STORY DESIGN: THE ROMANCE

For Writers and Roleplayers

Berin Kinsman
Dancing Lights Press
http://dancinglightspress.com

Copyright 2017 Dancing Lights Press

All Rights Reserved
USING THIS BOOK
What you're about to read isn't a story unto itself. It's not a finely polished tabletop
roleplaying game adventure. It's a template for a particular kind of story. It goes over the
three-act structure for that plot type, and covers what has to happen in the beginning,
the middle, and the end. It explains the sorts of things that you need to prepare before
you start developing the story, and the things that you need to craft and develop after
you've got the blueprint for your specific story put together. This book is designed to
help you plan how to tell a #template story effectively, with the least amount of work
possible. Because it's all about story, it is system-agnostic and useable with any genre or
setting.

While this is a complete book unto itself, it's also based on concepts explored in
Story Structure for Writers and Roleplayers, also published by Dancing Light Press.
It's a big book that goes into greater detail on how to get the most out of the three-act
structure, as well as developing a three-phase series (campaign, if you prefer) with a
clear beginning, middle, and end. If you want to use your favorite roleplaying game
system to tell stories with more depth than kill monster, get treasure, repeat (not that
there's anything wrong with that), it is worth looking into.

THE AUDIENCE
Throughout the book the word “audience” is used universally to mean the consumer
of your creative work. If you’re writing a book, these are the readers. If you’re crafting a
screenplay, these are the viewers. If you’re running a tabletop roleplaying game, these
are the players. The medium you’re working it and the ways your creative efforts are
presented may vary, but some aspects of storytelling are universal.

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THE ROMANCE PLOT
“But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she
hardly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was
rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark
eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally terrifying thought
he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect
symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light
and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not
those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness.”

- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

A romance plot features the protagonist falling in love with a supporting character or
even a co-protagonist. The antagonist doesn’t want this to happen, and conspires to
keep the lover apart. There is often some misunderstanding or miscommunication that
creates a rift in the relationship. Throughout the story the protagonist must overcome
obstacles to finally be together with their one true love and live happily ever after.

Examples of the romance plot include Cyrano de Bergerac, Pride and Prejudice,
The Time Traveler’s Wife, Tristan and Isolde, and Wuthering Heights.

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ROMANCE PLOT OPENING PREP WORK
Start crafting your love story by establishing the essential elements noted below.
These are your basic design parameters, and form the foundation you’ll build upon.
Knowing this information up front will help you to develop the three acts of your story.
You can come back here later and tweak these elements as the shape of your story to be
becomes clearer.

PREMISE
The protagonist meets the love of their life, but the antagonist
conspires to keep the lovers apart.

The first thing you need to understand is the who the perfect romantic partner for
the protagonist will be. You will have to sell the audience on the idea that these two
people belong together, and that there could be no greater tragedy than to keep them a
part. Next, you need to understand what major obstacle keeps them apart. It could be an
existing relationship that one of them is in, a cultural, political, or religious difference,
or something as simple as distance. Finally, you need to understand how the antagonist
fits into the story. Why are they creating difficulties for the protagonist? How do they
provide that interference? They will have a reason why they don’t want the protagonist
to be with the love interest.

Goals - The goal of a romance story is for the protagonist get together with the love
of their life and live happily ever after. This requires the protagonist to overcome some
major obstacle, which is the story goal. Once that task has been accomplished, the lovers
will be able to make their relationship official and permanent.

Obstacles - In romance plot, the obstacles often stem from complications that keep
the lovers from being together. There is usually one large and significant obstacle, with
smaller challenges stemming from it. Initially the main obstacle will seem
insurmountable, but the protagonist will do anything to overcome it as a means of
proving their love.

