The appeal of a romantic subplot

I think a romance subplot should always be a vehicle of the story's character development & themes. I usually look at it from the concept of an 'impact character', where this character - in this case the love interest - serves as a pivot point to challenge/help solidify the character's views of themselves and the theme. I'm all for a good romance subplot, and it's mostly only gonna feel shoehorned if it doesn't serve the plot at all, and if it doesn't the rest of your story better be damn good or that romance better be cute, or im out.

I love romances, consummated and unrequited, however, I did read some books on the net that had no romance and were extremely easy to invest into. But I like emotional investment from other characters into the main or vice versa. If it is not romantic love, siblings’ feelings, a fan cheering, parental or filial love... basically, I need love in some form to be there to warm up to characters.

Edit: I also wanted to add that it doesn’t matter to me if the romance is straight or not. I find women romantically as attractive as men, so I don’t have any barriers to cheering for any pairings, except obviously abusive relationships.

I'd say that the worst kind of romantic subplot is one put in for the sake of having a romantic subplot, and written by somebody who really isn't invested in it. Don't put one in just for the sake of it, it always feels really forced.
Sometimes friendships are better as friendships. Sometimes a woman doesn't need to be included just so the male protag can kiss her to stop the execs worrying people will think he's gay because he has intense feelings about his male comrades and the male villain.

But if the creator is really invested in the characters and they have chemistry, I love a good romance subplot! Two characters together dealing with their problems realise they actually might be perfect for each other? Yeah, gimme that! There are two romance subplots that will come up in Errant. One was planned from the get-go, the other happened while planning; the characters just had flaming chemistry in every scene they were in in the drafts, so it was like "oh no, I ship them..." and I really just wanted to. The romance isn't in there because I think it should be, but because I genuinely think those characters make good pairings and I enjoy writing them falling for each other and dealing with their feelings.

I actually think a romantic subplot if done properly is the single best way to improve every non-romance story, and even some ACTUAL romance stories. It's cheesy, but it's also an effective way to make the characters seem more human and relatable, brings a good amount of juicy tension, and often gives readers and viewers an additional reason to root for the characters instead of gambling solely on the main character being charismatic enough for the audience to root for.

Take a show like House MD. Gregory House is a know it all asshole. He's sporadic and treats people like shit, and while he's a brilliant doctor, that wouldn't have carried the show for long. The romantic subplot between him and Lisa Cuddy added that "will they, won't they" sexual tension that lots of viewers love, humanized House enough for the audience to see he's a lot more emotionally-driven than his demeanor would have you believe, and episodes where their relationship progresses are some of the most popular episodes of the entire series.

Now take another series, a series that's practically nothing like House MD... let's use Adventure Time. It's a wacky kid's cartoon full of random events that often turn nonsensical. Yes, there is a great amount of cleverly written lore in the episodes, but undoubtedly a large, if not the majority, portion of the fanbase watch it for the romantic subplots such as Finn's crush on Princess Bubblegum, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire's mysterious lesbian-vibe relationship, Finn's relationship with Flame Princess, etc. for pretty much the same reasons that viewers liked the romantic subplot in House MD.

Not every story needs a Romantic subplot. Some stories do just fine without them. And even if they do have one, the romantic subplot doesn't actually have to resolve itself into a relationship between the characters. But it's a very versatile weapon that can definitely give stories that extra appeal.

I'm pretty indiferent to romantic side-plots most of the time. If it's there, then.. Well, it's there. It's not like I can just ignore it or do anything else about it. If it's done well, that's good, but otherwise.. It's still just there. I don't quite understand why I perticularly feel that way towards it when I could put it into my stories with no issue.

Personally, it feels like I get way more out of shipping characters together than I do with the actual relationships written into stories. That's not even something I make the effort to discuss with anyone else in a fandom, just like "these two would be a nice couple, it just makes sense" and that's it

It used to draw me in when I was younger. Now that I'm older it's not necessary however I added romance into my story because imo it adds an extra kick to the story. Shows sides of my character and how they relate with others.

Personally, I think if it's an after thought it doesn't work. Now, if you have love as a main part of it then it can work well.

In my series I have a few love stories woven within and they deal with real life topics like cheating, sexuality, sexual appearance (cross dressing, drag, non-binary are good examples), number of partners (monogamous, poly, FWB, flings/hookups), and societal/cultural norms/expectations (lifestyle choices, arranged, connivence, etc). These stories and situations would not work well if my comic were more light hearted and these were an afterthought. My comic is serious, so it lends itself better to real and messy love.

