Menage Romance Plot Template
Want to write a hot menage romance but you're not sure how to structure it? A plot template will make plotting your menage much easier. The template includes everything below, plus all 20 chapters broken down by scene. This template will make managing three characters easy!
EXAMPLE
Projected Word Count: 50,000
(It can easily be expanded to a higher word count by adding extra scenes.)
Chapters: 20
Scenes: 40
POV: 3 (One for each main character)
Title: This varies a lot. The key is to make sure that you use some kind of naming convention that will work across multiple books in a series. I recommend coming up with a list of book titles for the series before you publish the first book. Look at Amazon’s top 100 Romance list to get title ideas.
Series Name: <Hot Trope>
- Always, always write in a series. This plot template can be used for a stand-alone, but series generally sell better.
- Series name can be almost anything, but I’d use at least one additional trope. I love doubling up on my tropes because then I can hit multiple markets.
- g. Double Trouble Billionaires; Rough Ride Cowboys; Naughty in Napa; etc.
Characters
<First Last Name> (FMC)
- She can be anything from a virgin to a sexually adventurous woman.
- She loves her body and isn’t ashamed of her sexuality.
- Even if she’s never had sex before, she’s open to new adventures.
- She is afraid of love because she’s had bad experiences with it in the past.
- She has one specific bad experience which is the root of all of her issues.
- Falling in love would mean potential heartbreak. She isn’t sure if she’s ready for it. She just wants to have hot sex for now.
<First Last Name> (MMC1)
- MMC1 is a dirty-hot player who isn’t looking to settle down anytime soon.
- He’s cocky and knows women are lining up to drop their panties for him.
- He’s ridiculously hot.
- He uses his sexuality to get what he wants.
- He has zero intention of settling down with one woman. Why have just one when there are so many other women out there just waiting to take a ride on his huge cock?
- He’s the bad-boy compared to MMC2.
- Generally older than the heroine, but fairly close in age.
<First Last Name> (MMC2)
- The MMC is stable and has his life together. He’s basically the perfect man.
- Kind, caring, considerate.
- Dependable, determined, focused.
- Sexy without trying. He has no idea how hot he is. And he’s ridiculously hot. Other people might trip all over their words when they’re around him because he’s so hot.
- He’s understanding and has empathy for the FMC.
- He has an abundance of patience while FMC is trying to work on her emotional life.
- He’s the opposite of MMC1. MMC1 is the alpha who is mostly interested in sexual conquests. MMC2 is the beta. He’s more interested in the FMC’s emotional life. She is going to open up to him before she opens up to MMC1.
- MMC2 is more likely to talk about his feelings than MMC1.
- He’s interested in having a family complete with a HEA.
- Generally older than the heroine, but fairly close in age.
- The MMCs may or may not be related. Unrelated is a lot easier to sell at most retailers. Some retailers will outright ban sibling romances, so to be on the safe side, I’d stay away from them. I like to make my MMCs best friends.
Other Characters
Because there are three main characters, you don’t have a lot of room for other characters. Normally I’d have a best friend whose function is to help the FMC work through how she feels about the men. But in this case, she has two men to talk with, so there’s not a lot of time to talk to a best friend. If you want the book to be longer, you could add in several scenes where she’s talking to the best friend.
Blurb
<FMC’s first name> is NOT going to sleep with the guys because <very important reason>. She’s going to resist them because <emotional reason>. No matter how many times they try to <something sexy>, she’s not going to give in to the irresistible <trope>. But after <something happens>, she finds it harder and harder to walk away. They want to <do something dirty to her>. Her resolve is starting to fail and now she’s wondering if she’ll be able to keep resisting them.
<very important reason> - She could be their new employee. They could be her brother’s best friends. Etc.
<emotional reason> - Falling in love is a recipe for disaster; Love is a lie that people tell each other; Her last relationship ended in a huge scandal; etc.
<something sexy> - Ménage is a sex-heavy trope, so make sure your blurb is hot.
<trope> - Cowboys; billionaires; etc.
<something happens> - Forced proximity. E.g. They get snowed in; She’s a reporter assigned to dig into their secret sexual lives; They win her in a virginity auction; etc.
<do something dirty to her> - You have to keep this somewhat clean because retailers will have a fit if you put graphic details in, but there are subtle ways around it. E.g. They want to strip her down and run their tongues all over her untouched curves.
Example Blurb
Executive assistant Monica Lovelace is NOT going to sleep with her new bosses. She refuses to blow up her career by indulging in a scandalous fling. They can try to coax her into bed all they want, but she’s not going to let the billionaires buy her innocence. She’s not for sale. But after one temptation-filled weekend in Aspen, she’s not sure if she wants to resist anymore. They want to take turns teasing her until she’s begging for more. She’s one, naughty night away from giving them exactly what they desire, but are they willing to give her more than just a few nights of pleasure?
Chapter 1
Scene 1 (Heroine POV)
Goal – The FMC comes into contact with the MMCs for some reason.
Complication(s) – The FMC either already knows the MMCs and has been avoiding them because she’s attracted to them, or she’s meeting them for the first time. (E.g. They are her brother’s best friends. She’s been in lust with them forever, but she knows she can’t pursue anything with them because it could destroy her relationship with her brother. It would also destroy the MMCs relationship with her brother. E.g. They are her new bosses. She really needs this job for a variety of reasons and doesn’t want to do anything to ruin it.) She’s flustered around the guys and wants to get away without letting them see that she’s freaking out.
