What is holiday romance? Feel-good stories where travel leads to exciting trysts. This holiday romance beat sheet explore Nancy Meyers’ movie The Holiday. See how it fits the Seven Romantic Comedy Beats.
You can use this plot template in Plottr, too! Grab the popcorn as we unpack one of the classic holiday romance movies.
Iris Simpkins, a society columnist in the UK (Kate Winslet) and Amanda Woods, a film trailer producer (Cameron Diaz) swap homes for two weeks.
Both are running from relationships, so new love is the last thing on either woman’s mind. Yet they’re forced to start letting go of past hurts when new romantic potential comes knocking.
Keep reading to explore seven core plot points in this holiday romance beat sheet. Writing romantic comedy is when you have a romcom checklist of essential beats.
This is the opening scene or sequence identifying the protagonist’s internal and/or external conflict.
The Chemical Equation introduces the reader to the current status quo of the protagonist. There’s something “wrong” implied about their ordinary world.
There is an opening scene where a film composer, Miles (Jack Black) is scoring a romantic scene in a movie. It’s a moment of metafiction (when a story references the storytelling medium itself or its own genre elements).
Next, we’re introduced to the two protagonists’ ordinary worlds:
Note the women’s ordinary worlds: Amanda’s world is wrong because she has a “bad picker,” as some people call it. Her relationships also seem doomed to fail due to the wall she’s built up. She’s emotionally repressed (we learn more about why later).
Iris’s ordinary world is wrong because she’s madly in love with a guy who doesn’t seem to care much about her, except for when it suits him. He’s manipulated her and strung her along while involved in a relationship with someone else.
These ordinary worlds give both women strong reasons to seize opportunities to travel and escape frustration and heartache.
Amanda searches for vacation rentals in the UK and happens to come across Iris’ charming rural cottage. They arrange to swap homes for two weeks.
The Catalyst (or Inciting Incident) brings the protagonist and the love interest together and into conflict. This is a creative but credible event, often amusing, which sets the tone for the action to come.
There may be an instant attraction, with an obstacle, or more often, an instant dislike due to misunderstandings, social miscues, or a clash of personalities. Sparks may fly, but the protagonist is not ready for the relationship.
See more tips for this beat in Plottr’s romcom plot template – give it a whirl with a free Plottr trial.
There is a more platonic meet cute, too, when Iris meets Arthur Abbott, a retired Hollywood screenwriter.
They later get to know each other further and there’s another moment of metafiction when he asks her why she’s acting like a “best friend” when she’s really a “leading lady.”
A new development raises the stakes and clearly defines the protagonist’s external goal.
This works best when it sets the protagonist and love interest at cross-purposes and/or their internal needs are at odds with their external goal.
One or both characters begin to see each other in a different light, raising the romantic tension. More sparks are beginning to fly. Yet one (or more) may be in a state of denial, and conflict is on the horizon.
Amanda’s external goal at this point is to enjoy a detached, drama-free holiday in England. Iris’s external goal is to have a peaceful, stress-free break in LA as she recovers from heartache.
Amanda’s internal need at this point in the story is to find emotional connection, but she can’t do that as long as she keeps up her tough facade and is only willing to engage on the surface.
Iris’s internal need is to regain confidence and self-esteem after years of Jasper manipulating her.
The protagonist and love interest are still committed to their goals, but their growing emotions for each other begin to create conflict.
A situation irrevocably binds the protagonist with the love interest, often while tweaking sexual tensions.
This situation alters the protagonist’s perspective. It has further implications for the outcome of the relationship. The protagonist begins to consider a relationship but realizes that it cannot work because of their external goals or false beliefs.
There is more conflict at this point in Amanda and Graham’s arc than in Iris and Miles’. In Miles’ case, it is the conflict at learning Maggie’s been cheating that unites the two even more, since Miles and Iris can commiserate at both having been strung along.
The protagonist(s) and love interest(s) have grown closer and may have shared an intimate moment.
The stakes reach their highest point as the romantic relationship’s importance jeopardizes the protagonist’s chance to succeed at their stated goal — or vice versa — and their goal shifts.
This is the “Finally” moment for readers or viewers, where they get to see the relationship begin to take a physical step forward.
This section of the Seven Romantic Comedy Beats introduces the “all is lost” moment. Here, everything seems to fall apart.
Often, the consequences of the swivel decision yield disaster as private motivations are revealed, seeming betrayals are uncovered, and either the relationship and/or the protagonist’s goal is seemingly lost forever.
This is when previous false beliefs and doubts come back to the surface, and the relationship falls apart (or seems about to do so).
Both the protagonist and love interest are forced to decide if they will stick to their external goals and succumb to their false beliefs… or work through their inner conflicts and sacrifice for love.
By the end, they work to fix their internal and external conflicts, leading to a reconciliation that reaffirms the primal importance of the relationship.
The final scene sees both couples spending New Year’s Eve together with Sophie and Olivia at Graham’s house, suggesting new beginnings.
And there you have it: all seven beats of the romantic comedy beat sheet! Learn more about this romance plot template in Plottr, and get plotting with a free 30-day trial.
You can also create your own holiday romance beat sheet when you create and save your own custom planning template.
What are your favorite holiday movies (or holiday romance movies)? Comment below!
© Fictional Devices, 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Comments