if you see me reading, i almost always have a romcom in hand. last year, romcoms accounted for 17% of what i read. this year, nearly half. i can confidently say that i'm familiar with the romcom formula (i know i know, it doesn't take an expert to figure it out. you can read one book and you've read them all, but let me have this!) yet, i still wonder, "what if this one's different?" it never is. i'm still searching for that rare gem.

i don't read romcoms for the plotline. a glance at the book cover, title, or synopsis gives that away. nor can i really say that i read them for the characters—not on their own anyway. it's the clash and the chemistry between the characters that sweep me through the pages. it's the kilig i get from the first moments of mutual attraction, the first intimate conversation, the confession, and the little moments in between that has me devouring everything in the genre. but also, i would be remiss not to mention that people naturally indulge in things to make up for what they don't have. cough. lol

experiencing the initial stages of a relationship through these books is always fun but hardly ever surprising. when i get into a new story, i run through a mental checklist of romcom tropes. mostly to anticipate an eye roll and to hold out a little hope that the author will take a different path. romcoms are basically stitched together from these tropes, so i wanted to record them in one place—for my own expertise or a future game of take a shot when/bingo, who knows?!

the romcom's main cast

• the single main character: stuck in an unfulfilling routine, disillusioned by everyday life and/or past relationships, looking for change
• the taken main character 💍: in a relationship with a toxic/incompatible person, 100x better than their partner or lacks chemistry with them or both
• the single love interest: either they're the most beautiful and most unattainable thing in the world or the devil himself who's later revealed to be a softie with a backstory meant to make you go, 'awwww that's whyyyy'
• the taken love interest 💍: the same as above, just with a partner lol.

the romcom's supporting characters

• the main character's bff: typically upbeat and in their own world, may hate the love interest at first, eventually only wants the main character to be happy and encourages them to go all in with the love interest
• the main character's partner: toxic, dusty, disgusting, or the polar opposite: flawless and too perfect; if dusty: revealed to be a cheater (to give a pass to the main character who's technically been cheating on them lol), if too perfect: doesn't deserve enduring the emotional cheating from the main character
• the love interest's partner: next to no screentime, an obstacle for the main character, may as well be a locked character, shadow and all

the romcom plots

• enemies to lovers: the main characters hate each other because of unspoken competition or assumptions, a related circumstance forces them to spend time with each other, insert multiple annoying encounters with each other that cause attraction to develop, cue the climactic tension-filled lovemaking scene lol, and then wedding bells
• the fake relationship: the main characters most likely hate each other too, the fake relationship is mutually beneficial (e.g. leads to career advancement, fulfills a social/familial expectation), both promise not to catch feelings but the main character does (of course) and ends the arrangement to avoid further pain, realization from either or both parties that they can't live without each other, one of them or both come running back just to realize they weren't alone in their yearning uwu
• the soul searching getaway-turned holiday romance: the main character exchanges their hectic city life for a small town sabbatical to find themself... only to end up finding someone else...

the romcom subplots

• fulfilling the lifelong dream: the main character finally gets out of their corporate/[insert here] shackles to pursue their true passion (in part due to encouragement from the love interest)

misc. romcom behavior

to writers' tendency to overuse these writing styles and devices! i can't say i like them one bit!

• the full name address: tell me why the love interests are always addressing each other by their full names? i have never heard anyone in real life refer to their significant other by their entire birth name. it's bizarre, not endearing.

---

i will keep refining and adding to this once i think of more and read more, which i definitely will.

last updated: sept. 22, 2022