History SoYouWantTo / WriteARomanticComedy

Well, first you'll need a [[TheProtagonist Protagonist]] and a LoveInterest (although if you wish to try for a Romantic Comedy about [[ADateWithRosiePalms onanism]], by all means). You can decide which will be the man and which will be the woman (or vice versa, or both). It is also often helpful to have a BetaCouple to underscore the romantic tribulations of the main two characters; generally these characters are the Protagonist and LoveInterest's Best Friends / Direct Siblings / Both and act as advisors and comic relief to the main couple and the audience. They may or may not get together at the end; alternately, they may be used to provide a counterpoint to the main couple (i.e. if the Protagonist is lonely and love-lorn, his / her counterpart in the BetaCouple may be happily married with kids).

* Pretty much all Romantic Comedies are Boy Meets Girl or Girl Meets Boy; how about Girl Meets Girl? Or Boy Meets Boy? Or Girl Meets Boy ''and'' Girl? ([[TriangRelations To be interpreted any way you wish.]]) And so on.

* The first is that they are attracted to each other. Hollywood typically shows this by just having a beautiful woman show up and the man just be automatically interested because [[TheChick there are no other women in the film]]. In other words, AllMenArePerverts. This typically results in a SatelliteLoveInterest situation. So what you need to establish is why the characters' ''personalities'' result in attraction between them. There should be something that the Romantic Lead wants, and the Love Interest is the Love Interest because s/he provides it. Take "UptightLovesWild," for instance (and its occasional Most Logical Exaggeration, the ManicPixieDreamGirl). Built into the trope is the idea of two characters who complete each other by providing counter-balance. The idea that two characters have compatible personalities will help the audience believe that they have reasons (beyond hormones) for wanting to kiss.

Romantic comedies are, in general, a very upbeat, optimistic genre; this can, however, tip over into SickeninglySweet or even TastesLikeDiabetes if you're not careful, which is guaranteed to lead to both copious amounts of vomit and your work showing up on the {{Narm}} index very swiftly. Avoid SickeninglySweethearts (being in love is wonderful, but doesn't mean you have to get ridiculous about showing it), and be wary of the RomanticPlotTumor. [[RousseauWasRight Rousseau may have been right]], but that doesn't mean you have to get crazy with it.

It's also common to set up a LoveTriangle situation with the Protagonist, the Love Interest and RomanticFalseLead, someone whom the Protagonist must compete with in order to win the LoveInterest. Be careful with this character, because they often operate more as a plot device (they're essentially a tool to keep the characters apart) than a character in their own right. Making a RomanticFalseLead into a character in his or her own right can be difficult to pull off. Making him/her too much of a JerkAss (or a bland, boring non-entity) will result in the audience wondering why the Love Interest is with the RomanticFalseLead in the first place -- and, consequently, whether the Love Interest is even worth pursuing (since S/he obviously has poor taste in romantic partners). On the other hand, making the RomanticFalseLead too appealing will result in the Protagonist coming across like a selfish JerkAss for trying to destroy a healthy relationship. The obvious answer is to have the RomanticFalseLead start off nice but pull a HeelFaceTurn... but this can come across as inconsistent, unbelievable and [[DerailingLoveInterests awfully convenient]] characterization. Try to find the middle ground wherein RomanticFalseLead is a convincing romantic rival but also has enough flaws to justify being rejected. Doing this is ''way'' easier if you've done any of the sort of CharacterDevelopment discussed earlier.

Also, consider very well the impression you want the heroine to leave; while the TheIngenue-style heroine is [[TropesAreNotBad a valid choice]] whose character strengths get woefully undervalued, there's much to be said for a powerful girl who's more than a match for the guy, as ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090508 currently showing us]]. A lot of Romance starts with a strong girl and breaks her; consider one who grows in ways other than merely turning gentle.

Well, first you'll need a [[TheProtagonist Protagonist]] and a LoveInterest (although if you wish to try for a Romantic Comedy about onanism, by all means). You can decide which will be the man and which will be the woman (or vice versa, or both). You will also need a BetaCouple to underscore the romantic tribulations of the main two characters; generally these characters are the Protagonist and LoveInterest's Best Friends / Direct Siblings / Both and act as advisors and comic relief to the main couple and the audience. They may or may not get together at the end; alternately, they may be used to provide a counterpoint to the main couple (i.e. if the Protagonist is lonely and love-lorn, his / her counterpart in the BetaCouple may be happily married with kids).

* ''Film/ILoveYouMan'' styled itself as the first "bromantic comedy," and lived up to its name. It's about a dude named Peter (Creator/PaulRudd) who realizes he has no one to be the best man at his wedding to Zooey (Creator/RashidaJones). Thus, he sets out to find himself a best friend, in the form of Sydney (Creator/JasonSegel). Using Peter and Sydney as its leads, it plays the entire plot structure of the romantic comedy straight (the MeetCute, the SecondActBreakup, the RaceForYourLove), but their love is platonic and does not contain any (intentional) HoYay.

Also, consider very well the impression you want the heroine to leave; while the [[MasterCharacterHeroines Persephone]] [[Literature/{{TCWGTHAH-Heroines}} "waif"-style]] heroine is [[TropesAreNotBad a valid choice]] whose character strengths get woefully undervalued, there's much to be said for a powerful girl who's more than a match for the guy, as ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090508 currently showing us]]. A lot of Romance starts with a strong girl and breaks her; consider one who grows in ways other than merely turning gentle.

* Don't neglect the stories that have Romance as a secondary factor instead of the primary one. For example, the webcomic ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', which takes a mousy, incompetent lab assistant and gradually builds her into the most powerful force in all of {{Steampunk}} Europa, while also working with a romantic lead who's got a lot of growing to do himself. They're both powerful, both stubborn but capable of accepting when they're wrong (and changing), and ultimately well matched, though it was hardly apparent from the start.

* And finally, the subversions.
** ''Film/ILoveYouMan'' styled itself as the first "bromantic comedy," and lived up to its name. It's about a dude named PEter (Creator/PaulRudd) who realizes he has no one to be the best man at his wedding to Zooey (Creator/RashidaJones). Thus, he sets out to gain himself a best friend, in the form of Sydney (Creator/JasonSegel). It plays the entire plot structure of the romantic comedy straight (the MeetCute, the SecondActBreakup, the RaceForYourLove) between Peter and Sydney, but without any (intentional) HoYay.

Aside from subverting the normal expectations, try setting the Romance in any number of secondary genres or settings that aren't what you'd think of when you hear "Romantic Comedy". For example, Romantic Comedy InSPACE. Or Romantic Comedy set in Feudal Japan or [[Film/LifeIsBeautiful in the midst of the Holocaust]]. Or a Romantic Comedy between a caveman and a cavewoman, or between bacteria (in the style of ''OsmosisJones''). Seeing the lovers develop in a new setting is interesting; there's been a [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead zombie]] romantic comedy, why not try something else?