Additional obstacles will be based on the other relationships the protagonist has —
friends, family members, neighbors, coworkers, and so on. Their romance may have an
impact on other people, who may be supportive or obstruction. The new love may also
cause the protagonist to see other people in a different light as their perspective on
things changes, which could lead to conflict and drama. You should also develop
obstacles based around the story’s theme, once you’ve determined what that it.

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GENRE
A romance plot can take place in any genre. All that changes are the trappings of
locations, and perhaps some of the obstacles that keep the lovers apart; human behavior
will remain the same. This plot is especially popular in romance novels (naturally),
dramas, historical fiction, and young adult fiction.

PLACE AND TIME

A romance plot can occur in any place or time. This will influence what the accepted
social norms for dating and courtship are, the forms that relationships take, and the
types of obstacles that will be encountered. When paired with the genre, this creates a
fixed set of boundaries and possibilities for your story.

THEME
Common themes in the romance plot are associated with the concept that love
conquers all. This includes themes of overcoming adversity (to be together) and
humanity versus society (by going against social norms). Exploring less typical themes
can make your story feel fresh and original, but only if you can manage to make them
work. Sacrifice brings reward can work, if the protagonist is willing to give up other
things that are important to them in order to be with the love of their life. Human
experience is universal can work if you include subplots that demonstrate that theme
along with the main love story.

STAKES
What will be gained by accomplishing the story goal? What will be lost if the
protagonist fails? The stakes in a romance plot tend to be more intrinsic than extrinsic,
and center on the emotional fulfillment of the protagonist.

Rewards - By the end of a romance story, the protagonist will commonly gain a
happy, satisfying, and presumably permanent relationship for completing the story goal.
They may also gain some extrinsic rewards, if being married or similarly joined is a
condition for an inheritance, a job, or another social, religious, or political rite.

Complications - Failure to meet the story goal in a romance plot will mean that the
protagonist ends up alone. For that character, and probably for the audience, it will feel
like the end of the world. The supporting characters may feel some impact from this
outcome as well, if they were emotionally invested in the relationship.

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ROMANCE PLOT ACT I
In the beginning of the romance story, we see who the protagonist is before the
inciting incident. They may be alone, or in a romantic relationship that clearly isn’t
working. We learn what the status quo is in their current phase of life. By the end of the
act, the must be willing to pursue a new relationship, whether or not they realize they
have already met the love of their life.

OPENING SCENE
The very first scene needs to convey a sense of the setting. It has to establish the time
and place of the story, the genre, and the general tone and atmosphere. The audience
has to be hooked from the very first image.

In a romance story, there have to be emotional overtones right away. Either the
desired state has to be shown, with happy people in love doing what people in love do, or
the sadness that comes from being lonely has to be depict. The audience has to be
emotionally invested right away.

INTRODUCE THE CHARACTERS

The main characters in the story need to be introduced to both the audience and
each other. A little bit of each person’s back story has to be revealed, with some mystery,
as well as their personal goals and aspirations.

In a romance story, the protagonist is the focal point, so we need to learn their
romantic history. What sorts of relationships they have been in should be shown, or at
least mentioned. The problems they’ve had in finding the right person, or maintaining a
healthy relationship, have to be detailed. A little bit about the sort of person they’ve
looking for has to be provided.

If the love interest isn’t introduced in the first act as the love interest, they should be
seen as a secondary character. They might simply be mentioned or foreshadowed, often
in the description of the protagonist’s ideal partner. When they do enter the story at the
end of the first act or somewhere in the second, the audience should be able to recognize
them as the one the protagonist has been looking for.

The antagonist in a romance story should be introduced early on, possibly earlier
than the love interest. Their motive for trying to interfere with the protagonist’s love life
should be made clear. They might be petty, or jealous, or dislike the protagonist for
other reasons and messing with their romance is nothing more than an opportunity to
hurt them. They might harbor feelings for the protagonist that aren’t returned.

