Full transcript
0:00Hello and welcome to another genre
0:02guide. Today we're talking about hockey
0:04romance, which is probably one of the
0:06hottest romance genres out there right
0:08now, which, you know, romance being what
0:11it is, that makes it one of the hottest
0:12genres period. And you might be
0:15wondering why is this dude talking about
0:17hockey romance? He doesn't look like a
0:18romance writer, and you'd be right.
0:21Uh but I am a huge nerd about genre, and
0:23what I've done for this guide is I've
0:25actually collected up a handful of the
0:27absolute knocking it out of the park
0:30bestsellers, so we know that they're
0:32doing something right, and doing an
0:34in-depth uh read for myself, I've uh
0:37gone through all of these books, and
0:38then also um
0:40used AI to do a chapter-by-chapter
0:43analysis of all of these books, and kind
0:44of like put together all of the trends.
0:47So, this is based on very real data, so
0:49we can be pretty confident that the
0:52stuff that I've created here with AI is
0:55pretty accurate. So, let's start by
0:58getting into the most common tropes for
0:59hockey romance. I've divided these up
1:01into major tropes and common tropes. The
1:04major ones are the ones that, if you
1:06miss too many of them, your readers are
1:08going to feel cheated. Uh you don't
1:10necessarily have to have all of them,
1:11because there's still a wide variety,
1:14especially in romance, of the tropes you
1:16can have, but this is just some of the
1:18big ones. All right, starting with enemy
1:20enemies to lovers. You'll often see this
1:22in hockey romance. Uh and then forced
1:25proximity, where characters are
1:26repeatedly placed in inescapable shared
1:28spaces. Um and kind of going along with
1:31the enemies to lovers, you'll often see
1:33the grumpy sunshine trope, where uh
1:35which contrasts a brooding, emotional,
1:37guarded athlete with a bubbly,
1:39expressive partner who cracks their icy
1:40interior.
1:42Then [snorts] you'll get the fake dating
1:44or PR relationship trope, where the two
1:46characters enter a performance-based
1:48romantic agreement to solve professional
1:50problems, only to fall in love for real.
1:52And we've got the found family trope.
1:54This is in a lot of uh romance and cozy
1:57genres and stuff like that. Workplace
1:59romance, the romance occurs between
2:00individuals linked through their careers
2:02like a player and a team staff member
2:04which introduces massive professional
2:06risks. There's often a protective love
2:08interest which goes along also with the
2:11touch her and die trope. Which is for
2:14some reason a very popular trope.
2:16One character exhibits a fierce physical
2:18protectiveness over their partner
2:20aggressively confronting anyone who
2:21threatens them. And then of course
2:23there's the secret relationship where
2:25the characters hide their growing bond
2:26from teammates and media to avoid
2:28professional consequences creating high
2:29stakes concealment. This is one of the
2:31more common tropes when it comes to any
2:34sort of relationship that involves a
2:37high profile character.
2:39All right, moving on to the common
2:40tropes. These are others that you are
2:42likely to find in a lot of these books
2:44but aren't necessarily as required.
2:47The first is the protective brother or
2:49best friend. A sibling or close teammate
2:51who acts as a gatekeeper.
2:53There's the broken hero or heroine.
2:55Characters carry deep emotional wounds
2:57or past abandonment issues that serve as
2:59their main internal obstacles to finding
3:00love. You'll see this a lot in romance
3:03in general that there's usually some
3:05baggage being carried by both
3:07by by both characters and part of the
3:10theme of the book is learning to resolve
3:12those things through love.
3:15Then we get the sports underdog. The
3:17internal conflict centers on proving
3:18oneself against the dominant rivals or
3:20fighting for a career defining
3:22championship win which is often a sort
3:24of subplot. The bad boy with a secret
3:26heart of gold and arrogant public
3:28persona is used to hide vulnerability
3:30while the character reveals true
3:31kindness in private. We have the ex who
3:33won't leave. So this could be a toxic
3:35former partner who reappears to cause
3:36drama and show how much healthier the
3:38new relationship is. There's a makeover.
3:40One partner changes the other style or
3:42social presentation sparking physical
3:44intimacy and shifting the power balance.
