1.03 Enemies to Lovers
[The Editor takes a measured breath.]
This could be a topic that ruffles a few feathers, but we can’t talk about characters without touching on romance arcs. One arc in particular has become ubiquitous in marketing and book blurbs. So let’s address the Enemies-to-Lovers in the room.
The publishing industry is having a hefty Romance movement, particularly in the Fantasy genres and the explosive rise of “Romantasy.” I will say right out the gates: I am not usually someone who seeks out Romance novels. As I seldom read, write, or edit Romance, I won’t aim to make a comprehensive guide for how to write to that genre’s standards.I do, however, write and edit a whole lot of fiction that has romance without necessarily fitting under the capital-R Romance umbrella. While including a romance arc in your book is never required, it is certainly a common element that you may wish to include.
Lest my criticism be misunderstood, it must also be said that I have read some Romance titles with incredibly well-crafted plots, worlds and characters, so in no way do I endorse the idea that Romance implies bad writing, or that our standards should be lower just because something spicy might be happening on page. It’s a disservice to those writers, and a disservice to readers.
Tropes within romance are prevalent and often slung about in promotional stages as catchy buzz words so people know what kind of relationship the book will follow. The trope that gets the most abuse, I’ve found, especially in the growing Romantasy vein, is the Enemies-to-Lovers arc.
Romantasy books have frustrated me in many ways. Many I’ve tried to pick up take half measures in building air-tight, compelling fantasy worlds because their focus is on the romance—which wouldn’t be quite so irksome if I did not also groan at the characters. Let’s look at one example that I seem to find everywhere recently:
Enter your petite, spunky female protagonist who is Not Like Other Girls (maybe she’s the only rebellious thinker in an oppressive culture, or maybe she just has heterochromia). Stage left, enter the Super Tall and Big male love interest who has “dark secrets.” He is likely thrust (see what I did there) into a role of doing horrific things that the narrative excuses because he’s got chiseled abs and he growls when he talks. Maybe they’re fated to kill each other or are simply antagonistic toward each other. This tension is quickly discarded for the sake of flirtatious banter and driving up sexual desire.
It drives me batty.
Before any angry fingers take to the keyboard, understand that I’m not saying you are a bad person with bad tastes if you enjoy these kinds of books. The purpose of this blog is not to rant about genre conventions I don’t personally like but to talk about writing as a craft. That does include being critical of why these conventions don’t work for me as a reader, but again: read what you want!
With that, let’s get into WHY this standard set up feels flat, and WHAT YOU CAN DO to make more interesting romantic dynamics in your writing.
Not Like Other Girls
The above example has a lot going wrong with it at the character level (and lest we forget: your love interests are characters, and thus worthy of their own arcs!). First let’s break down the “Not Like Other Girls” protagonist (who has traditionally been femme but can of course be any gender).
I’ve said it before on this blog: there’s nothing wrong with crafting a protagonist who is special. I’d wager most protagonists are unique in one or many ways, which is why the story is about them! I’m also not going to fault anyone for a rare hair color or mismatched eyes, but if that’s where your protagonist’s interest ends, you might be in trouble.
They are the only one who thinks like they do. If your character counters the culture at large, that can be an interesting place to start. Say, for example, your MC lives in a family of nobility but disagrees with the cruel way the “upper crust” treats the common people in your setting. It’s all well and good for someone to see oppression and injustice where others don’t, but if they have grown up surrounded by one way of thinking, you need to explain why your MC is different. What experiences or influences made them see the world differently? Why haven’t other people connected those same dots?
If they are of that oppressed class, it would make sense that they’d naturally oppose that status quo, though if you want your MC to join some underground rebellion, you also ought to establish that they have or acquire some sort of lethal espionage training before you suddenly depict them kicking ass and dodging bullets.
This may seem like a lot of talk about character and not about romance, but that is kind of my point. The most compelling romance plots I’ve read had complex, fully realized characters with goals and motivations entirely separate from any love interest. The romance can be the ruin of their goals, it may alter them or entwine with those original plans, but these characters should not be empty vessels to ogle over curves and abs.
The reason Claire Randall of Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) is an effective protagonist is she has crystal clear motivations to get back to her husband in her own timeline, or failing that, survive in an era that is not her own. The political intrigue and gorgeous, well researched setting make the eventual romance between Claire and Jamie Fraser feel real and believable. There are so many things outside the romance that compel the reader.
So treat your romance protagonist as you would any other: give them a problem and a goal, high stakes to overcome, and don’t let them lose sight of that goal the very moment an attractive person enters the room. Especially if that person is their enemy.
The Love Interest
In my first example, we have the Tall, Dark, & Handsome with a troubled past. Let’s call him TDH. Recently, TDH has given way to a new variant called the “Shadow Daddy.” The same traits of TDH, but usually wielding shadow-based magic or associated with other nocturnal themes. This trope has been embedded into the Romance genre for eons, well before Romantasy took center stage. And look, I’m not here to say you can’t have a love interest like that if it tickles your fancy. Go wild. But just like your main protagonist, this Love Interest (LI) deserves having more than just their muscles defined.
Whether you choose the Enemies-to-Lovers track or not you should ask yourself how these two characters are connected. Is this a companion who is with them at the outset? A life-long friend for whom your character denied having feelings forever and later betrays? Are they an ally picked up along the way who later admits to being an adversary sent to thwart them? Is the love they build strong enough to ruin those plans, and what happens if it isn’t?
