How to Write a Romantic Comedy Screenplay

Every year, you can count on Hollywood to supply a successful romantic comedy. From "When Harry Met Sally" to "Knocked Up," a good romantic comedy tends to be a hit with audiences. Successful romantic comedies have the right blend of ingredients. If you want to write a romantic comedy screenplay, you'll need to have the same elements that make so many of these movies a success.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Involve the main character in a romantic pursuit. An audience reacts best to a hero, with whom they can identify, trying to win the love of the object of his or her desire: a best friend, a high-school sweetheart or a co-worker.

2. Give the hero another desire that may even conflict with his or her pursuit of love. Giving the hero another interest will help to create comedic situations as the two desires create humorous confrontation and conflict.

3. Concentrate on the events leading to the romance, but not so much the romance itself. If the two characters wind up in bed together, don't spend a lot of time in the screenplay describing what happens there. How they got there is more important in a romantic comedy.

4. Show that the two lovers belong together, even against all odds. An audience must want the two people to be together and also believe that they belong together. This is the glue that holds the screenplay together. Without it, a romantic comedy will fail.

5. Include a happy ending. A romantic comedy screenplay must end with the two lovers together. Few, if any, romantic comedies succeed where the lovers do not end up together at the end of the movie.

Tips & Warnings

• Rent successful romantic comedies. Take notes. See what makes the screenplay work and how. Familiarize yourself with the elements needed to write a good romantic comedy screenplay.

• Show the first meeting between the hero and his or her love interest. Give an audience the chance to see the moment when the hero falls in love. It will make the hero more appealing to the audience.

• Write about the hero before introducing the love interest. Have the audience get to know him or her. The more they know about the hero, the more they will like the character and it will make the rest of the screenplay work better.

• Strive for having a few big comedic moments. The orgasm scene in "When Harry Met Sally" or the zipper scene in "Something About Mary" are great examples of memorable comedic moments in a romantic comedy.

• Read books about writing romantic comedy screenplays. You can find available books at the local library, bookstores or online. These can give you great tips and hints for how to write a successful romantic comedy.