Romance Novel Plots
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Your one-stop shopping list for Romance Novel plots and complications!
Although some existing tropes like Magnificent Bastard may fit here as well.
- The Bet (a weird version of Meet Cute)
- Long Lost Love ("Billy? Is that you?")
- "New Old Flame" connected to a "Meet Cute"
- Handsome/Lovely Adversary ("She's gorgeous, I hate her")
- The Billet-Doux
- The Angry Outburst
- The Masochism Tango which leads to an Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other.
- Pressure From Above
- Arranged Marriage ("You will marry Princess Lucky, so you better get used to the idea!")
- Parent Ex Machina
- Parental Marriage Veto
- Star-Crossed Lovers ("Never was a tale of such woe...")
- Ungentlemanly/Unladylike Behavior
- Case of Nerves
- The Big Decision
- Disaster!
- The Chase (oddly enough, a version of The Chase)
- On a Pedestal
- Dont Let Him/Her Get Away!
- Disapproving Authority Figure
- Two of a Kind
- Sub Rosa
- The One
- Furious Attraction
- The Unknown Child
- Neutral Party with Words of Wisdom (a type of Messenger)
- The Old One Who Knows But Aint Sayin (another Messenger, possibly a Secret Keeper)
- Girl/Boy Next Door
- Mistakenly Overheard Conversation
- Three Is Company, romance novel style
- Mistaken for Cheating
- Sweet Nothings (Pillow Talk)
- Right Under Your Nose (Stop chasing the Duke; the stableboy has a nobler soul)
- Mysterious Past (Why did he leave London?)
- A Backstory version of Forbidden Fruit
- Forget It and Run!
- Opposites Attract
- The Perfect Gift (a romantic Golden Snitch?)
- The Imperfect Gift
- The Ugly Duckling
- The "Near Mrs."
- New Old Flame demonstrating A Man Is Not a Virgin (May I introduce you to my... good friend?)
- Like Brother and Sister
- Love Triangle
- His/Her "True Nature"
- Self-Conscious About Best Feature
- One Who Intercedes (a Secret Keeper who is more active, like the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet)
- Mindlink Mates
- December–December Romance (or alternatively Grow Old with Me)
- My Secret Pregnancy (category romances signal this trope with the phrase "secret baby" in the title)
- No Loves Intersect
See also Romance Arc.