• Romance should be a consequence of the plot, not vice versa.
• Your characters should be able to stand on their own, even if you take away the romance aspect of the story.
• Please don’t give your protagonist an asshole ex-boyfriend/first love who returns to fuck up the protagonist’s developing relationship with their love interest. That is not only lame plotting but it’s also an insult to the protagonist’s choice making skills.
• Allow your lovers to have conflicts. There is no such thing as Happily Ever After and there’s no such thing as lovers who agree on everything.

Might add more to these later.