You want a romance. But … you don’t want to write a romance story. You just want to add a romantic element to your story. Most stories have them. Science fiction, fantasy, westerns … even mystery and horror aren’t immune to the pull. When you have two people with a certain kind of chemistry, you have the makings for a romantic subplot. Now the question is … is writing that romantic subplot going to be good for your story?
The short answer is yes. If you have two characters with the kind of chemistry that lends itself to romance, then you’re going to do well writing it. Readers like to see things hinted at and carried through. It’s generally good storytelling. It doesn’t mean you have to. I’m sure you can think of stories that hinted at romantic tension but didn’t carry it through, and were good, whole stories.
Like any kind of plot element, though, you want to do romance well. I’d say you especially want to do romance well because, in my experience, it’s the plot element that gets the most criticism when it’s done poorly.
But before we get into it, let’s discuss why you may not want to ignore the romantic subplot.
Men & Women Both Like Romance – Almost Evenly
You read that right. Okay, so the actual statistic is that of 2000 American romance readers surveyed, 63% of male respondents considered themselves avid romance readers compared to 60% of female respondents (Talker). Why do I say it’s pretty even? It’s based on how you look at the numbers. A poll of 2000 people has a margin of error of just over 2%. A 3% difference is over that – but only when you’re looking at 2000 people. But that 63% isn’t of 2000 people. It’s of whatever portion (we’ll be gracious and assume 1/2) of them were men. So, our real margin of error could go from 2% to 3%.
Either way, I don’t feel like 60% and 63% is a big enough difference to not say that they enjoy them about evenly.
What that means for you as a writer is that, no matter what gender demographic you’re targeting, most of them like romance. Which means, as long as you do the romance well, then most readers will like it. And remember, this poll was asking specifically about people who read romance books. If 60-ish-% of people like romance books, I feel confident in saying more than that probably like a good romance subplot in their stories.
So, let’s look at that kissing subplot, then.
Incorporating Romantic Subplots
When you’re talking about putting any kind of subplot into your story, you want to ask yourself a few questions. We’ll tailor these to romantic subplots, but they’ll work for anything that you want to insert into your story or plot outline. Basically, what do you want the romantic subplot to do?
- Will it be part of the main plot tension?
- Does it build stakes for the main plot (outside of tension)?
- Is it part of character development for a main character?
- Is it tension relief to give readers moments away from the main plot stress?
Stakes vs Tension
A good story needs to have something at stake. What does your character stand to lose (or gain) at the resolution of the main plot of the story? Tension is different. Tension is how the story makes you feel. (Writer) I personally go a little further about tension, but we’ll get into that later. Richelle Braswell gives five types of story stakes: Material, Emotional, Status, Identity, and, you guessed it, Relationship (Braswell).
Now, when I talk about a subplot becoming part of the story tension, I don’t just mean the emotions at play. I mean that as a subplot, it’s inextricable from the main plot of the story. To really demonstrate what I mean, and what it means for a romantic subplot to be Stakes vs. Tension, let’s look at two stories: the 1998 movie Armageddon and the 1847 novel Jane Eyre. Two very different stories? Maybe. Or maybe you can map the deuteragonist’s arc in Armageddon almost perfectly onto the elements of a classic bildungsroman.
I’m just saying, don’t tempt me. I like breaking things.
Armageddon has a very solid romance subplot. However, if you take the romantic subplot out of the movie, while you won’t, in my opinion, have as good a movie, you still have the same movie. The asteroid is still barreling toward Earth, and our unlikely heroes are still a team of oil rig workers. The romance is what is at stake for A.J. If he doesn’t save Earth, his girl dies. That romance, however, is not the push-pull tension of the story plot. That’s the big giant meteor heading for Earth, and whether or not they can actually successfully divert it. As much as the movie loses if you don’t have the romantic subplot, the romance isn’t the key component of making the plan work.
Jane Eyre is, legitimately, a bildungsroman. I don’t have to bend or break anything to make it that way. It’s one of the books we use as an example of that kind of story. Like Armageddon, the book has a romantic subplot. Jane’s story, however, doesn’t resolve without the resolution of that romantic subplot. It is an inextricable part of her story because it is part of how Jane finds her place in the world.
Using Romance as Stakes & Tension
Consider your romantic subplot. As you structure your story, can you make it a thing that is put at risk by the main plot? Or, is it so integral to the story that you can make it part of the push-and-pull tension that builds up the overall plot, without being the main plot itself? Remember, the romance doesn’t have to be super-central to the plot. The subplot simply needs to be a required beat that the main plot has to hit. Jane will mature with or without Rochester, but Rochester is integral to the place she finds in the world (it is tension). The meteor is threatening the Earth with or without the romantic subplot, but love is what A.J. is fighting for (it is at stake).