3:46There's usually some kind of grand
3:47gesture particularly towards the end of
3:49the book Uh, acts as a pivotal public
3:51act where a character risks their career
3:54or reputation to declare their
3:55commitment. There's the childhood
3:57history, the couple shares a long
3:58history together. This isn't uh, a
4:00required one, uh, but it's common,
4:02providing a foundation of deep trust
4:03that is tested by adult complications.
4:05And then finally, there is career
4:07conflict and the choice, which is the
4:10high-pressure demands of professional
4:11hockey forcing a difficult decision
4:14between athletic ambition and personal
4:15happiness. So, those are the main
4:17tropes. Now, I do have uh, additional
4:20explanations for each of these and if
4:22you want to dig in a little bit deeper
4:23into these. And this guide, by the way,
4:25is available as a booklet on Amazon that
4:28you can get for five bucks, but I don't
4:30actually recommend you get them that
4:32way. I recommend you go straight to my
4:34membership Story Hacker AI because
4:36they're all included there at no extra
4:38cost when you join.
4:39So, uh, you can get all of them there.
4:41They're also fully baked into Story
4:43Hacker OS, which is also available in
4:45Story Hacker AI when you join.
4:48So, that's something to keep a look at
4:49if you are interested uh, in it. So,
4:52let's go to my favorite part now, which
4:54is uh, the uh, the plot template. This
4:58is where the AI does a chapter chapter
5:01chapter by chapter analysis of every
5:02bestseller that I give it. And then kind
5:05of compares all of them together against
5:07each other to see what are the
5:08commonalities and stuff like that. And
5:10then from there creates a more broad and
5:12general template that you can use to
5:15write a similar book. Now, of course,
5:17these templates are meant to be starting
5:20places. You want to kind of like take it
5:21and go some places with it that inject
5:24your own creativity in there, but I
5:26always find it's really helpful to have
5:28a place to start with these things. And
5:30so, that's uh, why I created this. Uh,
5:33this is an average of 55 chapters across
5:37all of the different books that were
5:38analyzed, which might sound like a lot,
5:40but I do also find that romances tend to
5:42have shorter chapters. So, uh,
5:46deal with that as you will. Uh, we're
5:48going to go quickly through all of these
5:49to get a sense for the overall structure
5:52of the book. Okay? So, starting with
5:54chapter one, the protagonist's
5:55diminished world. Open on the
5:57protagonist in their natural blue collar
5:58or independent professional environment,
6:00immediately establishing their
6:01competence, their warmth with a
6:03tight-knit community, and a looming
6:04external crisis like financial ruin,
6:06eviction, professional sabotage, or fall
6:08from past success. Chapter two is the
6:11hockey star's public persona. Shift
6:13perspective to the love interest,
6:15introducing them within their
6:16high-status professional hockey world
6:18and
6:19establishing the arrogant, untouchable
6:21public persona they perform for the
6:23media and peers. And one thing I noticed
6:25when I was going through these books
6:27myself is that
6:28romance books, and particularly hockey
6:31romance, has a strong tendency to switch
6:36back and forth between both POVs. It'll
6:39kind of tell both of their story, often
6:41in first person. And this is one of the
6:43few cases where you're allowed more than
6:45one first-person viewpoint character is
6:48in a book like this where you're showing
6:50the
6:51the the the woman and the man, or, you
6:54know, depending on the orientation, the
6:56man and the man, the woman and the
6:57woman, whatever it is, the two partners.
6:59So, chapter three is the collision.
7:01Engineer the meet cute through a
7:03unwanted high-tension collision between
7:05the two leads, a mechanical breakdown, a
7:06professional task gone wrong, or an
7:08accidental intrusion that forces their
7:10two worlds together for the first time.
7:12So, chapter three, we're already getting
7:13into the main inciting incident, which
7:15is the meet cute, and
7:17that leads us to chapter four,
7:19humanizing the villain. Return to the
7:21love interest's perspective as they
7:22enter the protagonist's community
7:23environment or are forced into a second
7:25interaction, allowing them to observe
7:27the warmth and loyalty the protagonist
7:29commands. Chapter five, the crisis
7:31peaks. Escalate the protagonist's
7:32external crisis to a breaking point. An
7:34eviction notice, a funding cut, a
7:35foreclosure, or a professional ultimatum
7:37that makes their situation untenable.