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STATE THE THEME
The overall theme of the story, what it’s really about, has to be presented early on.
This is either the overt central conflict, or what the overall conflict of the story
represents. If you’re dealing with the common theme of love conquers all, you might
have supporting characters who exemplify that, who the protagonist looks to as a
template for a successful relationship or role models for the sort of relationship they
would like to have.

ESTABLISH THE GOAL

Before the end of the first act, the goal of the story has to be established. The
characters need to know what’s at stake, and what needs to be accomplished. All of this
also needs to be clear to the audience as well. For a romance story, this is fairly straight-
forward and linear. By the end of the story, the lovers have to be together so they can
live happily ever after.

TEACH THE RULES

The challenges that the protagonist has to face in the opening act are practice for
later. Any abilities that the characters will need to use in the second and third acts have
to be learned here, so the players are familiar with them. The difficulty will be low, as
will the stakes, but it will allow for some degree of action here at the start.

For a romance story, this means establishing what the courtship rituals for this
genre, time, and place are. It means making clear they types of relationships that people
have, what is normative and supported by the culture, and what is outside the accepted
norms that will create cultural, political, or religious friction.

From a rules perspective, the most important skills in a romance story are social
skills. Convincing people to like your character, getting supporting characters to help
with various tasks, and talking people into doing things in the name of love are essential.
Other skills that relate to the main obstacle that needs to be overcome should also be
introduced here.

REACH A TURNING POINT

For most of the first act the characters will be reacting to what’s happening as they
figure out what’s going on. Before moving into Act II, the need to have reached a turning
point where they are committed to achieving the story goal. For a romance story, this
means that the protagonist has fallen in love, but is separated from their love interest.
The turning point might include realize their actual feelings, but the core of this act turn
is that they cannot be together for some reason. They must resolve to find a way to be
together, no matter the odds.

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ROMANCE PLOT ACT II
In the middle of the romance story, the protagonist will pursue the love of their life.
They will have to overcome several obstacles in order to be with them, and the
antagonist will continue to create new problems along the way. The protagonist will shift
to a more proactive mode, and the antagonist will make their issues with the protagonist
personal rather than merely professional or ideological. By the end of the act, the
protagonist will be able to take the last step and overcome the final barrier between
them and their love interest.

INTRODUCE SUBPLOTS
Secondary stories involving secondary characters and their personal goals and
conflicts provide breathers in the second act. This allows you to adjust the pacing of the
story and give characters other than the protagonist and the love interest some spotlight
time. For a romance story, subplots often show how the change in the protagonist’s love
life is affecting other people.

A new relationship might place a strain on the existing dynamic between the
protagonist and supporting characters. The main romantic plot might cause characters
to reevaluate their own relationships, for better or worse. Their might be jealousy
involved, some bitterness, and unhappiness with romantic entanglements or lack
thereof. Subplots should all tie thematically to the main plot.

GO ON A WINNING STREAK
For most of the second act the protagonist will be challenged, because the obstacles
they have to face aren’t like anything they’ve ever seen before. They’ll see that the skills
they may have been proud of previously are rather narrow and useless in the current
situation. Yet they will experience a lot of small victories.

The challenges they have to overcome during the first part of the second act will be
awkward but relatively easy, and should play to their strengths. They’ll have to interact
with different sorts of people, and function in situations that are outside of their comfort
zone, as they attempt to fit into their love interest’s world. This will help to build
credibility in the character for the audience, and confidence in the protagonist and/or
player.

THE PROTAGONIST STUMBLES

About half way through Act II, the challenges have to start becoming more difficult.
The differences between the protagonist and the love interest become larger, or at least

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begin to feel that way. The conflicts between their worlds progresses from merely
awkward to seemingly incompatible. The antagonists minions grow in numbers and get
tougher and smarter. The protagonist is going to realize that the winning streak is over,
and this romance isn’t all fun and games.

