Romantasy has been a big hit in bookstores as of late and it really got its start a few years ago with the release of books like A Court of Thorns and Roses, but has exploded in popularity more so in recent times. I personally like to browse around in bookstores a lot and I find that many of the newer fantasy books pretty much fall under the helm of being romantasy books, which is basically a combination of romance books with fantasy elements. These, I would say, are distinct from fantasy with romance as the romance is the central plot in romantasy. While I think that romantasy is a unique subgenre that could really have a lot of potential, I feel like there are some issues with this subgenre that I want to address so that if you are interested in writing your own romantasy, that it has its own unique spin and doesn’t fall into any of these issues.
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Lack of World Building
One of the first and I would say most identifiable issues with romantasy is the fact that the world building is rushed, not there, or at least just sorta poorly done. I focus a lot on world building on my blog (you can check out this beginner’s guide for more info) and I find that one of the most important–if not the most important–elements in fantasy is the world building.
The world provides the context and the needed information to build the story and the world is what helps propel your book forward. The world building exists to really create something living around your plot. Unfortunately, some romantasy stories create very structurally unsound worlds that don’t really make much sense in the grand scheme of things. Furthermore, this really shows to readers who will point this issue out. Don’t skip the world building just to build a romance and ignore an important part of the fantasy story that you’re writing.
Missing Fantasy Elements
Another issue that I notice in romantasy books is that many of them are labeled as fantasy but they don’t really feel like fantasy. They sort of just mildly feel like they’re set in a vague medieval-esque world but are missing essential elements like fleshed out magic systems, the feeling of something otherworldly, and more. Now, there is a subgenre called light fantasy which is, as implied, light on the fantasy elements, but still, many of these newer romantasy books tend to miss the mark on what makes fantasy the way that it is. Aside from world building, fantasy as a genre has long included political intrigue, wars, etc… and a lot of these books try to include these things, but they feel included as afterthoughts or just checklisted items. Focus on not only the romance, but also what makes your fantasy book a fantasy book.
Secondary Characters are Too “Flat”
This issue is something of a pet peeve of mine, and I’m sure you may have seen this in some books recently. Secondary characters in fantasy are important. They aren’t your main characters, but they interact and contribute to the story in many ways. Unfortunately, a lot of these newer romantasy books include secondary characters that exist for basically no reason. They are far too flat, far too one-dimensional, and have almost nothing going for them. Sometimes, they’re literally just there to serve as romantic interest #1 that will never be the main romantic interest and it’s too obvious. I think that secondary characters should serve a purpose to the plot, the narrative, and should have more of a purpose than just existing to be the rejected/ future dead love interest.
If you want to learn more about how to write rounded characters and flat characters, then check out this post here. The idea I’m trying to convey here is that you can have flat characters in the background, but not all secondary characters can be written as flat characters.
Blending the Plot With the World Building
I often notice that a lot of romantasy books tend to make this mistake where they created some sort of world but they have no way of blending and integrating the world building with the plot of the story. Oftentimes, you get told world building information through monologued sequences, which isn’t how someone would naturally discuss the world around them. You should integrate elements through dialogue, through daily routines, through art and architecture, through laws and the enforcement of laws, and more. For instance, if your story includes a religious system and your characters partake in that, chances are that they will go to a prayer service or some ceremony and convey what they see rather than just monologue about it earlier.
Integration of the world with the story is something that is vital to creating a realistic, living world. The world should not be talked about in extensive detail in one chapter and then never mentioned again. That’s not world building, that’s just info dumping.
Rushing the Romantic Development
Something that many romantic stories tend to sort of fall into, but an issue that I definitely see happening often in the romantasy side of things, is that they rush the development of the romance a lot. This is definitely something that I feel really hinders the quality of a story because when you’re rushing the development of a major piece of the story, then there’s not much room for readers to get excited and root for the relationship to work out.
I tend to see this a lot especially in the “enemies to lovers” trope lately. I’ve talked about how to write enemies to lovers before, but the idea is that when two people are meant to be enemies, they don’t have a sort of mild annoyance of each other–they’re enemies, which means that they loathe each other and are opposing each other strongly. This is paired best with a slow burn (I’ve also talked about this before) and not insta-lust, which is something that I’ve noticed far too much in many romantasy books.
Two people can find each other attractive, and that’s fine, but I don’t think they would instantly lust after each other if they are very ideologically against each other for one reason or another. In real life, you’d probably not be so excited to interact with an enemy. Additionally, enemies in romance stories tend to be on things like opposite sides of war or something epic like that, so it makes it even stranger if they just sorta fall for each other quickly.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, these are some tips that I think usually stand out more in romantasy books that I find should be paid attention to. When you go to write your story, write it as you’d like, but keep in mind that there are elements that you should include as well that can enhance your story and make it feel more well-written than just including romance. Don’t try to rush the romance just to get it over with; rather, build it up and create a living world around it with an exciting plot that can go with it. You don’t need to make the romance the side plot of the story, but you need some engaging things happening to go along with it too. These are just some ways that you can make your romantasy story feel unique and the rest is really just your touch and your style!
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