The trope of star-crossed lovers is definitely not a new one, but we mostly know it from plays and stories like Romeo and Juliet. Still, the idea of star-crossed lovers has always been popular in romance for a reason: It’s exciting! Let’s face it, there’s a sort of thrill for any reader to see two people who otherwise have no way of being together face the odds and become a couple. Star-crossed lovers stories can be absolutely fantastic, with amazing emotion and power. However, like any other romance story, they can fall flat. Of course, you’re reading this post so you can know how to craft the ultimate star crossed lovers story, so let’s get into it.
WHAT IS THE STAR CROSSED LOVERS TROPE
The trope of star crossed lovers typically revolves around external conflict/forces that work to keep two lovers apart from each other. This is often seen in stories with things like war, feuding families, societal expectations of classes, supernatural barriers, etc… There are many ways you can force a couple to be separated from each other not by will. However, the source of the “why” is very important. If your readers don’t understand why the couple can’t be together, and if the reason is kinda bland, then you risk falling flat with your story.
The most popular example of a star crossed lovers story is obviously Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The play was really the stepping stone for this trope’s popularization. There’s a lot of books nowadays that use the star crossed lovers trope but they also use it in tandem with other tropes like enemies to lovers, which I think is great story telling too!
At the end of the day, the core foundation of star crossed lovers is really forbidden romance. These two characters are absolutely forbidden from being together, but they attempt to defy the odds. That’s what makes them “star crossed” in a way.
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR ENEMIES TO LOVERS
WELL-WRITTEN CHARACTERS
As I typically state for any romance story, it starts with how you write your characters. With a story about star crossed lovers, your main objective is to get the reader to root for the eventual romance working out (or not working out, as Shakespeare did it). Still, whatever the end goal of your story is, the readers need to be able to connect with or at least empathize with the protagonists and root for the romance. They need to be able to be immersed in the story and the obstacles blocking this romance from happening.
Working on good character development is essential in a star crossed lovers story, so you need to make sure that you’re giving your characters the proper motivations, inner conflicts, personalities, and more in order to make your story have the most impact on the readers.
GIVE THE ROMANCE MOTIVATION
One of the things that makes star crossed lovers stories interesting is the fact that there is a romance despite it being forbidden. Now, the thing is… why are the love interests even interested in each other? What’s the point? What makes them want to fight–or potentially die–for this romantic relationship? It seems kind of dramatic, but that’s the point of star crossed lovers! It is super dramatic! Give some motivation for this romance and make sure the romance is understandable, realistic within the confines of your world, and can actually get the readers invested.
Beyond the fact that it’s forbidden, why would they even care to be together? For the most part, the two parties in the romance story will hail from respective backgrounds, families, etc… that HATE each other. So why on Earth would two people from the families fall in love? You see what I’m getting at? Show the reader this stuff because it helps give them insight and motivates them to root for the romance!
WORLD BUILDING
As I always say, world building is a crucial element to any story. Even if you don’t think you need world building because let’s just say that you’re not really writing an epic fantasy or something, guess what? You still need world building. Even if you’re setting the story in the modern day, I still want to understand what’s happening in your world. I want to know what city, country, etc… the story is taking place in. It will help set the scene for the reader. Most of the time, star crossed lovers stories have a compelling setting because it helps add depth, complexity, and description elements to the story.
I have a beginner’s guide to world building in case you’re feeling a bit lost about this part.
CREATING CONFLICT
Although at the base of star crossed lovers stories is conflict, you need more than just a singular main conflict. Chances are, your characters will be running into conflicts often. Maybe someone who shouldn’t have found out ends up finding out. Maybe people from rival families get into a fight and it backfires, forcing one love interest to be hidden away, unable to see the other. Building this sort of tension helps to further the story and keep it engaging and interesting for your readers. It also creates more motivation for your readers to be invested in the romance if there are many obstacles and conflicts happening along the way. It’ll make them think: “Will this love story happen?!” In a good way though.
DECIDE WHICH ROUTE TO GO: TRAGEDY OR HAPPINESS?
The ending of your story can be dramatically different depending on what approach you want to take to your star crossed lovers story. The most famous example is Romeo and Juliet, which is a tragedy by the end. Now, some readers find the idea of a tragedy to be very underwhelming because they invested emotions into the romance only for it to end in death and despair. You need to keep that in mind, because if your readers find the end unsatisfying, then it will have negated all the hard work you put into the remainder of the story. It totally depends on what your goals are though, so write what you’d enjoy writing, but keep your readers’ reactions in mind.
Before you head on out, check out my series The Fallen Age Saga. You can buy my books over on Amazon as well!