The challenges aren’t actually that much harder; they should be on par with the
characters’ abilities, as opposed to being easy in Act I and the first part of Act II. They
should slowly stop playing exclusively to the characters’ strengths, and begin to require
the use of abilities the protagonist isn’t a good at. All of this should happen at the point
in the winning streak where the protagonist is running the risk of shifting from
confidence and self-assured to overconfident and arrogant. What this really means,
from an emotional standpoint, is that the protagonist has to really commit to the
relationship, and show that commitment by sticking to doing whatever is necessary to
achieve the story goal.

THE ANTAGONIST STRIKES BACK

When the protagonist begins to struggle and the unbroken winning streak comes to
an end, the antagonist will strike back. They will step up their efforts to keep the lovers
apart and humiliate the protagonist. This will have the effect of making both the
protagonist and the love interest have doubts, and the story goal will become harder to
achieve.

What really happens here is that the antagonist’s attitude toward the protagonist
becomes personal. The protagonist isn’t just some annoying person whose romantic
pursuits somehow run counter to their personal plans and schemes. They’re not after
their original goal any more, whatever that may be. The antagonist officially considers
the protagonist to be their enemy. The types of obstacles they throw at the protagonist
are no longer generic, they’re specific. They want to hurt the protagonist by humiliating
them, breaking them, and destroying something they love.

This is probably the point where the antagonist might finally appear in the story. It
has to be in a way that the protagonist can’t take them on right now. If they do fight, the
antagonist will win and will find a reason to lest the protagonist live. It’s best to frustrate
the protagonist and not allow them to have a shot.

A BRUSH WITH DEATH

This is either a literal death, or the figurative destruction of a place, an ideal, or a
plan. A main character or beloved supporting character will bite the dust. It has to be an
emotional moment for the audience. In a romance story, this is where something
happens that casts the tenability of the relationship into doubt. Some major revelation
or dark comes to light that makes one of the lovers see the other in a different, less

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flattering light; they aren’t the person we thought they were. An event occurs that
creates an obstacles that seems permanent and unconquerable. The death of a
supporting character changes the dynamics of the relationship somehow, or creates a
new situation that forces the lover to break up.

FACE THE DARKNESS

The characters have to feel that they can’t win. They need to be demoralized. It has to
be done in such a way that the audience doesn’t know how things will work out, but still
want to know what happens next. In a romance story, this is where the protagonist has
to face the reality that the relationship might be over. The way forward seemed clear and
obvious before, and “happily ever after” felt like a foregone conclusion. Now, suddenly,
it’s been ripped away. It’s the emotional low point of the story.

REACH A TURNING POINT

Something happens that gives the protagonists renewed hope. They gain some
resource, piece of information, or insight that makes them realize that they can still win.
It might be an idea how to win the romantic interest back, to prove that the antagonist
was behind everything, or to demonstrate the depth and sincerity of their love. It may
simply be a rousing speech by a supporting character that convinces the protagonist not
to give up. In any case, the protagonist has gone through the darkness and decided to
continue trying to achieve the story goal. This sets everything up for the third act.

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ROMANCE PLOT ACT III
In the third act, the protagonist finally gets their chance to defeat the antagonist and
win the hand of their true love. They get to show off what they’re capable of in a way that
will leave no room for doubt that they are competent and worthy. The protagonist will
achieve their goal, and get to live happily ever after with their love interest. The audience
will get to see what happens to all of the characters as a result of the story, and there will
be satisfying closure.

THE FINALE
The protagonist will gather every resource available and have their final
confrontation with the antagonist. The will engage in one lavish, symbolic gesture of
their love to demonstrate their feelings to the love interest. If the do these things
successfully, the love interest will agree to continue the relationship, or take it to the
next level. The story goal will thus be achieved.

While it’s possible for the protagonist to fail, and the threat of failure has to be real in
order for dramatic tension to be maintained, it rarely happens in a romance story.
Audiences just don’t go for it; the come to this type of story for a happy ending, not a
depressing downer. While you can certainly play with convention and end your love
story any way you choose, always take the expectations of your players, readers, or
viewers into consideration.

