4 ways to outline a romance novel

If you’ve always wanted to write a romance but don’t know where to start, there are lots of methods to outline a romance novel to help you out! Even if you’re a more seasoned writer, learning new ways of outlining can be really helpful. No two books are the same, and you might find that some types of outlining work better for some projects than others.

Save the Cat beat sheets

I recommend Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody to authors all the time – it’s such a gold mine of information for plotting and structuring all types of novels! The book contains ten suggested beat sheets for different genres.

The beat sheet you choose will depend on your subgenre of romance. But generally, the “Buddy Love” beat sheet is a great one to choose for a romance novel as it’s all about building a love story, and how love can transform people.

Jessica Brody details how to build a love story with three components: the incomplete hero, the counterpart, and the complication.

The great thing about Save the Cat! Writes a Novel is the examples: Jessica Brody uses famous books to illustrate each beat sheet, as well as giving you templates for outlining your own novel.

If you’re writing something like romantic suspense, you might like to use the “Whydunit” beat sheet to plan out your mystery/suspense elements, and combine this with parts of “Buddy Love” to make sure you’re also focused on the romance.

Romancing the Beat method

I use Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes a lot to outline – sometimes I even combine this with Jessica Brody’s “Buddy Love” to make something more suited to my preferences.

Romancing the Beat is commonly recommended for romance outlining because it’s one of the few books that delves into romance story structure specifically. The introductory sections explain theme, genre expectations, external plot, and premise.

For the outlining itself, the book suggests four phases: the setup, falling in love, retreating form love, and fighting for love. Each of these phases has five beats.

Romancing the Beat is short and digestible, so it’s great for quickly outlining and getting your thoughts down on paper. It’s also incredibly useful if you want to write from the perspective of each character in the couple, as it describes beats for each person (the book calls these protagonists H1 and H2).

Jami Gold’s romance planning beat sheet

This romance planning beat sheet by Jami Gold is from 2012, but don’t let that put you off! It’s so comprehensive.

Jami Gold’s beat sheet is based on the three-act structure but adapted for the romance genre. So in act one for example, the focus is on introducing the protagonists and the romantic conflict and stakes. The inciting incident is all about why these characters are perfect for each other… and why they currently aren’t ready for love.

This beat sheet can be downloaded as a spreadsheet and has room for you to include a logline/premise. It even has a word count tracker for each act, so you know your manuscript won’t end up too long (or short).

The Snowflake method

The Snowflake method is a method where you start simple and build out from there – until your outline is as detailed as a snowflake. It’s a good option for writers who want to organise creative ideas in a way that feels more manageable.

The Snowflake method also places a lot of emphasis on not losing your desire to write the story over the course of the planning process.

You begin with a one-sentence summary of the book, gradually building out from there. The great thing about this method is you can easily boil down your hook to this one-sentence summary, making it much easier to pitch your novel later!

The Snowflake method also suggests three “big disasters” and an ending. Since you’ll be writing romance, you’ll want to focus on how these internal or external disasters or sets of unfortunate circumstances impact your main couple. Remember: your book is about two people falling in love and the push-and-pull it takes to get them together. The major conflict will be about what’s preventing the couple from getting together.

By the time you’re done with the Snowflake method, you should have an overall outline, some character profiles, and a list of scenes to help you with writing your novel. There is also an accompanying book on the method.

If you’re going to use the Snowflake method, I do still recommend looking at something more specific to romance, like Romancing the Beat, first, to give you an idea of reader expectations within the romance genre.

Things to remember as you outline your romance novel

There are many ways to outline a romance novel – and some writers don’t like to outline at all and prefer to fly by the seat of their pants! Still, there are some things to consider when it comes to romance, whatever outlining method you choose (or if you decide not to):

• Decide on your heat/spice level: Are you comfortable writing sex/explicit scenes, or do you prefer kisses-only? Will bedroom scenes be on the page and shown directly, or behind closed doors? You don’t necessarily have to decide on your heat level at the outlining stage, but it’s worth thinking about.
• Consider your subgenre: There are conventions, tropes, and expectations for every subgenre of romance and it’s a good idea to be aware of these so you can have an easier time outlining – and in turn, marketing and selling your book. For example, generally, readers of romance go into a book expecting a happy ending – but if you’re writing a dark romance, readers will know that things might end in a more unsettling way. If you want to write romantasy, you will need to factor in world-building too.

I hope this post helped you with the outline for your romance novel – good luck!

And if you’d like some help with your manuscript, check out my editorial services – I’d love to hear from you about your project!