This is what a six-figure author looks like! I could’ve been a doctor, but instead I became a hot dog.
I don't know if my parents should be proud or ashamed. I think we both know the answer to that.
I feel like I'm being birthed. I'm coming out of the womb. (Screeches)
Hellooo, everybody!
Oh, I can't move my head, this is odd. Today in true Halloween spirit, we're getting extra spooky. I'm
talking about one of the scariest things about the human experience. Romance! Specifically we're
talking about that ever so juicy trope: enemies to lovers. Enemies to lovers is a pretty self
explanatory trope. It starts off with a few characters, usually two who are rivals, or
enemies, or they just don't like each other. And by the end of the book, they've fallen in love.
It's one of the most popular tropes in fiction, it is right up there with found family, and it
is definitely the most popular romance trope—and rightfully so! One of the most compelling aspects
of fiction is tension. And enemies to lovers has all kinds of tension. We’ve got hateful tension,
inner tension, and sexual tension. It takes tension to the max and readers eat that shit
up. This is a trope that creators love to write, but often mess up. I'm sure you can think of a
million books out there with enemies to lovers, that are just a big yikes. No, thank you. Thus,
I've decided to save you the headache, and give you my ten tips for not only writing this trope,
but mastering it. Tip number three is probably the biggest issue in current literary trends,
so pay close attention to that one. But personally, my favorite tips are four, six, and eight.
Tell me your favorites in the comments below.
(The sound of a pen scratching. LOGO.)
Today's topic was requested by one of my patrons over on Patreon,
Jaded Pagan. Jaded Pagan wanted to know the do's and don'ts for writing one of everyone's
favorite tropes, and since it's one of my favorite tropes, I was happy to deliver. On top of that,
a huge thank you to my friends over at ProWritingAid for sponsoring today's video.
Is grammar your enemy? Well ProWritingAid can help make it your lover. That sounded a little gross,
so let's just move past that. ProWritingAid is an incredible platform. It's a grammar checker, spell
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plus some videos help you understand the ‘why’ behind each suggestion. That's what's so great
about ProWritingAid. It's not just going to help you edit your work, it helps you understand those
mistakes and how to avoid them, so you can become a better stronger writer. One of the features
I love is the summary report, which basically helps you set up an editing roadmap. It shows
what parts of your writing are looking great, what needs some work, and it gives you the highlights
for each of the key reports, so you know where to focus your time and energy. Now sometimes
people say you don't need to hone your skills because that's what hiring an editor is for.
I call bullshit. You should never send a first draft to an editor, you absolutely need to edit it
yourself first. Plus the cleaner your manuscript, the smaller your editor bill, and the better your
chance of releasing a solid, quality, successful novel. That's where ProWritingAid helps in a
big way. On top of that, ProWritingAid is hosting Romance Writers Week right now. It's a free event
where you can learn how to write swoon worthy romance from some of the biggest names in the
industry. If you're a romance writer like myself, definitely check it out. It's linked below. And
no matter what kind of writing you do, definitely check out ProWritingAid. They will absolutely
save your manuscript life. You can try them out for free, or if you want to try their
premium platform, which is the platform that I use, click the link below and you can get 20%
off. You're welcome. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays. And
if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell. Though if you're new here and you're
seeing me dressed like a hot dog, I might have already scared you away. So, sorry. The Savior's
Champion and The Savior’s Sister are available in all formats, and at all major retailers right now.
So if you are a fan of action packed romance, definitely check ‘em out. I got ‘em link below.
Now I'm breaking down my ten tips for writing everyone's favorite romance trope: enemies to
lovers. Number One (1): First impressions matter. Yes, these characters are starting off as enemies,
but the phrase is enemies to lovers. The characters have to learn to love one another,
which means that the reader has to love them too. And if you drive the enemy idea too hard, your
readers might not be able to root for them down the line. The most obvious example I can think of
from books is when the love interest, usually male, is extremely pompous and chauvinistic.
