Writing Romance with Sudowrite

ByAI Sales and Marketing

“In this first session of this four-part Romance Writing Series, using Sudowrite, author Lynn Jordan explores how to develop compelling romance premises and characters using AI”

Writing Romance With AI
Without Letting It Drive the Car

Romance is one of those genres that looks “easy” from the outside—two people meet, sparks fly, happy ending, roll credits. Then you sit down to write one and realize: oh right, the entire book is basically emotional engineering.

That’s where AI can help—especially if you treat it like a brainstorming partner and a drafting assistant, not your replacement. In this class-style walkthrough, the focus is simple: build a romance premise that has enough fuel for a full story, then build characters with real tension and real problems.

If you’ve ever stared at a blank page thinking, “I have a vibe, but not a plot,” this approach is for you.

The mindset: AI assists, you decide

The best framing I heard was: you’re still the author. AI can speed up the boring parts (blank-page panic, initial options, quick variants), but it also makes the same mistakes beginner writers make:

  • repetitive premises that sound different but are the same
  • generic names (hello again, Jack and Lily)
  • “perfect” characters with no edges
  • conflict that resolves in chapter two

So the workflow isn’t “generate and publish.” It’s generate → choose → shape → deepen.

And if you’re using Sudowrite, it’s built to make that cycle smoother—especially for new romance writers who don’t want to juggle a dozen separate tools.

Start with a premise that can survive 300 pages

A romance premise isn’t just “what happens.” It’s the setup + why they can’t be together yet.

A useful rule of thumb from the session:

Get them in trouble, get them out. Repeat. Then get them in so much trouble they can’t possibly get out… and then resolve it.

That’s how you avoid the “they talk once and everything’s fine” problem.

Use tropes like Lego bricks, not handcuffs

Readers want “familiar but fresh.” Tropes are the familiar part. Your job is combining them in a way that feels new.

Some common romance tropes mentioned (and yes, you can stack them):

  • enemies to lovers
  • friends to lovers
  • fake relationship (fake fiancé, fake marriage, etc.)
  • forced proximity (snowstorm cabin, anyone?)
  • one bed
  • marriage of convenience
  • second chance
  • secret relationship
  • secret baby
  • grumpy/sunshine
  • workplace romance
  • single parent
  • mistaken identity / amnesia
  • revenge romance
  • billionaires / royalty
  • paranormal boosts like “fated mates” (fast-tracks attraction, adds built-in conflict)

The trick is picking 2–3, not twelve. Too many and everything turns into trope soup.

Theme and subgenre: pick the emotional lane

This part matters more than people expect. Theme is what gives your romance weight beyond the meet-cute.

Examples that came up:

  • healing past wounds
  • redemption
  • love vs duty (instant external conflict)
  • self-discovery
  • learning to trust
  • family/community (great for small-town series)

Then you choose a subgenre that matches your taste and your tolerance for research:

  • contemporary (small town, sports, workplace, billionaire, etc.)
  • historical (Regency is not Victorian—readers will notice)
  • paranormal/fantasy (shifters, fae, witches, monsters, quests)
  • romantic suspense (bodyguards, agencies, military, mafia)
  • inspirational/clean (Hallmark rules)
  • romcom (AI struggles with comedy, but it can still assist)

Also: decide heat level early-ish. You don’t need exact scene plans, but you should know whether you’re writing clean, spicy, or “open-door.”

Build characters with flaws that create friction

Romance is character-driven. If the characters aren’t interesting, the plot can’t save it.

A solid character setup includes:

  • wants vs needs (often not the same)
  • internal conflict (fear of abandonment, control issues, guilt, etc.)
  • external conflict (job, family, secrets, distance, duty)
  • strengths that attract + weaknesses that collide

One practical note: AI-generated character names skew cliché. If you keep “Jack Mitchell with warm brown eyes,” the AI will keep repeating it like it’s getting paid per mention. Swap names early and trim repeated descriptors.

Romantic tension is the engine

The session made a blunt point: once the central romantic tension is resolved, your story is basically over. That’s why so many shows sag after the “will they/won’t they” ends.

So don’t rush it. Let the tension earn its screen time.

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