Podcasts › Fiction Writing Made Easy with Savannah Gilbo
#262. 10 Tips to Make Your Enemies to Lovers Romance Feel Believable
What's in this episode
If you're writing an enemies to lovers romance, getting your characters from “I can't stand you” to “I love you” takes more than chemistry. Here’s how to write enemies to lovers in a way that makes that turn feel convincing. The enemies to lovers trope is popular for a reason. The tension, banter, forced proximity, and slow shift from conflict to attraction can make for an incredibly satisfying romance. But it's harder to pull off than it looks, because readers have to believe two things at once: that these two characters genuinely are enemies, and that these same two characters could genuinely fall in love. That's why in this episode, I'm walking you through 10 tips for building an enemies to lovers romance that feels believable, while still keeping all the tension and friction that makes this trope so much fun. You'll hear me talk about things like: [03:49] What determines how much page space your romance gets, where its big turning points belong, and how tightly it ties to your plot. [08:07] Why forced proximity needs to do more than keep your characters together if you want the shift in their relationship to feel believable. [10:25] How falling in love with the other person can