I don't want my main plot to be only about the romance, but it seems I can't run away from that

Had this issue too. I don't like romance novels and I didn't want to write one. But I'm also a hopeless romantic at heart. In the end, I just started writing. I wrote all the romantic parts, the relationship building and the fun, silly scenes that made me smile. Over 70K words worth! Most of it was terrible and it didn't fit with the story I wanted to tell. BUT I learned so much in the process. Then I put everything I wrote in a folder labeled SCRAP and asked myself how I wanted to frame the story. How I wanted to introduce my main character. I basically started from scratch, but with the knowledge of the relationship (its history, its strength) in the back of my mind. And you know what? The new version of my WIP is not a romance at all. Now it's a story about overcoming trauma and inner demons. I've used a few snippets of what I originally wrote. But now, rather than being the main plot, the relationship compliments the action of the story and the development of the main character. But I wouldn't be at this point had I not gotten the relationship/romance indulgence out of my system. Good luck!

/r/writing Thread