THE EPILOGUE
All of the loose ends from the first two acts are tied up. All of the stakes, both
rewards and complications, are resolved. We get to see what happens to all of the
characters as a result of the finale. First, wrap up all subplots involving the supporting
characters. Show that their personal stories have concluded, and let the audience know
how things worked out. Move on to the antagonist, showing that they have gotten what
the deserve as a result of their interference with the romance. End with the protagonist,
tying off any loose plot threads and unresolved complications that could impact their
future happiness.

THE FINAL SCENE

The last scene has to show what the characters and their world look like now. A final
image should encapsulate the notion that the lovers will now live happily ever after. The
theme has to be reinforced, and change and growth in the world demonstrated. Any
loose ends that do exist can pointed out as hooks for a potential sequel, if your intention
is to continue the story later.

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ROMANCE FINISHING PREP WORK
Once you know what happens in all three acts, you can go back in fill in the blanks.
You’ll know what elements you need to create in order to tell your romance story
effectively. Names, statistics, and other essential details can be fleshed out so that you’re
as prepared as possible.

CHARACTERS
Romance stories are populated with people whose lives are deeply impacted by their
relationships. That impact may not have been positive for them, historically, so they
may have concerns and be reluctant about becoming involved with a new person. They
may or may not be seeking a relationship at the point in their life when they meet their
love interest. Part of the intrigue of a love story is seeing how it affects the other
components of a person’s life.

Characters in a romance story will be shaped by the genre, time, and place to some
degree, but tend to have recognizable traits and live the sorts of lives that the audience
can relate to. Perhaps more than any other type of story, a romance plot requires that
the audience be able to see something on themselves in the main characters.

Make sure every character you create has a distinct purpose; otherwise, you can
probably cut them out. Are their people that might be able to fill more than one role,
eliminating some preparation? Can you have fewer supporting characters who are more
tightly tied to the story?

Protagonist - The most appropriate types of characters to fill the role of

protagonist in a romance story are the innocent, the loner, and the lover. The innocent
knows nothing of love, so the relationship is entirely new and magical to them. The
loner has to adjust to the notion of sharing their personal space and their life in general
with another person. The lover is adept at having relationships, but has never been truly
in love or willing to commit the way they are now.

You might also consider the caregiver, the leader, and the sage. The caregiver has
devoted their life to looking after other people, and now they have to consider their own
needs and adjust to the idea of someone looking after them. The leader has
responsibilities that might conflict with having a personal life, and struggled to find a
way to make a relationship fit in. The sage is devoted to intellectual pursuits, and finds
emotional situations awkward and problematic even when they are rewarding.

Antagonist - The antagonist has to balance out the protagonist, being either their
opposite or a dark mirror image. For a romance story, this means they could also be the
aggressor, the drifter, or the player. The aggressor takes what they want by force, and if

12
they can’t will try to prevent anyone else from having it. The drifter believes that reliance
on other people is a weakness, and will attempt to prove it to the protagonist. The player
doesn’t want a committed relationship, and will try to entice the protagonist to see
things their way.

The antagonist might also be the judge, the schemer, or the tyrant. The judge will
not approve of the relationship between the protagonist and their new lover interest for
some reason, and will work to make their lives difficult and keep them apart. The
schemer has some plan that will be foiled by the lovers getting together, and will seek to
destroy the relationship for their own gain. The tyrant simply wants to control things,
and doesn’t like that the lovers have begun a relationship without seeking their
permission first.

Supporting Characters - In a romance story, it is essential that you have a

supporting character that is a sidekick to the protagonist. A best friend, a sibling, a
wingman, someone that the protagonist can share their feelings with, and who will help
to make and execute plans to win over the lover interest. You will also need a voice of
reason character, and a voice of emotion character. The former will point out to the
protagonist all of the potential problems with the relationship. They won’t necessarily be
trying to sink things, and may have legitimate concerns and a desire to protect the
protagonist’s feelings. The latter will be there to remind the protagonist, when things get
difficult, how wonderful and worthwhile love is and why they should never, ever give up
on it.

