If you want to write in the romance genre, there’s one thing you need to know for sure – the difference between a love story and a romance.
Both deal in the relationship between two people, but only one has a happy ever after, or the HEA as it is affectionately known as by the romance community.
Books by Nicholas Sparks and JoJo Moyes – or the movie La La Land – can tend to have a tragedy at the end of the relationship road, or the couple part ways. The happy ever after a romance reader looks for is between the two main protagonists. So if you are writing a story, and there is a romance thread in there but one of them tragically dies at the end, do yourself a favour and don’t call it a romance because you may attract readers who will get annoyed.
What classifies as a Happily Ever After? Here are some ideas you can use to ensure you’re being clear with your happy ever after (or happy for now):
- The couple get married
- They move in together
- They have a baby
- They officially commit in some way
- They announce their love to the world
- You write a small chapter about the month after
- They buy a puppy
- They tattoo each other’s names on their arms
These aren’t very imaginative, but sometimes, you need to speak plainly about the HEA for it to appeal to a romance reader. Come up with your own ways to establish your own HEAs.
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