7:39So, they're not doing so well. Chapter
7:41six, the advisor's proposal. Shift to
7:44the love interest as a self-interested
7:45advisor, manager, or family member
7:47proposes exploiting a fake relationship
7:49with the protagonist as a calculated
7:51strategy strategy to rehabilitate the
7:54love interest damaged public image.
7:56Chapter seven, that deal goes on the
7:57table where the love interest arrives at
7:59the protagonist home or workplace and
8:01proposes the mutually beneficial
8:02arrangement. Kind of works out for both
8:04of them, so they're going to run with
8:06it.
8:07Chapter eight is the refusal collapses.
8:09The protagonist
8:11The protagonist processes the proposal
8:12with their confidant or support network
8:14whose enthusiasm and pragmatic
8:16counterarguments progressively narrow
8:17the protagonist's options for refusal.
8:20And chapter nine, the negotiation. The
8:22formal negotiation of the arrangement
8:23takes place with the protagonist
8:24supported by their allies and control of
8:26their own territory. Terms are
8:27established, boundaries are set, and the
8:28personal stakes, a desire for
8:30vindication against a past wrong, a
8:32dependent's well-being, or a
8:33professional goal are woven into the
8:35contract. So, they're both getting
8:37something out of this, right? Which
8:38leads us to chapter 10, the first public
8:40test. This fake relationship moves into
8:42its first operational phase as the
8:44protagonist and love interest must
8:45perform their connection publicly for
8:47the first time. So, now they're out in
8:48the open with this, and that begins
8:50their forced proximity where external
8:52circumstances force the two leads into
8:54sharing living space or constant
8:55proximity. But, because of that cracks
8:58appear in the armor. Living in close
9:00quarters allows the love interest to
9:01observe the protagonist's vulnerability,
9:04uh whatever that may be. In this case,
9:06it could be a nightmare, a past trauma
9:07surfacing, or a moment of private
9:08distress. And that leads to bridging the
9:11worlds. The protagonist's chaotic warm
9:12found family or friends group collides
9:15with the love interest's formal sterile
9:16sterile environment, generating comedy
9:19and bonding. Chapter 14, enemy
9:21territory. The couple enters the hostile
9:22environment of the love interest's toxic
9:24biological family characterized by
9:26judgment, elitism elitism, and emotional
9:29sterile sterility. Man, I can't talk
9:31today. Chapter 15, the professional
9:33world. Shift focus to the love
9:35interest's professional hockey world,
9:36establishing the institutional
9:37dysfunction, the high-stakes
9:39competition, and the hostile peer group
9:41that surrounds them. A trusted mentor or
9:43ally makes the stakes of the love
9:45interest career
9:46situation explicit. Chapter 16 is acts
9:49of service, where the fake relationships
9:51business pretext continues to thinly
9:54veil genuine care. So, it's a pretext,
9:57but they're starting to actually care
9:58for each other, which is when the rival
10:00emerges cuz you can't just have things
10:03go well without something or without a
10:05wrench being thrown in it. Introduce our
10:07escalated romantic rival, a glamorous
10:09figure from the love interest past, a
10:11toxic ex from the protagonist history,
10:13or socially appropriate alternate
10:15part-partner pushed by external forces.
10:17Chapter 18 is the near exposure, an
10:19external threat, a nosy reporter, a near
10:21discovery by a friend, or the rival's
10:23probing almost exposes the fake nature
10:25of the arrangement. So, they almost get
10:27caught. The protagonist Place the
10:30protagonist in their independent,
10:31professional, or community sphere,
10:33demonstrating their competence, passion,
10:34and values that define them outside the
10:36relationship, which leads to the
10:37confidant's warning. The protagonist
10:39processes the confusing reality of their
10:41feelings with their closest confidant,
10:43who names the emotional danger of the
10:45situation and asks the question the
10:46protagonist is not yet ready to answer.
10:48Chapter 21 is the game in the anchor.
10:50The love interest faces a high-stakes
10:52professional hockey performance that is
10:54also an emotional test. A rival targets
10:56them specifically, testing their
10:57capacity for self-control. But in
10:59chapter 22, staged intimacy turns real.
