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How to Craft Romantic Chemistry Between Characters

Kristen Keiffer

As both a reader and a writer, I am a big fan of romance.

I love the unique tension and allure that exists within a love story, the will-they-or-won’t-they mystery that leads to such great page-turning material. But that material can’t exist without strong romantic chemistry between the characters in question (as evidenced by many a lackluster rom-com, right?). And unfortunately, chemistry isn’t exactly easy to define or to craft.

Though I don’t write within the romance genre myself, romantic subplots are a staple in my personal brand of storytelling. So today, I’m going to share with you everything I’ve learned about crafting romantic chemistry readers can believe in.

But what exactly is romantic chemistry?

To craft a believable romance, it’s important to first define what romantic chemistry is. Or rather, what it isn’t.

Romantic chemistry isn’t physical attraction. Just because two people are physically interested in one another doesn’t mean that romance will blossom between them. However, an immediate physical attraction can encourage people to get to know one another better (no innuendo intended — wink!). This, in turn, can lead to a deeper attraction that may result in romance.

It’s important to note this difference between romantic chemistry and physical attraction for several reasons. Firstly, conflating these two types of attraction erases the existence of asexual people, many of whom feel romantic attraction despite a lack of sexual desire. For asexual people (and even some sexual people), romantic chemistry can exist without physical attraction.

Secondly, relying solely on physical attraction to build romantic chemistry between characters will always result in a shallow, lackluster love story. People don’t fall in love simply because they find one another sexy. That’s lust. And while lust can lead to a similar will-they-or-won’t-they tension and erotic passion, it doesn’t make for a love story. Not on its own.

So what is romantic chemistry?

We’ve all heard romantic chemistry defined as a “spark” between two people, and this definition isn’t wrong. Romantic chemistry is an energetic exchange between people that indicates that romance could exist between them.

Like all relational chemistry, a key ingredient in romantic chemistry is attraction, the pull that interests one person in another. But the types of attraction that create romantic interest will vary from person to person. In fact, there are four main types of attraction that you can use to craft a romantic profile for your characters. Let’s take a look: See More . . . 

 

 

 

 

https://www.well-storied.com/blog/how-to-craft-romantic-chemistry-between-characters

Tone vs Mood: How to Use Tone and Mood in Your Writing

Tone and mood might sound exactly the same to you. But when you’re writing, they accomplish different things.

What’s the difference between tone and mood?

Tone is something you’re likely to think about every day, but you may not have to worry about mood unless you read or write a lot of fiction or creative non-fiction. So, while they may seem like similar concepts, their purposes are quite different. Here’s an explanation of each one:

What is tone in writing?

There are different types of tone, but because we’re talking about mood, we’ll stick to tone in writing, not tone of voice.

As we’ve covered in several other posts, tone in writing consists of the attitude that’s conveyed by your words, punctuation, sentence structure, and other nuances. Every sentence you read and write has its own tone.

Putting a period at the end of a sentence in an informal text chain with your friend may have them wondering if you’re mad at them. Exclamation points may help convey excitement or alarm. Shorter sentences may convey annoyance, while longer ones may convey anxiety or lack of confidence. See More . . .