What is your favourite romance tropes?

[HGohwell]

I'm a simple soul. I love the italicized Oh moment when they idiots who've been pining and obvious for several hundred pages finally realise.

Also, it's not quite a trope, I think, but I'm a sucker for reincarnation romance where they actually tackle are we in love or is it just because of reincarnations and they were in love?

Polyamory: I am not big on One true Love, I love the dynamic of relationship that reflect attraction and eyes wide-opened of a more pragmatic or mature love

This particular one, I love some polyamory, especially when it's written as no big deal. But I also love One True Love. Especially if I can get them both because, you know, people who believe in both can exist in the same world, and I love when a story manages to do both naturally.

[domisotto]

My biggest struggle when writing romance is making male leads in the possessive and overbearing mold. My male leads almost always end up whimsical, intractable and funny.

[JoshRaid]

That moment where you want them to kiss so bad but they don't and you're just waiting for that moment to come.

[MeltingCORE]

ngl but I'm a sucker for childhood friends to lovers. (I think because it reminds me of my own relationship, I've been with my boyfriend since we were literally 13 and in middle school. We're 25 now.)

I don't usually write romance however haha! I usually prefer to write friendships. If I do write romance, it's usually super drawn out and integral to the bigger plot.

[EmmyPax]

I love a good enemies to lovers but like, a GOOD one. And like you guys all said, it's hard. I don't want it to feel like one person is ignoring red flags or something. Sometimes the "enemies" section resembles real life abusive behaviors tooooooooooooooo much. But when it's done well, ah, how I love it!

Old friends to lovers is also great. Also, I may be alone in this, but I like love triangles. The more the better! They can be done poorly, but I enjoy the interplay between competing ships and complicated webs of people not having a clue what they want. Mostly, it's just very fun to write, because everyone is a mess.

[cherrystark]

I like a lot of the tropes people have already shared.

Especially for romance plotlines, I really enjoy it when you have a guy that you think is the stereotypical "hot, male, jerkface" who treats women like objects but is in reality, this warm, sensitive cuddlebear who treats his love interest and all women he interacts with as queens.

I also really enjoy the "best friends to lovers" trope. Enemies to lovers is great, but there is something about two characters who have been together through hell and back and just want to be together. Like the future is scary, but I can face it with you by my side.

[HGohwell]

Also, I may be alone in this, but I like love triangles.

I love a well done love triangle. They get a really bad name because of all the badly done overly dramatic ones. But a really good well written love web (because love is messy irl come on especially for teenagers) can be amazing.

[domisotto]

But I also love One True Love. Especially if I can get them both because, you know, people who believe in both can exist in the same world, and I love when a story manages to do both naturally.

I will read the One True Love when it happens in the presence of choices, trial and error. What I have a hard time with is OTL stories that imply that it is First, One and Only love, particularly when they are like, 16. It's so outside my experiences, I can't jive.

[sxxaint]

omg i forgot how much i love this trope! the realisation moment for one of them, and then the nerves and agonising over ruining the friendship, and seeing how well they know each other already, and then the final confession bit (and if the other's like 'yeah, i've been into you for ages didn't you know') ~

[HGohwell]

stories that imply that it is First, One and Only love, particularly when they are like, 16. It's so outside my experiences, I can't jive.

Whenever teens do that (outside of like magical soulmate stories or something) I'm just like yep that's dramatic teens being teens. They're gonna be together forever and no one has ever felt a love like theirs. (tbh the ridiculous drama of teen romances is a guilty pleasure)

[migxmeg]

Yesss if it's a longer story, I also enjoy the part where their feelings don't match and you can get all these awkward we're buddies and it's not weird for you but it's weird for me scenes AAAAH <3.

[cherrystark]

I will read the One True Love when it happens in the presence of choices, trial and error. What I have a hard time with is OTL stories that imply that it is First, One and Only love, particularly when they are like, 16. It's so outside my experiences, I can't jive.

I like the concept of OTL but I don't really enjoy the stories when they present the two lovers as soulmates. I 100% believe that two people can truly love each other and be in love for their whole life. But, as you said, there is work, trial and error, and they choose to be together.

I don't like OTL because what about people marrying multiple times, for example. Just because a person's first marriage didn't work about whether by death or divorce, it doesn't mean that they didn't truly love each other at one point or that they won't truly love their future partners

[MeltingCORE]

Gosh, yes! I may or may not have cried at the end of the first season of Clannad when Nagisa gets confessed to by Tomoya. ("Two Shadows" by Riya playing also did me in ds bs)

[mx_Jinn]

Ohh I haven’t tried writing any enemy to lovers, can imagine it being hard to write!

Loving the love for enemy to lovers!

So much wholesome tropes here uwu

[EmmyPax]

Oooooooooooo along with that "Oh!" moment, can we also talk about the anguished declaration of love/sudden kiss that sometimes proceeds it from the other partner? I know in real life it would be silly and dramatic but I LOVE IT SO MUCH IN FICTION!!!!!!!!!

[HGohwell]

Which reminds me! Magical soulmate romances! I love a soulmate story. Especially when it's sorta out of the ordinary. Matching soul marks is cool and all, but some of them are a lot more emotional. One of my favourites is the "you share your soul mate's injuries" variants and how much people can start understanding each other from just the bruises and bumps. As soul mate empaths, especially during the period where they don't know their soul mates. Bonus points if, like the reincarnation stories, they actually go for the "do we love each other or is it just because fate says so" plot.

[cherrystark]

Whenever teens do that (outside of like magical soulmate stories or something) I'm just like yep that's dramatic teens being teens. They're gonna be together forever and no one has ever felt a love like theirs. (tbh the ridiculous drama of teen romances is a guilty pleasure)

Same! Haha. I still read the teen romance drama stuff. It just makes when laught when the love interest is a vampire or something, and the MC wants to change to be with them and they're 17. I'm like WHY!!!??? I'm much happier and healthier at 28 than I was at 18. Even with the magical soulmate stories, I still don't understand why they're always teenagers and their love interest is older. If he's 25 and you're 17, he can wait a couple of years.

[domisotto]

Yeah, same feels for me. I guess I value the intensity of love in a story above permanence, exclusivity and consummation. I, however, always make sure that my romances end in a way that qualify it for a romance!!! Lol, I've learned that lesson on the Wattpad forums.

[EmmyPax]

Really specific one I love: characters discover their future selves/themselves in a parallel universe are in love and now they don't know what to do because they never thought of each other THAT way. The Good Place was basically my crack because Chidi and Eleanor kept discovering they had been in love in another reboot and then grappling with that revelation over and over again.

[domisotto]

Speaking of which, Star-crossed Lovers. Can't help it. Love it. Love tragic heroes/ines, even if they are opera-like over-dramatic ones!