11:02A required performance of physical
11:04intimacy, like a staged photo shoot, a
11:06forced kiss for the cameras, or a social
11:08event demanding public affection,
11:10quickly becomes real as both characters
11:11lose control of the line between acts
11:13and authenticity. So, things are
11:15starting to get a little heated, you
11:17know, in a good way. Chapter 23 is the
11:19domestic bubble, a quiet, unguarded
11:21stretch of domestic time together, like
11:23a shared meal, an ordinary evening, a
11:24borrowed piece of clothing, produces the
11:26protagonist's most natural and intimate
11:27connection yet. Things are getting even
11:30more spicy. Chapter 24 is the protective
11:32crisis, an emergency or confrontation
11:34like a workplace injury, a threat to
11:36dependent or hostile encounter with a
11:38past antagonist strips away one
11:40character's emotional composure and
11:42reveals raw vulnerability in front of
11:43the other. So, all of that baggage that
11:45they've got going on, that sort of comes
11:47to the forefront here and that
11:49highlights the class gap. Place the
11:50protagonist in an environment of elite,
11:52unfamiliar social and economic
11:53conventions
11:55uh where that class gap is very obvious.
11:58Chapter 26 the rivals provocation, the
12:00romantic rival makes a direct escalating
12:02move appearing at shared social space,
12:04uh weaponizing one protagonist deepest
12:06wound or attempting to reestablish a
12:08past claim. But, it doesn't work because
12:10chapter 27 is the midpoint kiss, a
12:12high-stakes emotional moment, a flight
12:14from a tense situation, a confrontation
12:16in a confined space, or a vulnerable
12:18confession forces the protagonist into
12:20relationships into the relationship's
12:22first genuine mutual unscripted kiss.
12:25And then chapter 28 is the morning
12:26after, the aftermath of the midpoint
12:27kiss plays out across both perspectives
12:29with both characters privately grappling
12:31with the fact that the feeling was not
12:33performance, which leads pretty soon to
12:36the first night. The protagonist
12:38physical relationship reaches its first
12:40full consummation in a private,
12:41emotionally significant setting framed
12:43as a precondition for deeper
12:44vulnerability rather than mere physical
12:46satisfaction. So, this happens right
12:48away uh right after the first kiss.
12:51Uh but, that leads to domestic bliss and
12:53dramatic irony. A warm domestic morning
12:55after scene establishes a new emotional
12:57register, tender, easy, and
12:59companionable. That contrasts sharply
13:01with the frantic guarded interactions
13:02earlier in the in the story. So, things
13:04are looking good and we get a do-over.
13:06One character executes a deliberate
13:08premeditated romantic gesture, a
13:10carefully planned date, a personalized
13:12experience, or a do-over of an
13:13inadequate earlier encounter. So, things
13:15are looking even better. But, then we
13:17get the protagonist crisis shared. The
13:19protagonist faces a sudden professional
13:21or personal crisis, a logistical
13:23disaster, a threat to their project, or
13:24an emergency involving their dependents.
13:27And chapter 33 is trauma bonding. In a
13:29private isolated setting, the
13:30protagonist share their most painful
13:31histories, the formative traumas that
13:34drive their core wounds. One character
13:36reveals the source of their emotional
13:37avoidance, which is uh childhood
13:39abandonment or a toxic parent or a past
13:41betrayal, whatever it is, and the other
13:43reciprocates with their own deepest
13:44wound. Chapter 34 is the first label,
13:47external social pressure prompts one
13:49character to attempt a self-protected
13:51retreat, proposing to end the
13:52arrangement or pull back. So, they're
13:54you know, gone a little too far, now
13:56they're looking to maybe pull things
13:58back.
13:59Chapter 35 is the toxic family strikes.
14:01The love interest's toxic biological
14:03family or the secondary antagonist
14:04launches a direct attack, cutting
14:06funding to the protagonist's project or
14:08insulting them publicly or making a
14:10calculated move to separate the couple.
