Paranormal Romance Story Ideas and Writing Prompts (2023)

Are you looking for paranormal romance writing prompts and story ideas? Read on for prompts like a werewolf kidnapping an executive who wants to turn his forest into a mall, or a man who comes in between Hades and Persephone!

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What Is Paranormal Romance?
- Why Write Paranormal Romance?
12 Paranormal Romance Writing Prompts
More Ideas?

Creating a believable supernatural or paranormal romance requires world-building skills that go beyond just figuring out how two characters can meet and, then, fall in love. After all, we’re talking about a story that features alternative worlds that have their own set of rules!

Because of this, creating a paranormal romance isn’t as simple as throwing together some details and letting the magic happen. Thus, join me in a journey to unpack all things relating to paranormal romance below!

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What Is Paranormal Romance?

Paranormal romance is a sub-genre of romance featuring a hero/heroine’s relationship with someone who has special powers or abilities (witches, vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, aliens, etc.) while focusing on the challenges they face in overcoming the gap between their two worlds.

Stories in this genre are often set in a fantasy world where humans are unaware of the existence of these otherworldly beings. Paranormal romance can also be found within other romance sub-genres, such as paranormal romantic suspense, or dystopian paranormal romance. The key difference is that the others often lack of a happy ending.

To recap, paranormal romance is:

– A subgenre of both romantic literature and speculative fiction
– Focuses on romance
– Includes themes of fantasy, science fiction, and horror
– Also includes time travel, futuristic and extraterrestrial romances
– Typical relationships: between humans and vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, and other fantastic/otherworldly beings

Why Write Paranormal Romance?

The popularity of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight proves that audience loves this genre in which a fantastic, enigmatic otherworldly being falls madly in love with the regular Mary Jane, creating a delightful escape for readers who identifies themselves with the protagonist.

Another reason is that it allows you to create an amazing fantasy world filled with otherworldly beings who are unlike anything readers have ever encountered, giving you the freedom to create characters who are extraordinary in nature. Whether your hero or heroine has the power to move things with their mind, turn into a wolf, or communicate with ghosts, there are few limitations on what you can include in your story.

In addition, paranormal romance novels often have a larger focus on the relationship between the hero and heroine and the challenges they face in overcoming the gap between their two worlds, creating a dramatic arc that lasts from beginning to end, which is a great way to keep readers engaged.

12 Paranormal Romance Writing Prompts

Below are some thrilling paranormal romance writing prompts from a werewolf kidnapping an executive who wants to turn his forest into a shopping mall, to a man who comes in between Hades and Persephone.

I hope the ideas below are original, but undoubtedly with the popularity of this trope, something similar could have existed out there already. But sometimes the smallest details matter, and make all the difference!

(Please note that all the genders in this prompts are just placeholders and are not meant to enforce any hurtful stereotypes nor to offend anyone.)

Reunited Lovers

1. The Crystal Ball: When a skeptic lets a traveling circus fortune teller read his palm, he’s oblivious to the fact that she’s his soulmate. When he finally realizes her messages, the circus already vanishes.

2. Three’s a Crowd: When a man realizes that the woman he’s been seeing is actually Persephone, it’s too late. Because Hades is coming for both of them.

3. The Cursed Existence: A grieving woman isolates herself after losing her true love in a freak accident. When she begins to see her lover around the house again, it slowly dawns on her that it was her who died in that accident.

Enemies to Lovers

1. The Werewolves’ Lair: A pack of werewolves kidnaps the executive who’s in discussion with the locals about converting the werewolves’ habitat into a shopping mall. What happens when the alpha leader falls in love with the executive?

2. The Alien: A psychiatric ward patient warns a nurse that he’s leaving, to her disbelief, only for her to later witness the ward being destroyed by his kind who has come to pick him up.

3. The Witch’s Curse: A demon kidnaps a nature-worshipping witch in order to have her remove a curse she placed on one of his lackeys. Needless to say, opposite attracts.

Picture Prompts

Here are some picture-based paranormal romance story prompts, because, a picture speaks a thousand words! Below are some image prompts as well as some prompt ideas to accompany each.

(Please click on the image for more information.)

The End is Here

1. When a group of priests separates a witch and her lover, they must endure her curse.

2. This is the fate that befalls a coven of a witch, who was cursed by a young witch after she was cast out for loving an enemy.

(Please click on the image for more information.)

The Forest

1. It’s a forest that’s known to grant wishes, but at a steep cost.

2. A brave investigator explores a forest, the home of a Sasquatch who’s known to kidnap young women, to find that the truth is much more than what meets the eye.

(Please click on the image for more information.)

The Maiden

1. A dream shaper who could weave any dream into anyone, but at a steep price.

2. A necromancer who falls in love with one of her resurrected clients.

More Ideas?

Now that you know the definition of paranormal romance and why you might want to write in this sub-genre, I hope now you have enough to jumpstart that writing project!

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