Lately, I feel like there’s a bit of frustration with romance stories and how a lot of people seem to be taking the fact that “sex sells” and just… overdoing it in their stories.
I’m not saying I don’t want romance stories, but I do think we need a bit more variety with what’s actually on the app at the moment… And according to @rubywrites’s recent poll, majority of people agree.
I’ve seen a few threads around asking for stories with no romance and the results are… underwhelming(?) The most recent/current one I could find is this one: Stories without romance as main focus or very very little romance? So if you do have a story that’s published with little-to-none romance, please drop it there instead, as this thread is for story pitches only.
I wanted to make a thread for no-romance story ideas because:
I think it’s a great way to suss out whether the community would actually support a story where there is no sex or romance…
I also think it’s a really fun challenge for ourselves, trying to come up with a concept that involves no romance.
Low key hoping that if enough people support someone’s pitch, that person will suddenly have the motivation to write it overnight so then I can read it
So if you have a no-romance story idea in your head and are willing to share it, please drop it down below
all of my stories do have romance in them but it is not the mane plot. and i agree way to many stories about romance.
where as of sex. nope. even if it happen it a fast two line mention.
also the keep away from romance dont usally work. take brave thay where so focus on writhing a story with no love inetrest. guess what they gave us three. yeah she does not end with one but still. also the movie actually led up to a sequel where they return for her love.
I’m in the middle of writing a story that does contain romance, but only if you want it to. It’s only going to be a small part of it and definitely no sex scenes
It’s not published at the moment but… yeah
I totally agree! And I actually have a few episode ideas in which the romance is not the main plot.
All of them are crime stories, hah.
I’d love to share them here.
Can I send the descriptions of them or should I write the short version of my story idea?
Oh, and also I didn’t post my stories (because for now they are only ideas)
Okay, here is the description: ”When Veronica witnesses a serious accident on the movie plan, she realizes that something strange is happening behind the scenes. She knows that when the cameras stop rolling, no one is safe anymore…”
Basically, there are love interests, I won’t lie but they aren’t so important (they are only an extra thing). The main plot is the case, which Veronica (MC) has to solve.
This is a fantastic thread, thank you! Please keep in mind everyone that this is not a promotion thread. Please go do that in the link provided in the OG post, or else your comment could be possibly flagged for off topic posting.
That being said, I also agree that romance seems to be a reoccurring theme on the app, regardless of the genre. I think romance can certainly enhance character dynamics in a story, but it’s always refreshing to read a story where it isn’t the primary focus.
I have way too many ideas in my head for me to list them all So here are some pretty random and basic tropes you can build off of. Sorry if they’re too vague.
Writing Thriller/Horror/Fantasy/Sci-fi can usually be genres that you can get away with not including romance.
Getting lost on an abandoned island.
Protagonist has supernatural abilities in a modern world.
Mysterious plane incidents.
Unlocking a magic door, kind of like Narnia.
Treasure hunting.
Ghost trains.
Time Travel
Grabbed this one off of google. You stare at the man in the photo and wonder what his life might have been like. Next thing you know, you and the person in the photograph have swapped places.
Edit: I decided to add some more fantasy prompts I found online, because this is fun
Street Signs: After a young man is killed as an innocent bystander in the cross-fires of gang violence, you notice a mysterious symbol appear on the side of a building.
Lilies of the Valley: As the new housekeeper for a prominent wealthy family, one of your tasks is to water all of the house plants. You are watering the lilies in the entry way when one of the plants starts talking to warn you of a dark family secret. Paranormal Detective : He has a knack for solving mysteries with the help of a ghost who gives him clues. Out of Paradise: You just got kicked out of heaven. Now what? Spirit Radio: After a few too many songs come on the radio at random coincidence, you realize you have a gift to communicate with spirits through music.
I thought about doing these plots sooo many times, but I know you have to have a certain skill level in directing for this story to be amazing… So, if someone writes this I’ll support it
A spotlight story - spotlight so all the twelvies looking for sex know straight away that there will be no gyrating of any sorts.
It will be a choose your gender story in which the reader can insert themselves - so name and look CC.
The reader starts as a librarian but might just change this into a book store owner, still deciding…, who has a thing for mystery novels… Kinda like Nancy Drew type of character I guess.
It’s basically like a crime TV show, where every episode will have a new mystery for the reader to solve… MC will just happen to be at the right place at the right time aka the scene of the crime and since they are a mystery novel fanatic, they obviously know how to look for clues and interrogate suspects and solve crimes. Duh!
I plan on using tappable overlays to search crime scenes for clues and give choices for interviewing suspects where the reader will get different information to help them piece together what happened.
Eventually (maybe season 1 final), MC will join the police because… well… there’s only so many times I can have them conveniently placed at the scene of the crime before it gets suspicious looking
I don't want to spam the thread with off topic posts
Ehh I thought this too to be honest, and it was a bit discouraging at first I’ll admit. I’m currently working on a sci-fi story and at first it seemed like it couldn’t be amazing without advanced directing. But as cool as overlays look, it’s really the plot and characters that matter. Who cares if you mastered directing if your storyline doesn’t intrigue your readers? And have some faith! I’m sure with practice you can do amazing things with the portal
You already know this, but you have my 100% support with this story. I would totally read this. Amaaaazing.
Thank you! I added a bunch more I found online too lol, they’re so interesting.
And I’ll probably add a bunch more later because well, I can’t shut up.
So it’s kinda unoriginal, but I personally always find road trip stories to be entertaining.
E.g. besties on a road trip, a road trip to impress an in-law, where you meet all these wacky and wonderful characters. Those stories are lit imo.
I quite like them too. My bestie and I have done a mega drive a couple of times across the coast of Australia and I could totally imagine adapting that into a comedy story with random horror/thriller vibes whenever characters drive at night lol. My only challenge would be getting and animating car overlays
Overlays are the worst!
But, yes, I guess you could really go into any genre with stories like that (comedy, horror, drama, even mystery I guess). I think that’s the beauty of them tbh. I think they work great as short stories.
So here are some pretty random and basic tropes you can build off of. Sorry if they’re too vague.
