Does anyone know any romance books with this plot structure?

morsonblake · Jul 15, 2014

Hi all. I'm a new member of this site. Looks like a nice place.

I want to write a romance novel, and I figure the first place to start is to read all of the great books that follow the same structure as the novel I want to write so I can study them.

I'm sure you've all heard of the love triangle, but I want to write a novel with a kind of "love square": 4 main characters (two women, two men).

One "beta male" type character (sensitive plain-looking guy), call him Person X.

One "beta female" type character (sensitive plain-looking woman), call her Person Y.

One "alpha female" type character (attractive, confident woman), call her Person A.

One "alpha male" type character (attractive, confident guy), call him Person B.

Person X and Person B both want Person A, and Person A chooses Person B.

Person X then falls in love with Person Y and becomes more confident and hence more attractive to Person A. Person B becomes less likeable, so Person A leaves Person B.

Now Person A and Person Y both want Person X, and Person X chooses Person A.

In a pivotal moment, Person X realizes he made the exact same mistake Person A made at the start and he leaves Person A and redeems himself and gets together with Person Y.

Does anybody know any romance books or movies that follow that same stucture? I know it's a bit complicated, sorry.

I'd appreciate any non-sappy recommendations with male protagonists as I can't write for female protagonists.

Thanks very much.

Evelyn_Alexie · Jul 15, 2014

For the first part of your plot, I was thinking a Midsummer Night's Dream. It does have the advantage of there being several movie versions you can watch.
But the second part of your plot? No idea, I'm afraid.
Good luck!

sunandshadow · Jul 15, 2014

That sounds more likely to have a match in a soap opera or historical novel than a romance novel, just due to the complexity of the switching around. I can only think of a few romance novels offhand that have 4 major characters - Lord of Danger by Anne Stuart is a nice historical fantasy "double romance", which has a theme of the secondary female character choosing her man primarily for his pretty face (but he's a nice guy anyway so the outcome is happy). But that book is also an example of a typical problem with double romances or other complex relationship patterns - at 350 pages, which is a pretty standard length for a romance novel and probably equates to 55k or at most 60k, there was not enough room in the book to do much with worldbuilding. The plot was fine, but not particularly complex or interesting. It could have been a lot better book if it had been 80k or 90k. That's too long for a lot of romance lines though, so it depends on which publishers you are trying to aim for.

morsonblake · Jul 15, 2014

Thanks for your thoughtful posts.

I'm not really writing to a certain word limit or page limit in mind. I kind of just want to write the whole thing, edit it down as much as I can and if it feels complete and happens to spill over the limit that most publishers have, that's fine. I'll just publish the thing online myself.

This whole process will take years to do, as I want to get this novel right. I guess I'm being too specific here. The romance stories I've always loved in movies are the redemption ones, and that explains the second half of the plot structure I intend to have.

A guy is in love with a woman but he screws up, and then he redeems himself and wins her back. Any novels of this type?

I also love the romance stories where a man realizes that his female best friend, the one he's been overlooking for the entire novel, is really the one he should have been with all along. Any novels of this type?

sunandshadow · Jul 16, 2014

morsonblake said:
Thanks for your thoughtful posts.

I'm not really writing to a certain word limit or page limit in mind. I kind of just want to write the whole thing, edit it down as much as I can and if it feels complete and happens to spill over the limit that most publishers have, that's fine. I'll just publish the thing online myself.

This whole process will take years to do, as I want to get this novel right. I guess I'm being too specific here. The romance stories I've always loved in movies are the redemption ones, and that explains the second half of the plot structure I intend to have.

A guy is in love with a woman but he screws up, and then he redeems himself and wins her back. Any novels of this type?

I also love the romance stories where a man realizes that his female best friend, the one he's been overlooking for the entire novel, is really the one he should have been with all along. Any novels of this type?

Oh yeah, plenty of both of those patterns, though you might get more results for the second one by reversing the gender. In movies you see a lot of "hero ignores the girl next door" but in novels for some reason it's more often "heroine ignores the boy next door". Have you looked at the site Smart Bitches Trashy Books? That's a good place for lists of romance novels by theme or plot type.

Evangeline · Jul 19, 2014

You won't really find that in the romance genre. Off the top of my head, the closest I can think of is Julia Quinn's On the Way to the Wedding. http://juliaquinn.com/books/wedding.php

It's rare in romance (but not in chick-lit or women's fiction) because readers want to be invested in the protagonists at the beginning of the book. Love triangles and love quadrangles get in the way of rooting for a couple to fall in love, and often, you leave readers feeling disgruntled if they feel the wrong man or woman was chosen.

veinglory · Jul 19, 2014

morsonblake said:
A guy is in love with a woman but he screws up, and then he redeems himself and wins her back. Any novels of this type?

If that is the subject of about 75% or more of the book, it's a romance of a very common type. If not you have some other genre with a lot of romantic elements (drama, humor/farce, saga etc).

gingerwoman · Jul 19, 2014

What Emily said. You might want to read Jaimie McQGuire's Beautiful Disaster but that only has a triangle, and it is kind of a retelling of Wuthering Heights.

Evangeline · Jul 20, 2014

New Adult romance is a whole 'nother beast than the romance genre proper, so I don't think McGuire's book the best example (unless OP is writing NA). NA readers will read love triangles, quandrangles, etc because it provides maximum angst and drama.

Also, as Emily said above, is the love/romance story the central focus of the plot? If not, then you're writing mainstream fiction with romantic elements.

Does anyone know any romance books with this plot structure?

morsonblake

Evelyn_Alexie

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

morsonblake

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

Evangeline

Twirling in a glass of champagne

veinglory

volitare nequeo

gingerwoman

Evangeline

Twirling in a glass of champagne