Romance Tropes: The Heartbeat of a Genre

Welcome to the official blog post of what is literally my favorite topic in the entire world: romance tropes.

Romance tropes are the lifeblood of romance. The heartbeat of what makes romance novels feel like cozy sweaters you want to snuggle into while sipping hot mugs of tea in front of a roaring fire. 

Romance tropes form the foundation of the swooniest love stories and shape the emotional journeys and connections that keep readers coming back for more.

If you're thinking of writing a romance, you can't do it without a deep dive into tropes. Lucky for you, by the time we're done here, you'll know all about them. You’ll also have a long list of romance tropes to inspire your own novel.

Romance Tropes vs Clichés

Before we get too deep, let's take a moment to discuss the difference between a cliché and a trope.

A cliché is a truly worn idea that almost everyone can agree needs to kick rocks. An example of a cliché is assuming that a character who plays the seductress role must be female (cause you know, that's kind of sexist). Another cliché is to give your villain hideous scars (thereby equating scarred people as evil or wrong).

Clichés are also phrases you've heard a million times like "there's plenty of fish in the sea" or "let sleeping dogs lie."

A trope, on the other hand, is a familiar plot device or thematic idea that can be seen in many stories across the genre, but each with their own characters, settings, plot, and spirit. In romance, tropes are things like star-crossed lovers, there's only one bed, and friends to lovers.

The Benefits of Using Romance Tropes

These repeated plot points and themes serve as shortcuts to quickly establish the stakes and the characters' emotional states. This allows you, the author, to focus on fleshing out deeper elements of the story.

Some romance tropes have even become part of our everyday language, shaping the way we talk about love and relationships. Love triangle, second chance, and no strings attached are all classic genre tropes.

Yes, you've seen all those things before, but that's on purpose. Those are the popular romance tropes that define the genre. And all genre fiction has them—the chosen one is a popular fantasy trope, for example.

If you're writing in the romance genre, your audience expects to see tropes. They make their reading preference specifically based on the tropes in your books. Personally, any time I see the phrase “enemies to lovers” in a book synopsis, I'm hitting Add to Cart before the body is even cold.

Romance Tropes 101

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of tropes out there. The beauty of tropes is that they give you guidance to help shape your story. Choose a popular romance trope and then add a twist to make it your own.

Don't worry—I repeat, do not worry—if you're reading a book that uses a trope that's also in your book. That is the entire point of romance novel tropes. Literally no one anywhere ever said to themselves, “I really loved this book, and I never want to read another one like it.”

Not to mention, you can always subvert popular tropes to give readers something both familiar and brand new. Maybe your protagonist’s panic starts to rise when the hotel clerk says there’s only one bed available, but then is surprised by their own disappointment when the clerk realizes there actually are two rooms available. 

Maybe they even convince themselves they can’t tolerate the mildew smell in their own room and will have to endure a night on the floor of the other character’s room, raising the question of whether lovers are thrown together by fate or their own subconscious desires.

A twist on an old trope can add originality and depth to your story, as well as keep a more modern audience on their toes.

How to Use Tropes Without Being Hacky

The fact is, the trope is not the story, even if it’s a central element of the plot. Your characters are the story—their unique personalities, fears, backstories, and arcs. As long as they have depth and agency, your tropes will support their journeys rather than coming off as hacky.

But if you’re too shallow with your character development and lean on beloved tropes to do all the heavy lifting, you’ll end up with a cookie-cutter narrative that doesn’t allow for complexity in the relationship it explores.

Types of Romance Tropes

There are romance tropes that I like to think of as ‘bigger' tropes. Ones that actually help shape the basis of your plot. These are ones like fake dating or second chance romance, for example.

The other type of romance trope is more of a detail than a plot point, though they can help drive the plot. You're probably not going to base an entire novel on the idea that someone had to share a bed—there needs to be something more that makes that situation awkward, tense, or untenable.

So combine tropes with gusto. Including multiple tropes within a single story is often a great way to add emotional depth and complexity, like how The Notebook embraces the forbidden love and second chance tropes and The Hating Game involves workplace romance and the secret feelings trope.

There is nothing wrong with an enemies to lovers turned marriage of convenience, where someone goes feral over someone being hurt and screams I love you while standing in the rain. In fact, if you write this book, let me know.

Happy Endings

Let's also get this out of the way before we dive deeper into tropes. A happily ever after (HEA) or happy for now (HFN) ending is a requirement for a romance novel. This is non-negotiable. If it doesn't have a happy ending, then it isn't a romance novel. Full stop. It's some other genre of book that happens to have a love story in it.

You are not being unique or different by giving your romance book a sad ending. If you do this, I promise all you'll be doing is setting yourself up for bad reviews. Romance readers are adamant about their happy endings, and they will come for you.

Don't say I didn't warn you. And I will, too. You can also read more about writing romance here.

Popular Romance Tropes

On to happier things. 

Most popular romance tropes apply across all subgenres. There are some that are more specific to subgenres—fated mates, for example, is one usually used in paranormal or fantasy, but the ones below are seen in every subgenre from billionaire to mafia to romcom.

