All you writers - making a romance novel less sappy and predictable?

Question

I am currently writing a novel between a young lady and male, both in their late teens.

It's hard to write a good teenage romance book that doesn't sound immature and predictable, and I want to thoroughly plot it out before writing. Any tips?

Answer 1

I would dive deep into the girls or guys past and have a twist in the story line, like the girl is pregnant from her ex or she comes from a weird family. I would make one of the characters have a confusing past that they must fight to get over and in order for the other to love them, the other must learn to accept their past. Show the deep emotions and pain of both of them as they come together. Make their situation more difficult by throwing in something that the reader didn't see coming. Life is messy and an unpredictable. Make sure you show that these people aren't perfect. Good luck!!    

Answer 2

haha - I am right in the middle of some thorough plotting myself for my first novel. I can't really address how you could make your story less generic since I haven't seen it but I can give you some advice on how to actually map it all out so it sits well (from someone whose pained themselves over a million diferent methods.) I've been experimenting with a few different ways but I've found one method by far the best.

Ok, so what I did is I went out and bought some system cards (you know, those little lined cards that fit in your palm. Debaters use them alot.) Anyway, so I had those. I'd written out all of my very detailed character profiles (including their motivation throughout the book, their birthdates, personality, history, appearence etc.) After finishing all that I had a good idea of my plot- I had two parrallel storylines that needed to run throughout the story. So now I took my cards and started to write out events (one per card) that I KNEW had to happen in the book. Next I wrote out smaller events that would lead up to those. I put them all in order of how they would happen in a little pile. This meant that the two plotlines can sit neatly together and I know what happens in which one at what time in relation to the other.

Now whenever I sit down to plot further I look at the cards I have, then write out any new scenes that come up. I put them in the pile in the rough spot they should happen. This way it all fits. It also means that when you get down to writing it you can just take out the cards you need for that chapter and write it knowing exactly what you need to reveal and what remains concealed from the reader. I like it best because it means if I redecide about a scene I just pull it out and insert an alternate one. Its better for me than writing out a huge plot summary in a notebook (tried that) and having to scribble bits out.

I ended up punching a hole in the corner of each card on the same side and putting a paperclip through them that I bent out of shape then twisted together. This holds them all in a bundle in the correct order and I can flip through them as I wish. Any random things I need to note down also get put on cards, then if I use them in the story I can just note them on the correct scene card. NOTE: each card is not a chapter- you might have three events in one chapter. This means you're thinking plot not structure when you write these. It removes some of the hassel. Once all of the cards are done you decide which will sit together and chapter them out roughly. That will be subject to change once you start writing since they should be about the same length and an event could surprise you in becomming much longer than intended.

Good Luck! I hope this helped you :)

Answer 3

Well, it's difficult to write a romance that isn't immature when your characters are teenagers.  By definition the relationship will be immature.

The only way around it would to depict them as kids who had to grow up fast.  Some element of tragedy in their background that forced them to abandon childish ways early on.  

Answer 4

Writing on the level of their age (teenagers) and writing an immature sounding story are two different things.

Teens are some of the most difficult years and if you can grasp that anguish and trepidation in their relationship, then you can have a good story going.

On the other hand, if you settle for "he was nice and good looking, she was pretty and the head cheerleader, they became the prom king and queen and they live happily ever after." THEN it sounds contrived and immature.

It is not the subject matter but how YOU as the author tell the story.