14:13But chapter 36 involves jealousy and
14:15possession. A social outing or public
14:17event triggers a power play, one
14:19character asserting confidence through
14:21appearance or behavior, the other
14:22responding with possessiveness driven by
14:24their growing unacknowledged depth of
14:25feeling. Chapter 37 is the
14:27heart-to-heart with the mentor. One
14:29character has a vulnerable conversation
14:30with a wise figure, confessing their
14:32fear that they are an impostor in the
14:34relationship or fundamentally unworthy
14:35of it. Chapter 38 is found family versus
14:38biological family. A holiday celebration
14:41or major gathering juxtaposes the joy of
14:43the protagonist's chosen found family
14:44against the misery of a stiff hostile
14:46encounter with the toxic biological
14:48family. Chapter 39 is the professional
14:51crucible. Both protagonists'
14:53professional arcs reach critical
14:55juncture simultaneously, the love
14:56interest's hockey career hitting a
14:59make-or-break moment and the
15:00protagonist's independent goal
15:01approaching its own climax. So, things
15:03are looking good on the professional
15:04side, which might be distracting from
15:07the relationship. Chapter 40 is the
15:09triumph before the fall, where a major
15:11professional or social triumph occurs,
15:13providing a peak of apparent happiness.
15:15Keyword there, apparent happiness. The
15:17exposure is a chapter 41, the
15:19catastrophe detonates, the fake
15:20arrangement is exposed, the secret is
15:22revealed, or the toxic antagonistic
15:24forces the the toxic antagonist forces
15:27the couple's hand publicly. So, now
15:30things are at the breaking point.
15:31They're not going so well, and that
15:32leads to the self-sabotage. Overwhelmed
15:33by fear, guilt, and the conviction that
15:35they are fundamentally unworthy or
15:37dangerous to the people they love, the
15:38emotionally avoiding character falls
15:40back on their fatal flaw and
15:41self-sabotages. They push the other away
15:43with cruel words, weaponize the contract
15:45or the arrangement's transactional
15:47origins, or claim the relationship was
15:49never real framing the rejection as
15:50protection. Chapter 43 is the dark
15:52night. They render the immediate
15:54aftermath of the breakup across both
15:56perspectives with each character in
15:58isolated misery. So, they're not doing
15:59good anymore. Chapter 44 is choosing
16:02themselves. The wounded character makes
16:03a decisive
16:05forward-moving choice to reclaim their
16:07own agency, pursuing their independent
16:09goals, applying for an opportunity, or
16:10committing to a future that does not
16:12depend on the other person. So, they're
16:13kind of trying to move on now. Chapter
16:1545 new information A crucial piece of
16:18crucial information surfaces that
16:20reframes the situation, like the
16:21confidant or an ally reveals a hidden
16:23act of generosity the self-sabotaging
16:25character performed, the truth behind
16:26the false narrative, or evidence that
16:28contradicts the cruel behavior. Chapter
16:3046 is the reckoning with the advisor,
16:32where the self-sabotaging character
16:34recognizes that their manipulative
16:35advisor, manager, or family member has
16:37been actively working against their
16:39genuine happiness. So, that's not good,
16:41and that leads to a pep talk where the
16:42found family or a wise figure directly
16:45confronts the self-sabotaging character,
16:46tearing down their excuses, and using
16:48tough love. Then, 48 is removing the
16:50last obstacle. crisis or confrontation
16:53tests the protagonist before the reunion
16:55can occur. An emergency involving a
16:56dependent or family member, a missing
16:58person, or a renewed attack by the
16:59antagonist that requires the protagonist
17:01to act even separately. So, that's kind
17:03of the the climax of the the first So,
17:08that's kind of the climax of the active
17:12plot that happens here, but then the
17:14climax of the actual relationship
17:15happens here in a in chapter 49, the
17:19grand gesture. The self-sabotaging
17:20character performs the climactic grand
17:22gesture, abandoning a major professional
17:24object obligation using their massive
17:26public hot key hockey platform, making
17:28an enormous public domain donation in
17:30defiance of the toxic family, or staging
17:32an unmissable public declaration.