Enemies to lovers

There are legions of people who are fierce devotees of enemies to lovers. Your love interests start out hating each other, feuding on opposite sides of an issue, a kingdom, or the office. And of course, the sparks will (eventually) fly.

The enemies to lovers trope usually involves a lot of witty banter, fierce rivalry, and a level of romantic angst that makes the eventual kiss all the more satisfying. There’s a reason this is one of the most popular romance tropes.

Friends to lovers

Basically the opposite of enemies to lovers, where friends realize they have feelings for each other. I find this one especially awesome when one person has been pining for the other person who is completely oblivious to it all.

This trope can play out in several ways, all of which involve other subtropes (I’ve bolded them below). 

Sometimes Character A has secret feelings for Character B but has found themselves in the friend zone until the events of the story show Character B that what they’re looking for was right in front of them all along.

Other times, it’s a classic childhood friend or college friend storyline, where the two love interests discover that their feelings for each other are deeper than they thought.

Either way, the friends to lovers trope is especially popular among readers who love a romance that celebrates real-life relationships. Rather than unbridled passion and angst, this trope spotlights the swoony nature of trust and familiarity.

Fake relationship or fake dating

One of them is in a bind and needs to pretend they're in a romantic relationship for the sake of everything. (I cannot even begin to tell you how many times this has happened to me in real life.) 

Maybe they need a date for their ex's wedding or are trying to quell rumors that they're a player. Of course, the more you tell a lie, the more you start to believe it's true and, inevitably, emotions will follow.

The wingman/wingwoman trope is like a cousin to the fake relationship, with one character taking on the job of helping the other find love or learn how to forge romantic connections. Inevitably, the teacher becomes the lover.

Marriage of convenience/forced marriage

A wedding is a good way to set off any romance, especially if no one is in love with anyone else. Yet.

Sometimes it's an arranged marriage, sometimes it's for the sake of the kingdom, but if two characters who don't love each other are getting married, then they must fall in love (assuming we're talking about a romance story, of course).

Second chance romance

Few things are sweeter than the couple who thought all was lost. Maybe they're already married and things haven't been going too well. Maybe they were in love a long time ago, but circumstances forced them apart.

Either way, your soon-to-be happy couple is about to get another chance at love. (And because romance always has a happy ending, this time it's going to work out.)

Second chance romance stories resonate with readers because they speak to the heart’s resilience. After failures and hurt feelings, these characters find their way through fear and resentment to a stronger, wiser love.

Royalty/mafia/celebrities/billionaires

However you slice it, this trope focuses on people with power, money, and influence. Their lives are often like fairy tales (sometimes literally) that can create the backdrop of your story.

Often, this trope revolves around the ordinary Joe or Jane getting involved with the dashing celebrity, mafia boss, or royal and having their world turned around as a result. I don't care who you talk to, it's hard to resist someone who owns a castle or a private jet.

Office/job romance

This one seems a little more specific, except that it can cover a huge variety of settings. While this might have once been confined to a boss and secretary arrangement, times have changed.

They can be coworkers, they can be dueling lawyers fighting for different clients, or they could be a boss and their assistant, too (sometimes we love a classic). Sometimes the setting isn't an office but rather a hospital or a ranch or hotel.

In any case, it's about people working together and the fire kindling between them. You can combine this with other tropes too: an enemies-to-lovers office romance will always be my thing.

Amnesia/mistaken identity

This one is an oldie but a goodie and can be the source of endless drama. Consider a scenario where two characters are in love but one gets into an accident and completely forgets the other. For the mistaken identity trope, it's probably obvious, but having your character get confused about who the other person is can lead to the perfect meet cute. 

**Meet cute: This is a romance term that defines the moment your love interests meet. If they don't know each other at the start of your story, it's the first time they see each other or speak. If they do already know each other, then this moment is more about when the possibility for them becoming a couple begins.

Secret identity

Along similar lines, the secret identity trope is when one character conceals their true identity from their love interest, leading to serious tension or hilarity when their hidden life is revealed.

Because the secret identity is something major—royal status, extreme wealth, or a dangerous profession—this romance trope allows the lovers to test the “love conquers all” theme that defines the genre. Is their love powerful enough to overcome this dramatic lifestyle change?

(Spoiler: Yes, because of that mandatory HEA/HFN.)

Best friend's sibling/widow

This trope can take on any type of ‘forbidden' love interest to give it lots of tension. If you want really big drama, you can even go with the friend’s lover trope, where a character falls for a close friend’s current romantic partner. 

Often, you'll see a period of denial, as their love flies in the face of family expectations or even societal expectations. But they will finally give into temptation. Cue fireworks.

Forced proximity

Putting two people together into a situation where they can't escape is always a popular way to incite romance. Think a snowed-in cabin or anything else your imagination can conjure.

Forced proximity can also be reduced from an entire plot line to a single scene intended to further the conflict. This includes subtropes that fall under the forced proximity category, like only one bed, only one taxi, and trapped in an elevator.

