How to Write Amazing Banter in Romantasy

Character chemistry is a major part of what makes romantasy such a great genre and why so many people love it. One of the best ways to showcase the chemistry between two characters is through their dialogue and similar moments. Dialogue is basically the way they speak with each other and their spoken interactions, and banter is a part of that dialogue dynamic. A lot of readers love to read great and funny banter that shows the growth between two characters and how they treat each other. So, for today’s post, I’ll be talking about how you can write amazing banter for your next romantasy book.

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1. Anchor Every Quip to a Character Goal

Trying to write banter just for comedic purposes is fine and all, but that doesn’t always stick and impress your readers. You want to think about how banter will actually help your character and what they’re trying to achieve.

For instance, maybe one character is trying to deflect their vulnerability through a quippy line. Maybe another character is trying to test the other person’s boundaries through the joke and maybe they’re just trying to flirt through a difficult situation.

2. Employ the “Contrast & Callback” Formula

Great banter thrives on contrast (opposite outlooks) and callback (recycling an earlier jab for payoff).

1. Set up an insult, nickname, or inside joke early.
2. Echo the line after a pivotal moment, flipping its meaning.

You see this a lot in books where a character makes a joke about something and then later on, the other character brings it up in a mocking, triumphant fashion to turn it against the original line.

A good part about making this stick is to ensure that your characters are naturally set up to be able to make these sorts of intentional decisions in speech. Part of that is by crafting amazing main characters and working through how they are and why they are this way. You can use The Ultimate Character Creation Guide for help with that!

3. Balance Spark With Setting

You want to also be sure that you’re balancing the banter with the setting of your story. Part of this is to ensure that your world building makes sense, which is a big deal in romantasy as well.

So, you want to make sure that you’re not writing jokes like a modern person when you’re setting your story in a medieval era, unless that’s how the dialogue was set up to be from the beginning.

If you want to make sure that your setting complements your story well, I break down world building concepts in The Ultimate Guide to Writing Romantasy, but if you want a full, intensive breakdown on world building, I also have The Ultimate Guide to World Building. My world building guide includes over 340+ pages of instructional content and workbook sections to teach you everything about world building if you feel that you want extra help with it.

4. Use Physical Beats to Punctuate Punchlines

During moments of banter, you don’t have to just keep going back and forth with dialogue beats. You can also involve some physical activity, such as during a training montage when one character manages to knock the other down and then drops a funny line.

You want to break the quips up with things like micro-gestures, sword clangs, spells, etc… Essentially, try to add action beats with the dialogue beats to formulate a more visual, engaging scene.

5. Avoid the Three Common Banter Mistakes

Banter is great, but sometimes, if the banter is too much, that’s not really fun anymore and you’re replacing the character development with quippy one-liners. This is what you can call an endless ping-pong of just banter back and forth. It basically stalls the plot.

Another mistake is to make it so that only one character makes the jokes and the other person just sort of has nothing to ever say. That’s not really swoon-worthy dialogue, that gets to basically be just bullying.

Finally, you want to be aware of the dialogue that you’re using. Be consistent with your world and don’t include modern slang that you saw on TikTok. It wouldn’t work out in the context of your story unless it’s literally set in the now.

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• Blend magic systems and world building into the emotional journey
• Structure your novel using classic and romantasy-specific tropes uniquely
• Avoid common romantasy mistakes that kill tension or believability
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