I've seen a lot of plotlines involving a sexist man who makes tons of derogatory comments about
women, and at that point, you can't convince me to ship them with anyone. You can convince me to ship
him into the middle of the ocean to be eaten by sharks though. “But Jennaaa, how do I establish
that they're enemies without making them look like assholes?” People can be enemies without being
despicable human beings. Maybe they come from warring territories, maybe there's a class divide,
maybe they're rivals for the same job, or maybe there was a miscommunication that got
them off on the wrong foot. There are plenty of options that allow you to create a divide
between characters without pegging one of them as a total dickwad. Number Two (2): Tension should be
realistic. This is the opposite side of the coin. If your characters are starting off as enemies,
the divide between them needs to be realistic and understandable. Something that tells the readers:
yikes, these bitches do not like each other. Sometimes writers are so scared of
making their characters unlikable, they give them a really flimsy reason to be enemies.
The most obvious example I can think of from a book that I've read, is when the characters
became enemies because one of them took the other's donut and ate it. Call the cops!
This execution may have worked if the characters in question were toddlers, but they weren't,
so we had the opposite effect. It wasn't cute or charming, and it certainly wasn't engaging.
It made the characters look childish, which completely destroyed the likability factor. Yes,
the divide between them should at some point be surmounted, but the divide still needs to
be believable. As I already suggested, rivals, warring communities, or simply having conflicting
goals can easily make characters enemies without dipping into toxic territory. Which brings us to,
Number Three (3): Enemies does not have to mean abuse. This is relevant to the first point but it
has become so prevalent in recent literature that it needs to be addressed on its own.
You do not need to establish enemies through abuse. The reason is blatantly obvious. If the
relationship begins with abuse, it doesn't matter how cute the progression of the relationship is,
readers are not gonna be able to forget about the initial abuse. I mean, some readers will,
but they've got their own issues. Now of course, there are some exceptions. If both characters are
warriors, and they meet in the middle of battle, then we're going to expect some battling to ensue.
Other exceptions would be…actually I think that's the only one. Kidnapping, manipulating,
torturing a future love interest, attempting to strangle them to death, or break their arm. All
of this is too damn much, and it makes it really, really hard and basically impossible to ship the
characters. Violence is often utilized in fiction, but be very, very careful of the implications you
are creating because once you cross over that line, it is very hard to come back from it.
Number Four (4): The shift. The shift is the moment when things start to change between your
enemies. A lot of writers fall into the trap of making the shift something shallow, it's usually
that the characters just realize they're hot, and get a big old throbbing boner. It is very odd to
talk about boners when you're dressed as a hot dog. It's great if your characters are attracted
to one another, but an effective shift is a moment where respect is proven and earned. The
character learns something about one another, or witnesses an event that disproves their negative
opinions of them. The key word here is respect. Enemies do not necessarily respect one another,
but lovers absolutely should. Thus, this moment plants the first of many necessary seeds in order
to establish a future romantic relationship. Find a way for your characters to see another
side of one another. It could be as extreme as one of them saving an innocent bystanders life,
thus proving their heroism and moral standing. Or it could be one of them staying after work to help
train a struggling intern, not sleeping with them like their future love interest had incorrectly
assumed. Number Five (5): Show the progression. Sometimes writers start off strong. They establish
a compelling divide, they showcase the shift brilliantly, and now the characters are sucking
face, right? Wrong! This borders is on insta love. Just because they've developed respect,
doesn't mean they're immediately getting into one another's pants. Other important ingredients need
to be established first. Namely: friendship, vulnerability, and trust. You cannot create a
swoon worthy romance without these facets. And you build them up by showing the progression of their
relationship. It's also common for enemies to lovers to have a period of stubbornness. Sure they
respect one another, but they're still a butthead, right? Am I a dickhead? It fits with the costume,
I guess I am a dickhead. The transition from enemies to lovers is a bumpy one. Make sure to
showcase that natural progression, in order to make it both believable and satisfying. Number
Six (6): From bickering to banter. We talked about three key ingredients to establish after respect,
friendship, vulnerability and trust. Bickering to banter is a great way to establish blossoming
friendship between your characters. Even after your characters respect one another, they still
might dislike each other. So they're going to bicker, they're going to poke fun at each other,
they're gonna get on each other's nerves. But over time, as their relationship deepens,
this bickering will transition into banter. We're no longer looking at petty jabs,
the teasing has become flirtatious, the laughter isn't sardonic, it's playful. This not only
showcases your character's friendship, it's also one of the most satisfying things to read. Readers
love enemies to lovers for this reason, they want to see the bickering, and they definitely want to
see the banter. Nailing this element will make the ship extra juicy. Number Seven (7): We're
not so different, you and I. We've entered the vulnerability area of the enemies to lovers
transition. At some point in the book, every enemies to lovers ship will have a meaningful,
thoughtful, and vulnerable conversation. Something that allows them to open up and
reveal their deepest scars. They may resist at first. Someone may be stubborn and unwilling
to share their secrets, but eventually they spill the beans. This is when the characters establish
common ground. They realize they're far more alike than they initially assumed. This instance of
vulnerability is pivotal, because the healthiest romantic relationships thrive on the fact that
these people are able to be vulnerable with one another, and still feel safe, wanted and loved.