Choice – Should she pretend everything’s fine and fake her way through the awkward interaction? Or, should she do whatever it takes to get away from them?
Consequences – She either tries to pretend everything’s fine, or she tries to make a hasty exit. Either way, the guys know exactly what’s going on. They find it amusing and do things to try to keep her with them. (E.g. They’re on a horse ranch. They have her cornered in the barn and she knows her brother’s about to walk in and catch them flirting with her. She’s trying to make excuses to get away, but they keep her there by asking random questions.) While she’s panicking, she thinks about all the reasons why a relationship with either of them is a terrible idea. Through her internal thoughts, you also find out why she’s afraid of falling in love in general. (E.g. She doesn’t believe in love because she doesn’t believe she deserves it. She’s not pretty enough, smart enough, special enough, etc. E.g. Her last boyfriend destroyed her trust in all men. She doesn’t believe that happy relationships are real.) She ends the scene with a silent mental commitment to never, every give in to her desire for them.
POV Character's Feelings – Nervous. She’s uncomfortable around the men because they’re so hot, but totally off limits. She definitely wants them, but she knows she can’t have them.
Scene 2 (Hero 1 POV)
Goal – Find a way to spend more time with the FMC.
Complication(s) – MMC1 is in lust with the FMC. He’s ready to do whatever it takes to get her into bed. He’s never met a woman who could resist him, so the fact that she’s trying to avoid him makes her that much more enticing. However, giving into his lust has gotten him into trouble in the past. There are really good reasons why he shouldn’t be thinking about her at all. (E.g. It’s his best friend’s sister. It’s his new employee.) There are really bad consequences if he decides to pursue her.
Choice – Should he pursue her anyway?
Consequences – MMC2 sees right through him and tells MMC1 that he can’t possibly want to go after the FMC. MMC2 outlines all the reasons why it would be really bad for both of them. MMC1 promises MMC2 that he’ll just look at her, he won’t touch her. But he secretly knows he’s going to put his lusty hands all over her body the first chance he gets. MMC2 will never find out.
POV Character's Feelings – He’s in lust with the FMC. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to get her into his bed. However, he does recognize that there are some huge risks associated with sleeping with her.
Chapter 2
Scene 1 (FMC - Heroine POV)
Goal – Go about her normal day.
Complication(s) – The FMC is going about her normal day when she runs into MMC1. He asks her to do something for him. (E.g. She’s on the ranch with her brother’s best friend. He asks her to ride out to help him look for a missing bull. E.g. He’s her boss. He asks her to stay late and work on a presentation with him.)
Choice – Should she do it?
Consequences – She debates whether or not she should do it. There are a bunch of excuses she could come up with to get out of the situation, but she decides to stay with him. Nothing’s going to happen with him anyway, so there’s no reason why she should be trying to avoid him. He’s harmless. Right? She goes with him to do the thing. While they’re doing it (E.g. Looking for the bull. E.g. Working on the presentation.) MMC starts up a conversation with her that slowly turns to questions about her personal life. Is she dating anyone? She tells him that his questions aren’t appropriate. He claims that he’s just trying to be friendly, but she’s not so sure about that. She changes the subject and asks about MMC1’s relationship with MMC2. (E.g. They co-own a multi-million-dollar corporation. How did that happen? E.g. If she’s known the MMCs for a while, she asks what he and MMC2 have been up to recently.) She’s trying to find out more about the MMCs relationship to each other. They’re together all the time and she’s curious about why they are so close. MMC1 tells her that they do everything together. Then later he warns her about MMC2, claiming that he is a player who only wants women for sex. She laughs and tells him that she has zero intention of sleeping with MMC2, so there’s nothing to worry about.
POV Character's Feelings – She can’t stop thinking about how hot he is, but keeps having to remind herself that he’s off limits. She’s curious about him. Even if he’s been in the periphery of her life, she doesn’t know a lot about him.
Scene 2 (Hero 2 POV)
Goal – Find out more about FMC.
Complication(s) – He runs into the FMC. He doesn’t know much about her, so he offers to help her with something. He asks about FMC’s past as it relates to something they’re doing. (E.g. If they’re working on a job report together, he might ask her where she went to college. E.g. If they’re on a ranch, he might ask her what she likes the most about ranch life.) She tells him about her life and hints at some kind of past problem. (E.g. When she’s talking about her parents, her body language changes. She gets rigid and changes the subject quickly.) He’s very intrigued. What is she trying to hide?
Choice – Should he ask her?
Consequences – He doesn’t want to pry considering she’s just starting to open up to him. He changed the subject and asks about her hobbies. The whole time this scene is going on, he’s covertly checking her out. He’s totally attracted to her, but he’s trying to be a good guy. He’s not scheming to get her into bed, unlike MMC1. She tells him about her hobbies. He’s paying attention, but also thinking about what he would do if he could touch her. Dirty thoughts. He asks about her relationship status. She’s single and not looking. He wonders why. He can’t wait to find out more about her.
POV Character's Feelings – Curious about her. Definitely in lust, but he’s doing a slightly better job of keeping it in check compared to MMC1.
END OF SAMPLE - Plot template includes all 20 chapters, 40 complete scenes.