Hi everyone , i am a new author and i need some advices for start a romance story. What i must do and what i mustn’t do. ( I’m so sorry for my bad english, i am french) Have a good day <3333
I wouldn’t say there are thing you must and musn’t do 
But there are things that might make your story more popular and likeable 
Here’s a thread I made a few years back Writing an Episode story 101 - The key to success
I think it sums up the most important things when writing a story 
If you’re struggling to come up with a title, I have a 
Story Title Shop as well
Good luck! 
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Thank u so much, it will help me a lot. Thanks again <3333
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Hey Shababinxx,
At first follow @Martini_98 's advice. It’s an amazing advice.
Secondly, for romance-stories:
- Try to avoid taboos → make your stories healthy. When you’re writing a mafia story, don’t make the LI the die-hard criminal gang leader (yes, criminals, because they kill and wound people) that will become a softie when he meets the innocent MC (that’s too cliché and in real life no innocent soul (woman or man) should get involved with a criminal) and if you want to write a high school/college-story don’t write about a teacher having a relationship with a student (that’s gross);
- In every romance story → don’t let the MC and LI fall in love immediately in episode 1, just give there love time to grow. Let them fall in love in episode 10 or 15, not in episode 1 or 3. In real life it’s also seldom that people fall in love immediately.
Love A-W
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Thanks you so much for your advices🙏🏾. I’ll do that thanks🫶🏾.
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Congratulations on starting your journey as a new author!!! I am a literature student, and here are some tips that I would personally find very helpful if I were starting to write my romance.
The dos:
Develop your characters: Characters are the heart of any story, and it’s especially important in a romance. Spend time creating complex, relatable characters that your readers can root for and fall in love with.
Create tension: Romance is all about tension and anticipation. Give your characters obstacles to overcome and create a sense of longing and desire between them.
Write with emotion: Romance is all about feelings and emotions, so make sure you’re writing with emotion and evoking strong feelings in your readers.
Set the scene: Your story’s setting can help set the tone and create a sense of atmosphere. Consider the time period, location, and other elements that will make your story come alive.
Show, don’t tell: Instead of simply telling your readers how your characters feel or what they’re thinking, show them through action, dialogue, and description.
The don’ts:
Cliches: While some romance tropes are popular for a reason, try to avoid relying too heavily on cliches. Instead, look for fresh, unique ways to tell your story.
Rushing the romance: It’s important to build tension and anticipation in a romance, so avoid rushing your characters into a relationship too quickly. Let their connection develop naturally over time.
Lack of conflict: Conflict is what drives a story forward, so make sure you’re giving your characters obstacles to overcome and creating tension throughout the story.
Unrealistic dialogue: Dialogue is a key element in any romance, but make sure it’s realistic and true to your characters’ personalities and experiences.
Stereotypes: Avoid using stereotypes or relying on harmful tropes that could be offensive or hurtful to your readers.
Remember that writing a romance story takes time, effort, and a lot of heart. Keep these tips in mind as you start your journey, and remember to have fun with it! I wish you nothing but the best of luck! <3
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Whenever you are ready message me for free proof reading! I love working with ELL authors. s far as advice goes the previous writers gave you solid advice to follow. More than anything right now the community wants to see a healthy relationship. I know a lot of my community friends are not interested in the “bad boy” love interest.
I would love to chat more, if you have IG find me @stine_stories
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Thanks you too much, it’s help me a lot. Have a good day:+1:t5:
I will follow your advices thanks you too much <333
Before I start, I wish you luck in writing, and a reminder that these are just my opinions and won’t apply for everyone else! 
Musts
-
Good Directing
Good directing is mainly what pulls me in. Good spot direction, meaning background characters, nice overlays, etc. It shows how dedicated you are to your story. Nice zooms and pans are crucial for me, too. (Interesting backgrounds also) -
Diverse Characters
I’m not just talking about skin complexion / race and sexuality. I mean I don’t want to see every character with the same features. I don’t want to read a story where all male characters are incredible ripped (especially if they’re teenagers) and all the female characters have the same hair type (Type 1, 2, etc). This goes for facial features as well. -
Good Storytelling
I don’t enjoy seeing scenes that don’t matter in a story. Such as your protagonist eating breakfast. I really hate when those scenes are narrated. Narration or the lack of actual speech can get verrryyyy annoying. Be able to tell a story, not only with third person narration, but with animations and speech. -
Originality
I don’t read Episode’s featured stories for two reasons:
- Unbelievable gem choices.
- Cliches and predictable outcomes.
If you don’t add a little splash of originality to your story, it’ll get boring pretty quickly. It’s best to keep the reader on their toes with cliffhangers. (Make sure your episodes aren’t too long or short!)
-
Impactful Choices
A lot of people seem to love impactful choices, because it is called Episode: Choose Your Story. Giving a reader a chance to greatly impact the story / protagonist or whatever, keeps people drawn in. It might be kind of difficult to write impactful choices on the first episode, but it’s not impossible!