LOCATIONS
Locations in a romance story should be beautiful, glamorous, and feature all of the
trappings associated with love and courtship. Common recurring locations include fancy
restaurants, long scenic walkways, and stunning examples of nature like beaches, parks,
and forests. You will also need to detail the homes of the love interests, the place where
they first met, and probably their workplaces. Look through your story and determine
the other locations necessary, and consider descriptions that match not only the genre,
time, and place, but the tone and atmosphere that this type of plot invokes.

PROPS
Objects commonly found in a romance plot include things associated with love,
courtship, and beauty. Nice clothes that make the characters even more attractive are a
must. Jewelry, for gifts, is practically essential. Flowers, chocolates, luxury vehicles, and
trappings of a lavish lifestyle are common, because a romance story is a sort of fantasy
that socioeconomic reality rarely touches. These types of props help to communicate the
tone and atmosphere of the story. You will also need objects that indicate the genre,
time, and place.

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WORLDBUILDING
A romance plot often hinges on cultural and possibly religious traditions. These
dictate the way dating and courtship are handled, and the types of relationships that are
acceptable within the story’s society. Elements of these traditions should inform the
story’s goal, obstacles, and stakes, and as much background developed and
communicated to the audience as is necessary for the story to make sense.

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high or low, even or odd. If the total is high, you succeed! If it's low, you fail. If the total
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Tell better stories using your favorite tabletop roleplaying game!

We all know that stories need a beginning, a middle, and an end. Hero goes on quest, hero faces
obstacles, hero completes quest. Lovers fall in love, antagonist keeps lovers apart, lovers end up
together. Things beyond the protagonist’s control change, the protagonist faces adversity, the
protagonist learns to adapt and achieves greatness. On that basic structure writers and storytellers
throughout the ages have woven variations and created masterpieces. We keep coming back to
the same foundations today for one very good reason: those structures are versatile and continue
to work.

This book will help you to leverage basic story structure and use it to your advantage. You’ll be
able to say what you want while keeping your audience engaged. The three-act structure and its
variations will be discussed in detail, along ways this structure can be expanded beyond a single
story and into a series or campaign. In the end, you’ll have new tools in your storytelling
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At the heart of all great stories are strong characters. It doesn’t matter whether you’re
reading a short story, writing a novel, or watching a play. The characters found in TV
series, comic books, and games are more alike on a creative level than they are different.
The symbiotic relationship between character and story is universal across media.

In this book, we’ll explore what goes into crafting memorable and enjoyable characters.
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RPG jargon. It’s not going to be about crunching numbers or picking abilities. I’ll talk
about writing your character, rather than just playing them. Because while there are
other hats that we wear around the table, including those of performer and tactician,
we’re all writers. Even if we never put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, it’s the
writer’s craft that we’re dabbling in.

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The term worldbuilding gets thrown around a lot by both writers and roleplayers. It’s
most frequently used in reference to the construction of a fantasy realm or an entire
fictional universe. There are maps, and histories, and complex back stories, and all sorts
of engaging little details. While these worlds are allegedly being created as the grand
stage for a work of fiction, which includes novels, films, television shows, and games,
worldbuilding is often an end unto itself. It’s an intellectual exercise, a creative outlet,
and just a whole lot of fun.

This isn’t a book about worldbuilding. This is a book about telling stories.

What I mean to say is, this book isn’t about worldbuilding for its own sake. You’re not
going to learn how to create an encyclopedia for an alternate universe. I’m not going to
show you have to write the ultimate travel guide for an imaginary place. It’s not a book
full of checklists and random tables. This is about assembling the critical details that you
will need in order to tell a story.

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