Writers Write is a comprehensive resource for writers. In this post, we give you a way to create a rom com storyline in five easy steps.
We all love a good romantic comedy—whether it’s Pretty in Pink, Bridget Jones’s Diary or Crazy, Stupid Love. We all know the formula. But a romance with a bit of modern comic spice is the ultimate wish fulfilment for the audience and an exciting challenge for the writer.
I want to help you create a fresh new storyline or plot for your romantic comedy in five easy steps. This will work for your next story, novel, or screenplay.
Create A Rom Com Storyline In 5 Easy Steps
List …
Take a blank page and divide it into five columns:
- In the first column, list 10 careers you dreamed about when growing up—teacher, engineer, architect.
- In the second, write down the names of your top 10 celebrity crushes—Clooney, Gosling, the adorable weatherman.
- In the third, list your top 10 dream holiday destinations—Santorini, Budapest, Zanzibar.
- In the fourth column, list your top 10 favourite TV shows, even a reality show if you want—Grey’s Anatomy, Two and a Half Men, The Bachelorette.
- In the fifth column, list 10 of the best/worst pick-up lines you’ve ever heard about—‘Excuse me, can you give me directions … to your house?’ ‘I don’t know if you know this, but you look a lot like my next girlfriend!’ ‘Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?’
Pick your plot …
Now choose an item from each list at random and write it down on a fresh page. Maybe it looks like this—architect, Ryan Gosling, Greece, Two and Half Men, ‘I don’t know if you know this, but you look a lot like my next girlfriend!’
Play…
Play around with these elements and try to come up with a creative premise for a romantic comedy. Every great rom com starts with the Cute Meet and this exercise lets you play with possible scenarios. So it could look something like this –
Jenna is an architect commissioned to design a holiday home on an idyllic Greek island. Turns out the client is Ryan Terry, the man she dumped ice on in the small taverna the night before.
What happens next? You may not end up sticking exactly to the list words, but it will spark your imagination and getting you thinking along the right lines.
Just for fun …
Source for comic
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