This trope is popular because it often leads to heightened sexual tension and forces the characters to confront their intense feelings. It’s also a great trope for character growth. Readers see a forced proximity situation arise and know something big is coming, whether it’s a long-anticipated kiss or deeper emotional intimacy.

Here's another one that combines nicely with an enemies-to-lovers or friends-to-lovers trope.

Grumpy versus sunshine

This is a classic opposites attract trope. Pair two opposing personality types together and watch magic happen. Expect a dynamic relationship and major chemistry.

In grumpy versus sunshine, Character A is a surly, world-weary cynic, while Character B is about to swoop in with their special brand of charm and turn Character A's life upside down.

As an aside, romances don't have to take place between only two people. There are plenty of books out there that involve multiple love interests, including threesomes, foursomes, etc. Reverse harem (a woman with 3 or more love interests) is an incredibly popular subgenre of romance as well.

Instalove

Mutual love at first sight, basically. When two characters instantly gravitate toward one another and just know they were destined to be together, it’s instalove.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s clear sailing from here on out. This story still needs a plot, which is why instalovers also tend to be a bit star-crossed. Maybe their timing is bad or their love is forbidden. Either way, readers can buckle in for a rollercoaster of passion and angst.

Wrong person

In this classic romance trope, Character A is supposed to be with Character B, but they end up falling in love with Character C. Whoops!

This trope is versatile, allowing for a tale of heartbreak and betrayal or a heart-warming rom-com full of charmingly awkward moments (think While You Were Sleeping).

Love triangle

Here’s a polarizing trope romance readers either love or love to hate. Two characters vie for the heart of the same love interest. Both options are equally alluring, though also very different from one another, each representing a different path the protagonist might take.

While The Hunger Games isn’t a romance novel, its love triangle is a perfect example of this. A romantic relationship with Gale would likely lead Katniss to indulge her anger and tendency toward vengeance, while Peeta brings out her desire to prioritize humanity even in the midst of rebellion. 

Forbidden Romance

If you’re all about super angsty love stories, this is probably your trope. 

Forbidden love involves a character living in a world where hard lines have been drawn, then finding their true love on the other side of the line. The story might involve family feuds, rival gangs, or even civil war. Either way, it’s the ultimate test of that “love conquers all” theory.

Other romance tropes

Because this list could go on and on, here are some more recurring themes and ideas for your romance novels:

• Age gap (Hint: this doesn't always have to be an older man and younger woman)
• Teacher/professor and student
• Mafia princess and crime boss
• Returning home to your small town where you reconnect with that old friend or nemesis
• Small town romance
• Holiday romance or home for the holidays
• Bully romance
• Alien or robot and human love interest
• Human love interest and any kind of supernatural creature like vampires, shifters, fae, or demons
• A human falls in love with a ghost
• A normal human falls into a fantasy world 
• New person in town/at work etc.
• Fish out of water (a character feels out of place in a new environment, creating romantic tension or comedic moments)
• One night stand
• No strings attached
• Secret baby
• Unrequited love
• Starcrossed lovers
• Soul mates
• Nice guy trope

Romance Sub tropes

There are literally hundreds of tropes you can add to your books. The ones listed above aren't exhaustive but are a good place to get started. In addition to these larger tropes from which you can derive a plot, there are smaller tropes that are more about the finer moments within your story.

Don't discount the importance of these and sprinkle them throughout your story. There are readers out there who will hunt out books with a good “wound tending” or “only one horse” scene. Here are some other subtropes you can consider:

• Wound tending – Someone gets hurt and needs tending by the other one.
• One bed/room/horse/tent/seat – There are all kinds of variations on this trope, but it boils down to your love interests forced into some kind of physically tight space together.
• Who hurt you? – Character A gets hurt and character B loses their mind about it, demanding to know who did it (especially effective when it seemed like Character B couldn't stand Character A until now). 
• Wedding ring try on – Character A helps out Character B by trying on a wedding ring for Character C, when Character B realizes how good it looks on Character A. 
• Jealous/possessive – One character is a little over the top in their infatuation.
• Slow burn/just kiss – The tension is so thick you could bite it, and your readers are screaming at them to just kiss already.
• Brooding heroes – Everyone loves a slightly emotionally damaged character.
• ‍Fighting turns to love – Specifically when they're arguing about something and someone blurts out “Because I love you!”

Last word on romance tropes

As with anything, the more you read a certain genre, the better you'll be equipped to write it. There might be a specific subgenre that appeals to you, whether it's contemporary, regency, or fantasy romance. Subgenres often have their own specific tropes too, but there are ones–like many of those listed above–that are universal across the romance genre.

And use Dabble to plot and draft your story! The Plot Grid makes it easy to make sure you hit all the classic beats of storyline tropes like friends-to-lovers and forbidden romance. And character profiles are customizable, so you can easily ID the tropes your characters fulfill, like the cinnamon roll or the alpha hero.

Don’t have Dabble but want to try it free for yourself? Try our free 14-day trial and find your happy ever after.