Goals A Novel Must Accomplish

Aside from  providing entertainment, kilig and that sense of hope in happy endings, there are other goals that a Romance novelist should aim for while writing his/her manuscript.

These are the following:

Make your readers fall in love with your hero. 

• Since romance novels are books made for women, heroes play the most crucial part in your novel. You have to make him really heroic and lovable. 
• Aside from giving him a 'tall, dark and handsome' description, add trivial things about him--things that will make your readers appreciate him even beyond his good looks.  

Make your heroine likable.

• Your heroine is your readers' mirror. Create her character in a way that readers can relate to her, or at least, sympathize with her. That way, emotions will be easier to pass on from the characters to the readers. They'll cry when she cries, laugh when she laughs, etc.
• Think of the women you admire and list the things you like about them. Inject some of these qualities to your heroine.
• Justify her actions. It's okay to add weaknesses but don't make your heroine wimpy, slutty, too emotional or anything shady/uncommendable/hateful.

Prove that your characters did fall in love with each other.  

• Stories may be written differently; some with shorter timelines, some with longer. But no matter how much (or not much) time they spent together, you have to prove that it was love that happened between them--not a fling, not just physical attraction, but one true love. They may be in denial at first, but later, your characters will have to admit that it was indeed love.
• You may use a third party to help your protagonist compare his/her feelings for the other character.
• Add more scenes between your hero and heroine---more kilig scenes, as much as possible. Or scenes that will show you characters' lovable sides.

Never assume that your readers will just accept a statement that your characters are in love without giving them enough proof. When it comes to love, writing-romance-novel-wise, it's not enough to SAY it, you have to PROVE it. It's more of SHOW than TELL.  

Happy writing! :)