A few days ago my first romantic comedy released on
Amazon.com.
Summers' Love is a parody on all that's wrong with book publishing - from the way novelists desperately pimp their books in order to break into Amazon's top 100 to how some famous authors hire ghostwriters to write most, if not all, of their novels.
But in another sense,
Summers' Love is an example of how to write a romantic comedy. Rom-coms remain popular with movie goers and that's great if you're a script writer. Within the realm of reading and book-selling, however, rom-coms struggle to find a wide audience. Humor is subjective and readers will either "get" the story and the characters or they'll yawn. And when they do not, they return the book. (This is one reason so many readers love Amazon's Kindle eBooks. Start a book, lose interest, return it and get your money back.)
With all that said, if your heart is set on writing romantic comedy novels here is a
basic plot outline I developed after years of watching movies.
See, I live on this island alone, and you can only watch so many stars twinkling overhead, listen to crashing surf, feel a salty breeze against your cheek before you ... fall asleep. So I had a huge shipment of DVDs delivered to my bungalow and I watch A LOT of old romantic comedies.
Okay, enough about the DVDs and my island home.
Here is how to plot ACT 1 of your rom-com. The rom-com formula is loooooooong and goes on for pages and pages so I encourage you to click on the little whatchamacallit in the skinny area of the right side of this page to follow my blog. If you do click on the little whatchamacallit you'll get the other parts of the rom-com formula, like ACT 2, 3 and sometimes a free book. (Yes, I occasionally give away free books. I also give away used DVDs :) )
Oh, one last thing. Should you learn the rom-com formula it will ruin your movie-watching but that's a small price to pay for becoming a best-selling romantic comedy writer.
Now let's get started.
Act I
Introduction of Your Romantic Comedy Hero & Heroine
Introduce your story's hero before his romantic
rival. Readers and audiences instinctively identify with the first character
who appears on the screen, so make sure your Lead lands on stage first. To win the heart
of your audience, your Lead(s) (Him and Her) must possess certain consistent
qualities:
- Empathy - The audience must fall in love with
your lead character. They want to identify with your hero's desire for the other
person. If not, they will not only lose interest in the story, but lose sympathy for your hero, too.
- Shared goals - The audience should root for your hero to win the heart of another. If the audience doesn't long for your Lead(s) to walk
into the sunset together, you haven't done your job.
- Perseverance – Your Lead(s) must show a determination to overcome
insurmountable obstacles. This will leave the audience cheering for the couple while
at the same time wondering how they will ever make it together. Without
overwhelming hurdles for your Lead(s), your story will
never captivate an audience. A mismatched pair is often the formula for love.
- Dishonesty - Yes, they must be somewhat dishonest because romantic comedies often involve deception. The hero / heroine pretends to be someone he/she is not. Dishonesty increases the conflict and forces the heroes to confront their own inner conflicts and deception. Often the divide separating the hero and heroine is the result of deception. Once they face the truth about themselves, they be able to change, grow, and get together.
Motivation for Your Romantic Lead(s)
Establish your lead’s central desire early.
Announce the goal. What does he / she want outside of the central relationship.
The pursuit of two simultaneously goals (external and emotional) adds conflict
to the story. When your lead’s emotional desire clashes with his/her external
goals you have tension, leading to sacrifice, loss, and redemption. Stories work best when both lovers pursue the same goal.
Inciting Incident That Rocks Their Romantic World
What disturbing event disrupts your
lead’s normal life? In a romantic comedy this is often the chance meeting of
the two characters.
Call to Action
Challenge your lead to accept this new adventure. Once engaged on an
emotional level, your hero must decide to pursue (or win back) the affection of
another character. In a properly structured novel, the hero’s outer
motivation is established within the first few chapters of the story.
The characters in a romantic comedy never think their
situation is humorous, so something unexpected (either good or bad) must happen
to your hero and heroine. In a desperate attempt to reestablish a “new normal”,
the pair embarks on a journey. When your hero and heroine are in pain readers are laughing. The way the pair overreacts to their problems provides comic relief to the audience.
Denial of Call to Action (Otherwise Known As "Nope, now way! I'm not doing it.)
Show how your Lead(s) resisting the call to action. They feel called to a more noble cause, or retirement, or escape. But the force of the Inciting Incident will not allow them to walk away from the challenge.
Repeat of Call to Action Based on Emotions (Otherwise known as, "Oh yes you are!")
Appeal to
your lead on an emotional level. ”Little Jimmy will die if you do not …”
Acceptance of Call to Action - Let the Adventure Begin
Show your lead reluctantly
accepting the challenge.
Begin the Quest for Her Heart ... and Other Parts of Her / His Anatomy
Your main characters sets off on their
great adventure.
That's it. That's ACT 1 of your standard rom-com. The reader needs to see both Lead(s) work through these steps. And it doesn't have to be long process. Sometimes in movies, all this is accomplished while the credits are rolling.
Remember to click on that do-hicky to the right and follow my blog. It's lonely on this island. I can use the company. :)
~ Stu Summers