Yes, love stories do help achieve a broader market, but if it is disingenuous you will lose the main core of readers. Always write for your fanbase. If it happens to have a few "ship" people that's fine, but if that's only 1% of them are you really going to alienate the 99% for the extra 1% growth potentially losing up to 50% of your readership? There's fan comics for the 1% or write a separate short side story. Don't endanger your story if a love story has no place in the plot.

I don't mind them, I just mind if it feels like they're not well done or if they don't fit--like if they're just in a couple episodes and then forgotten forever, or if they're just there when the writer is bored, I guess. Like the romance has to be part of the story, even if it is a subplot--it needs to be thought out with a beginning middle and end (so many times romances are introduced and then just nigh forgotten)

Definitely not essential, but I appreciate one when it’s done well. When a romance plot is built off of “pretty person meets pretty person” and like... that’s it?

While I do love a lot of work that has them, I commonly dread romantic subplots because they are usually written without double checking how it fits with the rest of the story- let alone the pairing the creator had decided upon. Unless it's a creator I trust, I 100% expect a romantic subplot that gets tied up at the end to have failed.

Because how often do pairings like that get to stay together? When that surprise sequel comes out suddenly that pairing falls apart. They'll get into a fight that is out of character for both or one of them, or one dies, or only one of them exists to be the main character, or mentor/guide the main character. We never get to see the pairing work properly as a unit together.

Yes, in real life break ups happen all the time. But please consider the meta-context, because we don't see best friends breaking up all the time in fiction-land.

To me, if the couple only gets together near the end of the work that tells me the creator has no idea how to actually write a couple together. (Not to say this as a fact, just my cynical opinion as I watch so many good ideas die because too many writers only know how to write about conflict and nothing else.)

That's actually the standard romance format for romance novels! In 'Romancing the Beat,' Gwen Hayes refers to this moment as 'What Whole Hearted Looks Like.' Romance readers have certain expectations, so when you see a romance novel end with the couple getting together it's because they're appealing to the majority of romance readers.

If there's going to be a sequel, I think it's best for a romance to end on HFN rather than HEA. I agree that I don't like reading book 1 where it ends in a HEA, then book two opens with a big issue between the two who just declared their never ending love for each other

It sounds like you enjoy a love story, but maybe not a romance

As a romance writer and considering all my favorite comfort films are all rom-coms, I'm pretty deep in the romance pit. I love stories of true love and deep connections, with witty banter and (mostly) clean content.
That being said, I don't just enjoy romance for romance's sake. It has to make sense, the characters have to have a reason they fit together, and there has to be chemistry. It also has to make sense for the story plot overall.

Just Because romances or Insta-love stories are absolute cringe and a surefire way to lose depth and interest.
The characters need to be able to learn something important from each other and grow from that, for a romance to work. They have to both bring 100% of themselves (as separate, fully developed people) to the plot and harmonize opposing or differing perspectives.
Romance will certainly get my attention more than most things, but only good, well constructed (usually slow burn) romance keeps me hooked.

Yeeesss to the slow burn! My novel got to over 40k words before they acknowledged any kind of romantic feelings between them!! Both writing and reading a slow burn is so satisfying to me!

Slow burn relationships are the best! Especially when you get a good push and pull in there and you throw in a few misunderstandings and awkward moments along the way. x3

Also...a perfect example of the HEA getting ruined thing is Tyler Perry's awful Why Did I Get Married films. In the first one, the main characters are together and have a HEA. But then in the sequel, they're suddenly having marriage problems and everything is horrible. Obviously real life relationships don't stay the same forever, but the whiplash is insanely jarring when you take a HEA and then just rip it apart like that.

I'm not anti-romantic subplot, I just wish people were a bit better written. Sometimes it just feels like "we added a character so MC can feel love" or "the token girl or token boy must hook up with the MC". I just wish love interest has a personality/purpose as well as not be the only girl or only boy in the story. I also would like to see that the character at least have a platonic respect for one another so it is not just fueled on lust or crushes.

I know there are people who are anti-romance. Most of the time it seems that they are upset that you have to prove the MC is not gay, and sometimes people just want more gay or asexual perspectives.

I have heard people who always want romance. To them, it adds more emotional drama.

I am one of them shippers you mentioned and the more I can romanticize it and stuff the more into it I am.
Like i get big into shipping shonen shows like Naruto and MHA even though romance isnt really a thing in the actual show.
but I am HARDCORE into dragon age where romance is a big subplot of your main character.
If I liek a character its cool but if I can fall in love with one I have a stronger connection to them and the franchise as a result.
I even bought Dragon Age flavored tea. it goes deep with people really invested into characters

Oooh, romantic subplot Is my favorite, I like writing romance that's very specific to each character's personality, some characters are oblivious, some cold, some with too much love to give. I just like romance as long as it's not the focus of the story. A lil romance in the background of a bigger plot? chef kisses