Romancing Your Plot--Adding Seamless Romance to Fiction

A strong romantic thread can deepen character stakes, sharpen conflict, and heighten emotional payoff—even in stories that aren’t “romance” novels. In this session, we’ll explore how to weave romance naturally into non-romance genres without derailing pacing or shifting the story’s primary focus. You’ll learn how to build romantic tension through character arc and plot structure, how to balance external and internal stakes, and how to ensure the love story feels integral to the narrative rather than ornamental.

Annabelle McCormack writes historical romantic fiction, romantic fantasy, and contemporary romance packed with sprawling adventures, epic love, and soulmates who just can’t stay away from each other (even when the world is falling apart). If there’s a sweeping love story with high stakes and deep emotions, she’s probably writing it—or at least dreaming about it while chasing down her next cup of coffee.

When she’s not wrangling words, she’s wrangling five home-schooled kids, a couple of dogs, and an unreasonable amount of books in Maryland. If life had more hours (and less laundry), she’d be traveling, painting, or becoming a professional pastry chef. For now, she’s content with baking, reading, lifting heavy things at the gym, and plotting her next great escape—er, novel.

Follow her adventures (both literary and domestic) on Instagram, or sign up for her newsletter at her website!