Writing Romantic Chemistry

The chemistry between romantic partners has to be one of the most important aspects of a romance to get right. After all, if your reader doesn't believe (or care) that your characters are going to come together, what are we even doing?

Chemistry

Chemistry may start as a physical attraction, or even an "instalust" between individuals, but what else is it? I'd argue it's a few things. There's vulnerability. A willingness to show the other person(s) your emotions, your weaknesses, insecurities, fears, hopes, dreams, etc. Anything that let's them see behind the mask of strength and perfection so many of us put on everyday to face the world. Then there's feeling seen. Don't we all love it when the one main character sees the other for who they are? Not as being different and weird or needing to change to attract anyone, but perfect just as they are?

Resistance

A book where the characters have it easy isn't going to be very interesting is it? Where is your plot when everything just falls into place? There needs to be resistance. Challenges to overcome. And resisting the pull of attraction is always a good one. It's the basis of so many enemies-to-lovers stories, isn't it? The characters start off hating each other because they have opposite goals or family feuds or something from the past. But there's a physical attraction between them. They want to ignore it, they try to ignore it—right up until they can't. Jill Shalvis' latest book Free Falling does a great job of this if you want to read a simmering enemies-to-lovers book. Emma and Caleb couldn't stand each other in college, now they have to work together to make a big rennovation project succeed. Past miscommunications, and preconceived notions created present-day enemies with a lot of pent-up chemistry and issues to work through, and when they're forced to work in close proximity and start actually talking to each other, things may happen that surprise them both.

Slow Burn Suspense

It’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine that this classic—so perfect for deep character development—often gets shortchanged. This is a great place to introduce multiple layers of tension or suspense into your book. Take advantage of it! Have there be real reasons to keep them apart. Is one a suspect in a crime the other is investigating? That would certainly keep them from acting on feelings, but still keep them in each other's orbit. Are you watching Season 4 of Bridgerton? Benedict and Sophie have been circling their attraction for half a season without acting on it, but giving us glances, small touches, and intimate conversations. But they they stay apart because of their social positions. Class distinction is a major barrier, a real reason for them not to marry. What has to change for them to overcome that obstacle?

What kind of obstacles are preventing your characters from spending time together? In historical fiction (depending, of course, on the time period) it could be the social structures of the time itself. Regency or Victorian England, for example, insisted that upper-class and genteel middle-class unmarried young ladies have chaperones when they were with men. That's one of the reasons dances were so popular—those were a few minutes where couples were in plain sight but able to speak at least semi-privately. If you're writing a romance where there's a chaperone, is your chaperone an obstacle for your couple to get around? Do the lovers have to steal hidden moments, where the tension might come from being surrounded by people and unable to speak privately? Or do they have jokes or flirtatious parts of a conversation that are hidden in plain sight?Something no one around them would understand as flirting? Kids can act as a kind of chaperone in contemporary romance—the adults can't be together or say what they might be thinking when there are children in the room! Everything builds slowly between them because they are always around others, what happens when your characters finally get to be alone?

Tough Choices

What about when the chemistry leads to instant attraction and your characters act on it? Great sex in a book is great, but then what? What else will you do to your characters to make them earn their romance and HEA? If your characters are perfect, their lives are perfect, and the sex is perfect, you don't really have story. Give them some tough choices.

In Kelly Jamieson's On Thin Ice her main characters live on opposite ends of the country and have incredibly busy lives. One is a NHL player, the other a rising pop singer. Their schedules and lives mean they rarely even talk. Despite great chemistry, it seems like they won't get together. This is a great book if you want to study how both external and internal forces can work to keep people apart.

We love romance books because we know there will be a happy ending. It's the growth and journey and discoveries along the way that are difficult to write, but engrossing to read when done well. Think about what kind of romance you're working on and what difficulties suit your characters best. Don't be afraid to make them work for it!

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