Plus it's just plain romantic. You'll have your readers gripping the book, and thinking: now kiss!
Number Eight (8): Save a life. This is where we establish trust. You can take this
point literally, if your story calls for it. The characters can literally save one another's lives.
But not all stories have life or death situations, and in this case, you can think of it as
the characters saving one another's asses. Your MC drops the ball at work, and their former enemy,
who is a rival at work, takes the blame. They put their promotion at risk in order to save
the MC from getting fired, and that is major. The key ingredient here is sacrifice. Your character
needs to put themselves at risk for their love interest. This in my opinion is beyond necessary
for any enemies to lovers in fiction because it establishes the fact that these characters can
absolutely depend on one another. Remember they started off as enemies, they hated each other,
to sacrifice your well being, or job, or definitely your life, clearly establishes
the fact that the tides have turned. This is not only a pivotal progression in their relationship,
it's also exciting as fuck to read. It is so romantic, and so hot, and readers will devour it.
Number Nine (9): Resistance is futile. One of the best elements of the enemies to lovers trope,
and honestly a lot of romantic tropes, is resistance. Your characters need to fight
their romantic or sexual urges for one another for at least a portion of the novel. Definitely
not the entire thing though, cuz that is hella annoying. But showing them fighting their feelings
at least for a chapter or two will make your readers giddy as fuck. It adds to the ‘will they
or won't they’ element. It increases the tension, which is one of the best parts of fiction,
let alone romance. And of course, it prolongs the first kiss, and or the first sex scene,
which makes them all the more satisfying to read. The idea here is to make them getting together
ten times more exciting, and you do that by dangling the carrot in front of the reader's face.
And Number Ten (10): Unity. Your characters are no longer enemies, they are now officially lovers.
Not only that they are comrades, they are on the same side and team. I'm emphasizing this point
because a lot of enemies to lovers plotlines fuck this up. The characters become lovers,
but they're still fighting about whatever had ‘em divided in the first place. This is dysfunctional,
it's not romantic or entertaining. Honestly, it's irritating to read. Why aren't you fucking if you
still don't like each other? If you really wanna create a delicious enemies to lovers ship, you
need to transition from the characters hating each other, to being willing to die for one another.
It's a complete 180 from where they began. The sense of unity is what the readers came for, they
wanna see the transformation, so go all in. So that's all I got for you today. A huge thank you
to Jaded Pagan for requesting this topic. If you'd like the chance to have a video dedicated to you,
or if you want access to tons of other rewards, check me out on Patreon. We have an exclusive
writing group. You get early access to my videos. We've got monthly live streams. You have signed
books. I've got the link below. Check it out, join us. And thank you to ProWritingAid for sponsoring
today's video. If you need help polishing up your manuscript, and let's be real we all do,
definitely check them out. You can try their free platform, or you can click the link in the
description below, and get 20% off their premium platform, which is the platform that I use. And
don't forget if you are a romance writer, and if you're watching this video you probably are,
Romance Writers Week is going on right now. Check it out. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
I post new videos on Wednesdays and if you wanna be alerted as SOON as I upload, ring that bell.
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