Today, we're exploring one of the most common kinks (yup, I said it!) in romance: praise kink. And like all kinks, it's pretty easy to...

It's no secret: romance readers love a scarred hero. Just type the phrase into Google and you're presented with dozens of recommended...

Before stalker romance became a thing, your next best bet if you wanted a morally grey hero with a serious redemption arc was the bully...

Alphaholes, or asshole alpha males, have exploded in popularity in recent years, but though the alphahole romance trope is more prolific...

Not all that long ago, menstruation was absent from romance novels featuring woman main characters. And no, these women were not living...

At first glance, hair washing might not look like the kind of microtrope readers go wild for. After all, it's a rote act, something most...

Kinks in romance have always been a thing, by virtue of the fact that so many romance novels have sex in them, and sex can get kinky. But...

The more I research microtropes, the more I realize just how specific romance readers are when looking for new reads. I knew this to some...

Microtropes. Like regular-size romance tropes, they're a great way to add complexity, direction, and deliciousness to a romance novel....

I recently wrote a post about microtropes, a plot device that affects a romance novel at the scene level, rather than at the chapter or...

Tropes. The romance genre, and indeed most fiction genres, can't exist without them. And that's because tropes are plot devices that can...

Instalove. It's a trope that, like most romance tropes, is exactly what it says on the tin: instant love. The characters see each other...

Though I do much of my work through this website, helping authors plot, write, edit, and market their romance novels, I also freelance...

Tropes might fade in and out of style, but some persist no matter the trends, and the secret and surprise baby tropes fit that bill. This...

Ah, grumpy/sunshine. One of the best romance tropes to play with, because you get to create two characters who seem to, on the surface,...

Certain tropes are synonymous with the romance genre. They're the ones you see over and over because readers love them so much. Second...

Updated 20 February 2024 Using forced proximity tropes like the roommates trope is one of the best ways to create tension in a romance...

Updated 06 February 2024 Steamy romance is on the rise. Readers want more sex in their romance novels; just ask TikTok . But how do you,...

Updated 07 May 2024 There are so many romance tropes that are great for creating conflict— age gap and enemies to lovers are two that...

Updated 15 May 2024 Age gap is one of the OG romance tropes and has been around for a long time. You can find evidence of it in early...