The appeal of a romantic subplot

[borzoiteeth]

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.)

[WillowTree]

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

[spiceprincess]

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.

[WillowTree]

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!

[spiceprincess]

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.

[NickRowler]

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.

[BeautifulDoubt]

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

[insomniascrawl]

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

[Mane]

You are right about the shoehorned aspect, but I'm not completely against romance. I think in the end I'm just extremely picky when it comes to this aspect. Personally, I've always been far more invested in more platonic relationships dynamics such as : found family, estrange siblings, budding friendships. and I know you can attract people without a romantic subplot, but I was really curious what people thought.

[AmysGames]

I would never specifically read a story specifically because "oh, it has a great romantic subplot!" or anything like that, but if a story has great characters and they have good chemistry, then yeah, I'm down.

[cherrystark]

I just wish in books with romantic plots that characters allowed themselves to be happy. Okay, for the sake of drama, one character messes up and hurts another. But why can't they rebuild their relationship? I hate "rooting" for a relationship only to have it smashed or derailed by another party and we get a love triangle.

I can see the appeal of romance novels but I've read some recently where the female characters are either too stubborn to admit that they could either be happy with their partner or are "brainwashed" into the idea that true love wins out. One character her friends were literally saying "Yes, ur boyfriend is hot but he's 25 and you're 17." The MC wouldn't budge because she was "mature" and they were soul mates. The author then excused their arguments by saying another character cast a spell on them and brainwashed them. Another story, we meet the handsome love interest in chapter 1, he follows her to Canada when she tries to escape him in chapter 2 and by chapter 4ish, he forces her into marriage and she's struggling to hide her feelings because e she "loves" him. The part that really made me mad was that her female friends and family excused his behavior because he was hot and rich, so naturally all his actions were romantic (End of rant. My apologizes)

[cherrystark]

You should watch "Warehouse 13". The two MCs don't admit their love for each other until the last few minutes but when they tell each other that they want to raise a family together and didn't want to face the future without their partner, I was like

[Mane]

I tend to agree with this, but I've also become more aware that there is a thing such as a mass-appeal romance, the sort that you find in most stories and the major studios shuffle into the main stream constantly, and ones that are more niche, like your "Daddy" example. So I guess that counts. I guess I'm more in the niche category seeing how often I've come across romantic subplot that I liked.

Growing up as a kid that loved action-adventure stories I always had to sit through some inane and moth-eaten romantic tropes that made me roll my eyes so often that I'm surprised I didn't end up with a tic.
Yet, looking at the replies, I understand I'm in the minority.

[CttMaurice]

A frick, it looks like my comic won't do as well then. My other works have definite romace subplots but I wanted to try and go for another type of love in the comic I'm making. (Familial relationships)

I can definitely see the appeal, a good love story is definitely something that I love writing and it gives me something to look forward to in the story. I think its just a general appeal as love is generally universal and seen as something important right? But there are works that I can say without a doubt are amazing without the need for a romance subplot or plot.

What I can say is that my favorite show of all time is heavily built around Romance.

[Mane]

This idea that the couple one really get together at the end might be tied to this happily ever after closure that writers/ artist/movie studios have adhered to since forever.

Another reason might be that the "will they-won't they" game before the actual hook-up is actually what people are mostly interested in. I've seen in the fans lose interest in a pairing after they became an established couple because the intrigue was gone - basically happy couples in fiction tend to bore people. Go figure...

[Mane]

This is actually one of the reasons many romances and romance sub-plots rub me the wrong way- irrational or sometimes down right asinine behavior.
And then you have obviously disturbing behavior, like excessive jealousy and possessiveness, being presented as a show of how much they're in love. I don't mind these elements so long as the story acknowledges that these are a genuine problem, but more often than not they're seen as pros and nothing else.

[BlunderingAlbatross]

As someone who does as much shipping as UPS I do love me a romantic subplot However, I don't think a story necessary needs one. I've read plenty of comics and novels that I think are amazing that don't have them, and some that do that I didn't really get on with. So in the end it depends how much it adds to the story and/or character development rather than just being stuck in there for the sake of it.

[Mane]

As someone who does as much shipping as UPS I do love me a romantic subplot

I loved this, it really made me laugh!

[cherrystark]

Right! I could accept the forced marriage story, for example, if he realized his mistake and took active effort later on too court his wife and earn her forgiveness. He just threw money around to fix problems

[jcmraz]

It entirely depends on the context of it. If it feels natural then sure. If the context of the story implies some amount of romance fitting with the narrative fine. But most people have one story and then shoehorn in romance for really no other reason than to have the romantic sub plot. Sometimes I can just overlook that. But normally I dislike it very much and find it pandering and demeaning to the story as a whole. I have no active plans for a romantic sub plot. There might be some romance in it, we'll see how the story shakes out more. But I have no current active plans for one and it's really not at all in my mind as I plan scripts. If I DO end up having some characters pair off it will be peripheral and unimportant to the story. Just a natural evolution of their characters spending time together. It will be part of their lives and influence them but it will never be THE driving force of the story or their personal character arc if they're important enough to my story to have a character arc that I show.

Just read the "AS A CONTENT CONSUMER" part lol sorry about the rant of writing principles and such xD Depends though. I touch on it in the rant. If it feels natural then it's fine and can add to a story. If it feels like the author just wanted to write some romance in or really wanted to pair two characters off and had to contrive of a way to make it happen, which is what it feels like most of the time honestly, then it depends on the rest of the story. If I like the rest of the story enough then I may groan but I'll manage and try to look passed it. If it's already kinda of tenuous I might see that as a reason the story won't live up to my expectations for the ideas and themes it's trying to play with and drop it right there.