Character Development
The romantic subplot can help develop your character – hopefully in a positive way. Let’s be careful with this, though, because of the example I’m going to use. While, yes, a romantic subplot can be used to improve a character, let’s remember that societally, that burden is disproportionately placed on women to change their male partners “for the better.” What I would say instead is that a romantic subplot is a good way to show what a character is like.
Let’s take the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, mostly because I love these movies. The romantic subplots in these movies are excellent examples of showcasing characters, especially their flaws, and just how devastating those flaws can be. In the first two movies, we’re shown repeatedly how much of a man-child Quill is, and the movie does a good job of making that trait a problem for him and the Guardians to overcome. However, we see how it costs Quill in the romantic subplot between him and Gamorra. His immaturity is exactly why she’s hesitant to pursue anything with him.
And then there’s Ego in Guardians II. Spoilers, by the way, for the big emotional reveal of the movie. Ego loved Quill’s mother so much … that he had to kill her to ensure he fulfilled his own ambitions. It’s sad. It’s a huge gut-punch for Quill. It is also just such a powerful example of what a romantic subplot can do in the hands of a good storyteller. That one subplot shows how far Ego will go, better than any planet-ravaging, and with a deeper impact on us, the audience.
Using Romance for Character Development
What does your romantic subplot reveal about your characters? The closer the traits you’re revealing are to the traits important for the build-up and resolution of the plot, the more powerful the romantic subplot will be. The subplot romance of Quill and Gamorra demonstrates how Quill’s immaturity hurts him. The subplot romance of Ego and Quill’s mother reveals just how evil Ego truly is.
Romance and Sex Can Just Be for Themselves
Sometimes, we need a break from the main plot, especially in thrillers and horror, where tension is high. In these situations, the romantic or sexual subplot (they can but don’t have to be both at the same time) can serve as a momentary relief for the reader. They’re reminders that there is life outside of the main plot. They let the characters and the readers breathe. Sometimes, this is all the justification you need (Noble).
Other times, we include scenes and details in a story simply for the purpose of worldbuilding and giving a sense of verisimilitude. Just like I did this to show what life is like with a chronic health condition, you can do something similar with romance or sex. It can just happen because that’s life. Sometimes, we fall in love. Sometimes, we want to have sex.
Making Something out of Nothing
Of course, you don’t have to make these scenes completely superfluous. If you want them to be meaningful in the story, even if they’re not key to showing character traits, building tension, or creating stakes, then consider the smaller ways they can impact the story. Love and sex offer their own small kindness to us – tenderness, pleasure, empathy, and release. Finding ways to have the affected characters mirror these positive attributes in small ways later in the story will take the “superfluous” romance and make it something that the story can’t live without.
Writing Prompt
Sometimes we get random ideas for scenes, but we don’t know how we want to build them out into stories. Well, we’re going to do that with a romantic scene.
The Plot Hook: Write a romantic or erotic scene. That’s it. Create two characters and write a scene that can be sweetly romantic or just pure sexy spice (or anything in between). Don’t think about anything that has led up to the scene or anything that will follow. Just focus on the scene of these two characters together.
Now, consider the Genres we talked about before and choose any two or three of them. Jot down notes about how your scene could work as a subplot in a story written to your chosen genres. Would it be part of the stakes, the tension, character development, or breathing room? How could you see that impacting the overall plot? Jot down notes and see if you find a story from the simple romantic scene you created.
Citations:
Braswell, Richelle. “Types of Story Stakes | Richelle Braswell Comprehensive Editing for Fantasy & Cozy Mystery.” Richelle Braswell Comprehensive Editing, February 23, 2025. https://www.richellebraswell.com/blog/types-of-story-stakes.
Noble, William. Elements of Fiction Writing – Conflict, Action & Suspense. Writer’s Digest Books, 1999.
Talker Research newsroom. “Study Reveals Men Bigger Fans of Romance Than Women.” Talker Research, January 31, 2025. https://talkerresearch.com/study-reveals-men-bigger-fans-of-romance-than-women/.
Writer in a Hat. “The Key Difference Between Stakes and Tension in Story Telling,” January 21, 2026. https://writerinahat.com/2026/01/21/the-key-difference-between-stakes-and-tension-in-story-telling/.