17:34Chapter 50 is the apology and the honest
17:36reckoning where the protagonist meet
17:38privately for the emotional
17:39confrontation the entire story has built
17:41towards. 51 is the choice made explicit,
17:43the self-sabotaging character makes
17:45their choice irrevocable, articulating
17:47the story's clearest thematic statement
17:50that a career and image or an
17:51inheritance is not a life, and that they
17:53choose the other person and the
17:54authentic existence they have built
17:56together. In 52, the reunion is sealed
17:58where the protagonist reconnects
17:59physically and emotionally in a private
18:01intimate scene that celebrates the
18:02genuine relationship. Chapter 53, the
18:04professional wrap-up, which resolves the
18:06parallel professional subplots, the
18:08protagonist achieving their independent
18:09goal, and explicitly supporting rather
18:11than overshadowed by the love interest.
18:13Chapter 54 is found family harmony, a
18:15warm communal gathering brings the
18:17entire supporting cast together in a
18:18state of genuine uncomplicated
18:20togetherness. So, we're finally seeing
18:22that like rosy ending at the end there,
18:24and 55 is the epilogue where we jump
18:26forward in time uh
18:28sometimes months or year to a final
18:30domestic image that demonstrates the
18:32full realized permanent versions of both
18:34protagonists in a settled integrated
18:36life. So, things are looking good, and
18:39of course that is a happily ever after.
18:41So, that's the plot, uh and hopefully
18:43that gives you guys a decent idea of
18:45what a typical hockey romance is going
18:47to look like. Of course, there's plenty
18:49of room there for a lot of, you know,
18:51fleshing it out and adapting it to your
18:54own tastes. But, I just want to go over
18:56quickly a few more things here that
18:58you'll find typically in these hockey
18:59romances, um including the character
19:02archetypes. So, we have the guarded
19:03protagonist, pretty self-explanatory,
19:05the wounded hockey star, which in a
19:07heterosexual relationship uh type hockey
19:11romance is almost always the man. Uh,
19:14this and then we get the sibling
19:15gatekeeper who, you know, I think that
19:17pretty much speaks for himself. Someone
19:19who's kind of protective of one or the
19:21other. The feisty confidant, the
19:23exploitative antagonist, this could be
19:26like an ex or a toxic family member or
19:29something like that or a manager. We got
19:30the domestic catalyst. This character
19:33functions as the emotional mirror and
19:34catalyst of the story possessing a
19:36vulnerability. This could be, uh, like a
19:39a younger sibling or something like that
19:40or a dependent. And that's the core cast
19:42right there. Uh, now we do also have
19:45some world building here. Now world
19:46building is not just for fantasy and
19:48science fiction because every series
19:50needs some kind of world building
19:51whether it's just like planning out the
19:53locations, um, understanding like the
19:56team that your hockey player is on, all
19:58of that. So, uh, here it is. Competitive
20:01level, competitive league levels. Pros
20:03versus collegiate depending on which one
20:05you're doing. Uh, there's the
20:06professional arena and the rink. Of
20:08course that's a very [snorts] important
20:10part of your world building. You have
20:12the domestic pressure cooker, you have
20:14the social crossroads like local diners,
20:16bars, and watering holes. You have the
20:17independent sanctuary like work
20:20workspaces or apartments of
20:21non-athletes. You have the sealed
20:24transit spaces. You have a regional
20:27divide like a small town sanctuary
20:30versus a big city media sphere that, uh,
20:33you know, belongs to the two different
20:35characters. For politics you might have
20:37institutional power hierarchy
20:38hierarchies that you need to go through.
20:41And media and public relations and fan
20:43culture. Uh, there might be a locker
20:45room or chirping, slang, uh, teammate
20:48archetypes and the surrogate family. Uh,
20:50all of that might play into your cast of
20:52characters and such. So, that's just a
20:55couple of the things that you need to be
20:57aware of there. And, uh, you know, I
20:59have other information here about some
21:01of the the common themes in hockey
21:04romance and other things like notes on
21:06writing prose and marketing
21:08considerations and things like that. So,
21:10hopefully this has given you a decent
21:12idea of what a hockey romance looks
21:14like. And let me know in the comments if
21:16you see you want to see more of these
21:17videos cuz I, you know, I enjoy making
21:20them and I think they're really useful,
21:22but uh I would love to see a little bit
21:23more attention on them. Uh so, let me
21:26know in the comments if you want to see
21:27that. In the meantime, I hope you have a
21:29great day and I'll see you in the next
21:30video.