Mustn’t
-
Unnecessary gem choices
No, I will not give you 30 gems to make my character stand up to her bully! Is it Episode: Choose Your Story or Episode: Pay to Make Good Choices?
-
Limited CC because of art scenes.
I don’t mind reading a story without/with limited CC, but I can barely customize my character because of 30 second CLICHE art scenes? Okay lol
-
Love at first sight
I understand being attracted to someone when you first notice them, but head over heels IN LOVE? No relationship build-up? Booooring. -
Certain cliches
Token black friend with no backstory, bad boy next door that thinks the MC is “different from other girls,” mean girl and her two followers, that’s all a no from me. -
Predators disguised as love interests
If you are 21+ and attracted to someone who just turned 18, you are a predator. End of story. 18 is still very much a child, and you guys are writing stories about MC’s best friend’s 40-something y/o father falling in love with an 18 y/o?
-
Bad grammar / no punctuation
I understand English isn’t your first language, so if you plan on writing a story in English, I recommend you get a proof-reader! <3
Again, I wish you luck! Don’t get discouraged, your writing can only get better! Do not compare yourself to other writers, or compare your stories to more popular ones. Every writer is unique in their own way! 
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Hi and welcome to the community. Here’s a blog/website that I’ve found to be a really helpful resource
there are dozens of guides and breakdowns, suggested irl books you can read or order that help writers etc.
The only "don’t " I can think of is : Don’t make your Love Interest into a toxic horrible person that’s one redeeming quality is that they’re sorta nice sometimes to the main character. This is SO rampant on the app. I get why but at the same time, kids read here, too and I certainly wouldn’t want my kids or nieces thinking that’s how guys/girls in love act. 
And a “do” would be try to make whatever cliche you use unique to your story and characters. Don’t think that in order to get reads that you’re story has to follow the same path that the “trending” stories do. So, just try thinking a little outside the box-- like giving the “bad boy” a particular un-earned reputation that he’s apathetic to and doesn’t waste his time trying to change their mind and the MC finds out the who the guy really is.
My only real advice is to take your time and make a story that you are proud of. Everything else is just opinions.
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Honestly, a lot of the tips others have written I agree with, so I’ll share some pet peeves I have with romance stories, as well as some examples. Hopefully, they’ll help! : )
Pet Peeves
- Categorizing a story that’s clearly romance-focused as an entirely different genre. Yes, romance is the most popular genre. That’s no excuse for putting categorizing your story in the wrong genre. If you’re worried that your story won’t build an audience, promote it on social media.
- Using miscommunication/misunderstandings to drive the plot. While this is fine in moderation, try to write a plot that’s driven by a variety of forces. It’s a lot more interesting when there are many things that can affect the relationship your characters have.
- False tension. I’ve read a lot of stories that don’t have enough tension, so they try to throw in scenarios and scenes intended to create tension. You’ll annoy a lot of readers this way. Instead, think about your character’s internal conflict when you want to add tension. Why should those tense moments matter to your characters and readers?
- Perfect characters. Think about people in your real life that have no flaws. Can’t think of any? That’s because there will be no person who is perfect. Your characters should have weaknesses and struggles that will make them matter to your readers. To make things more interesting, those weaknesses can also have moments where they are your character’s strengths. (And vice-versa!)
- The MC and LI are polar opposites/exactly alike. Couples that last a long time have their own interests, as well as some shared/mutual interests. Find a balance between individual interests and shared interests.
- The MC and LI with no lives. Your characters should have jobs, relationships, and hobbies outside of each other. Unless one of the characters is manipulating the other, they should be able to do things on their own.
- “They’re beautiful but they don’t know it.” It’s cliche and unrealistic for a character to be both good-looking and miserably unaware of their beauty.
“Their lips said no, but their eyes said yes.” I can’t believe I’m including this, but it needs to be said. No means no. If someone still tries to make moves on another character, that’s not romantic. Unless you are making it absolutely clear that such a thing is not okay, do not include those kinds of topics. If you do, include a content/trigger warning.
Examples to Avoid
- Chapter A: Oh no! The LI already has a SO (significant other)! * Cliffhanger. * Chapter B: False alarm! It’s actually a family member/friend of theirs.
- Character A is upset with Character B because they’ve been distant. Instead of communicating this, they give them the silent treatment.
Good Examples:
- The MC is suspicious of another character, despite everyone else thinking the MC’s skepticism is unwarranted. Turns out, the character in question has ill intentions!
- Character A is upset with Character B because they’ve been acting distant. They express their frustrations and the two work things out.
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Moved to Share Feedback since this is about story ideas. Make sure to check out our Forum Tutorial for more info about creating topics, and feel free to PM me if you’ve got questions. 
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Thank you very much for all your instructive and interesting advice. Thanks to your advice, I was able to correct my errors.🫶🏾🫶🏾
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