Map the Romance Arc Beats for Your Novel

A romance reader knows the shape they expect, and missing a beat feels wrong even when they cannot name it. This maps your story onto the classic arc: the meet-cute, the first real connection, the midpoint shift, the black moment and the resolution. Tell it your two leads and the conflict keeping them apart.

I'm writing a romance novel. My protagonists are {PROTAGONIST_A} and {PROTAGONIST_B}, and the central internal conflict keeping them apart is {INTERNAL_CONFLICT}.

Using the classic romance arc structure, map the key beats my story must hit:
- Meet-cute or inciting encounter
- First moment of genuine connection
- Midpoint shift (relationship deepens or crosses a threshold)
- Black moment (the separation or apparent incompatibility)
- Dark night of the soul for each protagonist
- Grand gesture or earned reunion
- HEA or HFN resolution

For each beat, write a 2 to 3 sentence description of how it might manifest in my specific story. Flag any beats that feel generic for my premise and suggest how to make them feel fresh. Keep total output under 400 words.