As a big fan of enemies to lovers, there’s nothing I love more than reading or writing about polar opposites coming together. I’ve always loved the whole star-crossed lovers trope like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, or when characters sneak around and can’t resist their love and attraction, like Olivia and Fitz in ABC’s Scandal. In this post, I’ll be telling you about what exactly the forbidden romance trope is, and how to write it.
What is Forbidden Love?
Forbidden love is the romantic relationship between two people that faces discouragement or is prohibited by external factors, such as cultural expectations, societal norms, opposition (familial, different organizations/agencies, etc.), and other barriers. As a result, the relationship faces tension and conflict, which can lead to emotional turmoil and difficult decisions. What makes this trope so interesting (and addicting) is how the intensity of their love pushes the characters to combat the challenges they face, which results in an intriguing and dramatic story if executed correctly.
Below, I’ll list a step-by-step guide of how to write it.
Establish the Forbidden Element: Clearly define what about the love makes it forbidden- societal norms, cultural differences, familial opposition, and more.
Characters and Setting: Create complex main characters, as well as the characters and forces opposing their love. Make sure to make the characters multidimensional with their own motivations, fears, and desires. The story is about forbidden love, but it should not be the main focus, and it requires background as to why it is forbidden.
Tension and Conflict: There needs to be conflicts and obstacles that exist to challenge the relationship. These conflicts can be external or internal ones, or both. The whole point of forbidden love is that you want your readers to root for the characters, and you want the characters to root/fight for each other.
Include Positive Moments: In between the challenges, include moments of hope and joy. Give the readers something to yearn for, and the characters a reminder of what they’re doing this all/fighting for.
Remember…
Avoid too much drama. Your focus should be on the conflicts and suspension, the ‘what if’. Don’t add too much drama to take away from the rest of the plot.
Build tension. Tension will continue to build naturally as the story develops and the characters face more roadblocks, as their relationship gets more serious and they spend more time together. The chances of them getting caught increases. Every moment they spend together, you should increase the tension, always reminding both the characters and the readers the of the consequences that will follow if their love is ever discovered.
Here are some ideas of forbidden love to include in your story:
Love triangles, one character already belonging/promised to someone else
Race tensions
Criminal status/history
Rival gangs/organizations
Class difference— social class, rank, etc.
Feuding families
Illnesses, disease, disabilities
And some examples seen in literature, film, and other media:
“Brokeback Mountain” (2005)
“Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
“Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy
“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Atonement” (2007)
That’s all for today’s post on understanding and writing forbidden love. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope to see you in the next post!
With love,
c <3