.

• A Sacrifice: Giving up something significant for love.

Want to Dive Deeper? Grab Your Free Download!

I’ve created a FREE guide that walks you through each of these five scenes in detail, giving you actionable tips to incorporate them into your romance, or any story that is about relationships. It’s packed with examples and strategies to help you craft unforgettable stories that your readers will binge in one sitting.

And here’s the best part: This guide is just a taste of what you’ll learn in my Page Turner Pacing Course. Actually, the Romance Roadmap is NOT in the Page Turner Pacing course. It's a resource I giveaway to writers who've never heard of me to give them a taste of my philosophy and teaching method.

If this free resource can help you map out the key scenes in your novel, imagine what else you’ll gain when you dive into the full program!

Follow the Page Turner Pacing Kickstarter!