Crafting an enemy LI can be much the same as crafting the villain of your story; it is often most interesting if they believe themselves to be the heroes of their own story. As far as they’re concerned, their goals are justified, even if they acknowledge them to be morally bankrupt. If you are playing with dual POVs between the two love interests, this is especially effective. The unstoppable force and immovable object of the opposing love interests can set off an explosive collision for your plot that readers will want to devour, but to do so both people must have intrigue and a trajectory that will clash.
A word on dual POVs: as always, proceed with caution and be intentional about it. Especially if your “enemy” LI is the acting antagonist of the story, there is the risk of giving too much away or bringing redundancy to the plot. Are the big disruptions in the plot are telegraphed by the alternate POV? Will that knowledge rob your reader of a good twist? It may be more rewarding for your reader to learn alongside the main character that this enemy isn’t what they appear.
Actual Enemies
It seems obvious to state it, but if you want to aim for a true Enemies-to-Lovers progression, you need to establish them as proper enemies. Duh? You may say, but I have seen far too many books that tout themselves as Enemies-To-Lovers when they are, at best, annoyances. Consider the term Enemy. That word can be synonymous with Antagonist in some contexts. This is an adversary. Someone your MC likely hates, perhaps for valid reason.
Think of a person you might consider an enemy in your life. Someone you couldn’t stand during your school years for example, a coworker or boss who boils your blood on sight. Maybe a person who screwed you over for selfish gain and to this day has faced no consequence. (Take the opportunity to shake your fist in their direction for catharsis.) Now think of what it would take for this person to become attractive to you. I imagine quite a lot. Of course, the rules of fiction are not 1:1 with reality, but even in fiction we must provide enough context for a reader to buy into a relationship shifting that drastically. When it’s successful, the effect is immense! That’s why the trope so popular. So make them earn it!
For one example, look at the novella This is How You Lose the Time War (El-Mohtar and Gladstone), where the two main POV characters are fighting a war across time and space. Their sole purpose is to actively undo the work of the other, and though it’s against protocol, they leave smug letters and messages in secret to rub it in. Over time those letters change from taunts and gloats to earnest questions as their feelings evolve, all while never being in the same place at the same time.
Building the Arc from Square One
To set up this relationship, here are some questions to consider: What are these characters’ goals as enemies or rivals? How do they plan on thwarting or even destroying the other, and why? What is the ultimate prize these two are trying to win, how can they develop feelings along the way, and how will those new feelings alter that trajectory? What impossible hurdles must be faced to be together, what sacrifices must be made? What pressures exist externally that might endanger the relationship?
What plot events happen that allow these enemies to shift their thinking? People don’t get called an enemy lightly, so this inciting shift should be significant.
Another issue I’ve run into a lot in Romantasy is giving the Love Interest unforgivable traits. Naturally everyone has their own taste and limits for this sort of thing, and I’m not here to make sweeping moral statements that your characters can’t do XYZ. What troubles me is when a LI commits heinous acts but never has to confront the impact of those acts. This isn’t about punishing wrongdoers in a Hays Code way; it’s about giving your characters the opportunity to challenge each other’s mistakes and face intriguing consequences.
I’ve seen books where TDH participates in the genocide of a group that the main character is a part of and just because he was told to do it by some higher up (a king, a ruler, a father) or worse, because he’s got a jawline, these horrors are more or less forgiven. The MC will still flirt and banter with a person they know to be, from their perspective, evil.
Your characters can have blood on their hands, but if your MC or LI is willing to overlook that, we need a better reason than surface level attraction. There can be great tension in a character realizing they’ve done horrible things and having to unpack that, and tension as well in falling for someone who has made grievous mistakes. What happens if these revelations come after the romance has started? How much can that new, fragile bond take before it shatters, and what redemption can be earned? These are points to lean into, not to toss away because it’s “too complicated” to bother.
I personally love when characters choose wrong over the course of the story—falling back on “duty” or their original mission, crumbling under the guilt of betraying one cause for this person they love—and the redemption arc upon realizing they made the wrong choice. I’m never not pumped to see a betrayer come back to fight for the right thing. The trajectory from enemy/rival to lover should not be a smooth, straight line. Even friends make mistakes that leaves cracks in a relationship that must later be mended. Your once-sworn-enemy will have even more heavy lifting to do.
And besides, if you’re writing about beefcakes, they should be used to heavy lifting.
Enemies-to-Lovers Recap:
Approach your romance characters the same way you’d approach building any interesting character. Give them a goal they’d do anything to achieve, separate from the Love Interest. Give them intrigue that goes beyond surface level descriptors.
Consider how the romance might alter the character’s original goals. What are they willing to sacrifice to protect that relationship? What aren’t they willing to sacrifice? Is there a moment they could be forced to choose between their enemy-turned-lover and their original cause? Should they choose wrong?
Establish what makes the Love Interest a rival or enemy, especially if they have their own POV chapters. Give them goals just as strong and unyielding as the MC.
Don’t make the trajectory of the relationship a straight line. Let these characters stumble. Let them make mistakes and choose the wrong side (this goes for the LI or the MC!!). To make an enemy into a lover is a huge task. Make them earn it!