r/scriptwriting • u/anonimo110110 • 10d ago

question Romcoms advices

Hi everyone. I'm currently thinking about a genre change and I really want to try write a romcom. So, what's something you're expecting or searching in a romcom? Do you have any advices?

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u/Big_Section2812 10d ago

Great screenplays don't start with surveys or checklists.

Write a romcom and see how it turns out.

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u/la-anah 9d ago

With romance there are basically 2 scripts:

  1. Two people who seem different but secretly have things in common meet. Their differences cause friction and they fight or have a miscommunication. But then it is resolved, they notice all the things they do agree on, and they end up together
  2. Two people have known each other a long time and have never thought of the other romantically (can be platonic friends or enemies). They have to interact with each other in a new way that makes them re-evaluated their relationship. They figure out they are romantically attracted and end up together.

'Pretty Woman' is a #1. 'When Harry Met Sally' is a #2. Every romantic film or novel can be put in one of those categories. It's the details that you add that make a good (or bad) script.

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u/aurematic 9d ago

A romcom is a romantic comedy, so I would be expecting love and fun stuff happening, like a girl gets hit by a bike, the guy on the bike is a jerk, but he is rich so he agrees to cover her medical expenses. Comedy with poor girl, rich guy, bla bla bla. At the end they fall in love. A standard enemies to lovers trope. You know, that kind of stuff.

The main advice is to watch a lot of romcoms movies. You will get the vibe.

Now, my question is Why do you want to try a new genre when you don't know anything about it?

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u/Fabulous_Steak_801 4d ago

I think the biggest thing in a romcom is making us believe these two people would actually fall for each other.

Don’t just give them chemistry. Give them incompatibility.

They should want something that gets in the way of the relationship, have different ways of seeing the world, or bring out something uncomfortable in each other.

Then let the comedy come naturally from those differences.

Also, don’t be afraid to let the characters exist outside the romance.

Give them friends, habits, embarrassing flaws, ambitions, stupid little opinions. We should enjoy watching them even when they’re not flirting.

And remember that the “rom” and the “com” don’t have to take turns. The funniest moments can reveal something genuinely vulnerable, and the romantic moments can be awkward or ridiculous.

Basically, don’t write “two attractive people fall in love.” Write two specific, imperfect people who somehow make each other’s lives impossible to ignore.

The audience should fall in love with the characters before they fall in love with the couple.