Defining Romantasy: A Deep Dive
Working Title: Breaking down the difference between romantasy and a fantasy story with romantic elements for writers.
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One of the first articles I wrote on Substack was called Defining the Romantasy Genre. In retrospect, I realize that article focuses more on the importance of understanding your genre when pitching. This is great information for writers who have a completed manuscript. However, most of the clients I work with are writers new to this genre. If that is you, welcome! I’d love to provide you with the tools to help you write the book in your heart.
Without further ado, I am putting on my professor cap and providing you a list of elements a book needs in order to be considered romantasy. Please Note: THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS for A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein, and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.
Romantasy is a genre that seamlessly blends the plot beats of commercial romance with those of epic fantasy. Romantasy often features a strong female protagonist, immersive magical worldbuilding, and a central romantic storyline with depth. While not a requirement, the majority of romantasy stories are told over multiple volumes.
When writing your romantasy, be sure to focus on the following elements:
The Protagonist
Your number one focus as an aspiring romantasy author is to create a couple that readers can cheer for as they fall in love. This goes beyond writing steamy scenes. Readers will not care about how down and dirty your protagonists get if those characters are not fully developed with true emotional depths.
Your protagonist is the heart of the story. Their desire drives the narrative forward, the things that impede them from getting what they want creates the conflict, and as a result the protagonist changes. In romantasy, one of the things they want is a happily-ever-after or a happy-for-now with the love interest. This change, combined with the HEA, is the formula for a perfectly romantasy.
Before you write a single word of the story, make sure you have a keen understanding of who your protagonist is, why their heart wants to be loved, and why their brain is telling them they cannot have it.
The Romance Beats
Once you’ve established who your protagonist is and what she desires, put her through the wringer using a romance beat sheet to structure your outline. I recommend Gwen Hayes’s Romancing the Beat, which includes the meet-cute, the break-up, and the grand gesture.
Example of a full on romance in Romantasy: ACOMAF
In the second book of the Court of Thorns and Roses series, protagonist Feyre finds herself in a love triangle. Her heart is torn between Tamlin and Rhysand. Tamlin, in an attempt to keep Feyre safe in a dangerous world, proposes marriage and a quiet life where she can hone her skills as an artist. Rhysand, on the other hand, teaches Feyre how to function in the world of the fae, helps her face her past traumas, and encourages her to embrace her innate powers.
Feyre’s growth from victim to bad-ass warrior is the direct result of Rhysand’s unconditional love. Without their emotional bond, the entire plot of this series falls apart.
Example of a romance subplot in Fantasy: Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is the undisputed OG of the fantasy genre. It’s a story I love. It’s a movie series I love even more thanks to Peter Jackson’s decision to play up the love story between Aragorn, the human destined to be king, and Arwen, the half-elven daughter of the Lord of Rivendell.
Do they finally have their happily-ever-after at the end of the story? Yes. However, their subplot is not a commercial romance nor romantasy, as several of the beats are missing.
We are only told of their “meet-cute”; it does not appear on the page or screen in the course of the narrative.
There is no “adhesion plot thrust” keeping them together. He loves her dearly, and she him, but they spend very little time together during the course of the story.
There is no “dark night of the soul” moment where their emotions are questioned. Their love for each other is fully secure from the onset.
The Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding a romantasy is a serious undertaking. Things to consider include:
A cast of non-human characters, such as fae, elves, trolls, or monsters. For each type of creature, you will need to decide on their appearance and how they add to the overall story. Yes, dragons are cool, but why are dragons necessary to the type of story you need to tell?
A mythical setting. Oftentimes what comes to mind is some Renaissance Faire-esque/ medieval setting. Those are fantastic, but there is an entire world of cultures to offer inspiration. Can you set your story in a world adjacent to jungles of Mesoamerica or the mountains of China? Better yet, make up something out of this world! Honestly, if you can create a map to work from, all the better.
Magic, magic and more magic. Who wields the magic, and why? What are the rules of your magic? This is a really important step—to think about the good the magic can do as well as the harm it can cause. Give your magic limits as well. No one wants to read a story about someone who is so powerful their magic erases any and all conflict. Remember, no conflict, no story.
A believable culture. Worldbuilding goes beyond simple set-dressing. In the most popular of romantasy novels, the authors create entire cultures with a language, history, customs, religion, and manner of dress.
A word of caution to the writers out there. One of the biggest problems fantasy and romantasy writers have is getting trapped by their own worldbuilding. They create entire universes and races, yet never actually start writing the pages of the story. If this is something you are struggling with, I specialize in getting you out of that rut so you can navigate your narrative.
The Fantasy Beats
Successful romantasy plots follow a beat sheet used by commercial novelists or screenwriters. Popular options out there include Save the Cat, The 27 Chapter Method, and the Hero’s Journey. Choose the method that speaks to the story you want to tell, with the caveat that your method somehow corresponds to the Three Act Structure, the foundational structure for stories in the western tradition.
To show you how these beats are seen in a romantasy, I’ve laid out the bare bones of the plot beats in Leigh Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone. This is a masterclass in YA romantasy, and one of the stories that helped me appreciate how much I love this genre though the term romantasy was not on my radar when I first read this several years back.
Act 1—The Inciting Incident: this is the moment when the protagonist sets off on the journey that unfolds over the course of the book. This usually occurs within the first 5 to 10% of the manuscript.
In Shadow and Bone, the inciting incident occurs when Alina Starkov sees her childhood friend (and love interest) Mal attacked by shadow monsters as they attempt to cross a magical hellscape called the Fold. Alina’s magic awakens in the form of light to save him.
Act 1—Plot Point 1: the protagonist finds there is no point of return. Their normal life is no more.
Shadow and Bone escalates quickly. Alina is named a Sun Summoner, and is brought to the capital to meet the king, queen, and the Darkling, the commander of the Grisha army in charge of defeating the Fold. He is a dark, handsome shadow-daddy. Alina starts to have feelings he seems to recpriocate.
Act 2—Midpoint: at this point the protagonist has adjusted to their new situation. However this equilibrium is ruined by a set-back around the halfway point of the story.
Alina is falling for the Darkling, especially since he so publicly favors her, going as far as to dress her in his colors. (Kayne West vibes anyone?) Then she learns the Darkling’s true identity: he really is a shadow daddy, having created the Fold and all the monsters within it. He wants to use Alina’s powers to destroy their neighboring territories, not save them from the Fold. Alina runs away.
Act 3—Dark Night of the Soul: this is the biggest set-back for the protagonist. All appears to be lost.
The Darkling discovers and captures Alina, Mal, and a magical creature whose bones can be used to amplify power. He kills the creature, uses its antlers to create an amplifier, and then uses this creation to control Alina’s leveled up power.
Act 3—Climax: the protagonist has overcome the greatest obstacle of the story with a show of strength utilizing all the lessons they have learned along the way.
Alina realizes she has more power over the stag amplifier than the Darkling because she loved the stag too much to be the one to kill it. She uses her power to save Mal, this time from the Darkling, and they escape.
Again, this is a bare-bones (pun intended) overview of Shadow and Bone. If you are not familar with Leigh Bardugo’s writing, I encourage you to get this series stat, as I believe it’s popularity is one of the reasons why romantasy is having it’s moment in the sun.
I hope you found this article helpful. Comment what you’d like to know more about in the comments below romantasy writers! Thank you as always for reading.