Writing Dragon Romantasy: A Guide From Daphne Anders

What Is Romantasy? Romance and fantasy interwoven together.

Before we get into dragon romance and how I built the world in Shades of Fire, here are some great romantasy reads on Inkitt that feature dragons:

Why Write Fantasy Romance Focusing on Dragons?

Dragon themed romance is in, it’s the new ‘werewolf’ romance trope which everyone is obsessed with. Dragons, like werewolves, can have mates, be Alpha Males and have the appeal of magical abilities.

Readers love to escape into other magical realms and worlds and lose themselves into fantasy.
Creativity is the great thing an imagination can offer. The world is your oyster when writing a fantasy romance, especially one themed around Dragons. Your world can be as big as you’d like it to be: grandiose, elegant castles, evil villains, and surprising heros.

Dragons allow for awesome battle scenes. There’s nothing like a dragon battle scene truly, there’s something about colorful scales, fire and ice, and the power of these creatures that can really elevate your novel.
How to Write a Fantasy Romance involving Dragons.

How I Recommend Building the Plot: 4 Essential Rules

1. World Building
There’s nothing readers like more than world building. Make the world whatever you want it to be but make sure you add in elaborate explanations of the kingdom.

For example, in Shades of Fire, I set up the Dani Kingdom to be important and influential from the beginning. Describe the terrain in the form of your dragon flying, it interests the readers and gives them a first hand look at your world, from the main character’s eyes. Dragon King Cerion himself.

2. Romantic Interest and Tropes
Establish what tropes will be portrayed throughout your novel almost immediately. My favorite trope to write about is ‘enemies to lovers’.In Shades of Fire you’ll see just that. There’s something about the tension, the angst, the distaste one main character has for another that sends a reader on the edge of their seat. Because after all, hate is the same thing as love, and it all boils down to one thing: emotion. Readers love emotion, we’re humans after all and thrive on it. The power of feeling is the strongest emotion in the world.

3. Conflict
Conflict is essential in any plot (emotional or physical).Without conflict, the plot would be easily determined and where’s the fun in that? A clear conflict should be established, the same with a villain, whether it’s the main character’s internal monologue that proves to be against them or a physical force such as an enemy hiding in the shadows.

4. Growth
In my opinion, there needs to be clear character growth in a novel. Give your main character weaknesses and strengths, just as you would have in the real world. Make your character human. Mirror them after your own faults and insecurities and strengths and weaknesses, make them real. Readers feel when a character has emotions, they mourn with them, they love with them, they feel with them. Give your character growth, show a clear metamorphosis of a character arc at the end of your novel. This will lead your readers into ‘rooting’ for them.

My Favorite Ways to Set the Mood in Fantasy Romance Writing

Set the Scene: Think of a large, picturesque castle on top of a carved rock. Think of a blue cloudless sky with abundant greenery beneath it. Think of small villages, warmed by the coal fire emanating out of smoky chimneys.
Play With Lighting: Dusk, dawn, moonlight. The warm glow of the sun on a dragon’s scales.
Create Suspense: Romance-fantasy needs conflict, it needs a push-pull dynamic if not in the characters relationships but in a conflict that threatens the whole kingdom.
Descriptions: Choose unique descriptions for your dragons. Blue scales, ice instead of fire, wingspan, special abilities. Be creative.

My Go-To Character Tips for Writing Fantasy Romance with Dragons

1. Women can be their own hero’s

You do not need a male character to save the day every time. Women can triumph through obstacles just as well as men. Let the female character be their own hero for once. It avoids unnecessary cliches.

2. The trustworthy advisor

Everyone needs an advisor, especially one that genuinely has the best interest in your success.

3. The accepting parent

Usually it’s a common theme for parent’s, especially King’s parents to be against their choice as King. It adds an extra dimension of ‘emotion’ and ‘uniqueness’ if the parent happens to accept their marriage.

4. The loving sibling

Who wants their sibling to be a backstabber? Not me! It’s so often portrayed in the romance-fantasy realm sibling against sibling. I think it adds an additional emotional layer if siblings are instead supportive and kind to one another. It adds to the “Feel good” trope.

Reader-Loved Dragon Tropes (And My Personal Picks)

1Destined or fated Mates

2Forced proximity

3Age gap

4Change of heart

5Virgin

6Erotica

7Morally grey men

8Strong women and Alpha males

9Enemies to Lovers

So You Wanna Write a Dragon Romance? Here’s What I’d Tell You

- Get inspired
  
  Check out top books on platforms like Inkitt and Galatea to see what readers love and what’s trending. Research on the internet.
- Give your characters dimension
  
  Make them real, make them feel, love, cry. Everything that’s beautiful in human nature.
- World build
  
  World building is a big part of your story. Make your world memorable, romantic, picturesque, an escape from the monotony that is life.
- Write intense scenes
  
  Make sure you add spice to your book, if you’re interested in creating a dynamic build up of raw emotions between your characters.
- Cliffhangers
  
  People love cliffhangers, it keeps them excited and guessing.

Conclusion: Daydream, Place Yourself Into the Book

Writing fantasy romance centered around dragons gives you power. You wield power in your hands by simply creating. Think about it: you are building and creating a brand new world that others are interested in, you are creating dimensional characters with raw emotions, power, weaknesses, strengths. You are the author of your own story, which people enjoy reading. Place yourself into the world you create, let yourself get lost once in a while in the magic of writing and the magic that comes with it.

Daily, I think about how wonderful it is to live in a world where you can create.

We are truly blessed to be given the power of imagination. Even when we are stuck, confined in a desk or at work in a cubicle, we have the power of imagination and to make our thoughts our own. My biggest recommendation to any aspiring author is to create, no matter if you’re scared or doubtful or even unmotivated — create.

Share your soul with the world, you have no idea how much you will impact others by doing so.