Updated July 2026
What is it that readers are really looking for when they pick up a romance novel? Interesting characters? Sure. A unique plot? Okay. But I’d argue what they really want is an emotional experience that taps into deeper longings. A desire to be chosen, to belong, to be powerful, to find unconditional love, or to finally prove everyone wrong.
It’s what Theodora Taylor calls universal fantasy. Whether or not you use that exact term, understanding this concept can help you write stories readers connect with on a deeper emotional level.
Taylor, in her book 7 Figure Fiction: How to Use Universal Fantasy to Sell Your Books to Anyone, conceptualize what draws readers into the story, and gives advice on how to use that not just in the book, but in marketing as well.
What is universal fantasy?
Taylor immediately points out that universal fantasy is not a trope. She explains that a trope is what your story is, whereas universal fantasy is why it’s good. It’s why readers feel things and connect with your books. She refers to it as “butter,” the ingredient that makes food tastier, richer, and more satisfying.
The best way for me to understand and describe universal fantasy is to compare it to the difference between regular POV and deep POV. One is surface-level storytelling, whereas the second immerses readers into the story. Here, tropes are regular themes readers enjoy, while universal fantasy taps into deeper desires, wishes, and fantasies that pull the reader into the story.
Note that in this case, using the word “fantasy” isn’t just about romantic or sexual fantasies. It refers to all the primal, deep-seated desires people have, such as feelings of security, belonging, achievement, etc. In romance, some of these wishes can be romantic or sexual fantasies, such as the sexy billionaire obsessed with the plain Jane or the idea of destined love. But it can be more than that as well.
Another point she makes is that these fantasies are not necessarily things we want to experience in real life. Take Fifty Shades of Grey, for example. If Christian Grey lived in a trailer, he’d be seen as abusive and disturbed. But for some readers, the book taps into universal fantasies about being swept up by a powerful, rich, broody, wounded man who wields his power but, in the end, falls for the one and only woman whose love can save him. It’s dumb in real life, but in the make-believe world, it taps into secret fantasies.
Common Universal Fantasies
The term “universal” is used because these desires are wide-spread; however, that doesn’t mean everyone loves them. It just means they’re common enough that in using them, chances are good you’ll delight readers.
Love and Acceptance: Who doesn’t want to be loved and accepted for who they are? Since we’re talking about romance, we generally see this between a couple, but it can happen within the family or through friendships.
Sense of belonging: In some ways this related to acceptance, as one won’t feel like they belong if they’re not accepted. This taps into the idea of finding one’s place and even their person or people.
Personal Power and Control: When romances fall flat, sometimes it’s because the world is happening to the character, instead of the character taking control of the world. Of course things happen outside of a character’s control in stories, but part of the fantasy is the character not passively riding the storm, but instead, taking the reins of it. They actively overcome adversity, take control of their lives, and develop personal power.
Growth and Transformation: By the end of the book, your main characters should be different from who they were at the beginning of the book. If they’ve developed personal power and control, they’re stronger and more confident. Sometimes they’ve overcome inner conflicts that held them back. Other times they’ve triumphed over external challenges.
Justice: Good overcomes evil. Wrongs are made right. Justice prevails. This taps into our need for fairness, and for the bad guys to face consequences.
Safety: Real life is uncertain. Fiction offers the comfort of knowing that, despite danger and conflict, everything will eventually be okay.
Significance: Most people want to believe their life matters. Whether the character saves the kingdom or simply changes one person’s life, readers experience the fantasy that ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference.
Revenge: While few people would act on fantasies of revenge in real life, fiction allows readers to experience the emotional satisfaction of seeing those who caused harm finally face consequences. Watching a cruel ex, corrupt leader, abusive family member, or manipulative villain get exactly what they deserve is most satisfying.
Freedom: Many people feel trapped by circumstances, expectations, finances, careers, or relationships. Stories where characters break free from controlling families, oppressive societies, abusive relationships, or limiting beliefs allow readers to experience the personal satisfaction of reclaiming their own lives.
Being Seen: Many people feel invisible or misunderstood. Universal fantasy assures readers that somewhere there is someone who truly sees and loves them. This emotional validation is often more powerful than grand gestures.
Redemption: Everyone makes mistakes. Stories of redemption offer hope that failure doesn’t have to define us forever. Characters who earn forgiveness, make amends, or find a second chance remind readers that growth is possible and that it’s never too late to change.
Purpose: Finally, people long to believe their lives have meaning. Stories that help characters uncover their purpose satisfy one of our deepest emotional needs.
Your story may not have all these universal fantasy types, but you’ll often have several For example, in The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, universal fantasies include:
Love & Acceptance: Lucy is loved for exactly who she is.
Belonging: She finds someone who truly understands her.
Personal Power: She stands up for herself professionally and personally.
Growth: Both Lucy and Joshua confront their emotional baggage.
Justice: Misunderstandings are resolved, and Lucy receives the recognition she deserves.
More examples of universal fantasies:
- Swept away from a boring life to a life of luxury
- The bully who really loves you
- Most popular guy chooses you
- Wounded character
- The makeover
- True love match
- Badass woman
- Comebacks
There are more, but you get the idea. These are the themes or story archetypes that tug at readers’ heartstrings.
How to Write Universal Fantasy into Your Novel
The good news is that you probably already use universal fantasy in your stories, even if you haven’t consciously decided to. If you’re using a trope, you’re probably including a universal fantasy because tropes tap into them.
In her book, Taylor illustrates the concept of universal fantasy using fairy tales such as Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella, highlighting archetypes such as being plucked from a dull life into one of riches. From these examples, it is easier to get a sense of what universal fantasy is.
However, it’s more difficult to figure out how to translate this concept into executable writing craft. Simply deciding to use a universal concept, such as a genuine love match, doesn’t mean it’s going to resonate with your readers.
What you need to remember is that universal fantasy is found in the emotional experience your romance gives readers. A fake dating romance isn’t memorable simply because two people pretend to be a couple. Readers have seen that premise hundreds of times. It’s memorable because it taps into fantasies like:
- What if someone fell in love with the real me?
- What if pretending eventually became real?
- What if the person I least expected became the love of my life?
- What if the person I’ve secretly loved for a long time actually loved me too?
Likewise, a grumpy/sunshine romance isn’t about personality differences. It’s about the fantasy of being the one person who can reach someone’s guarded heart.
When you’re trying to identify the universal fantasy in your novel, don’t focus on what happens. Instead, think about what your readers get to feel. Here are five questions to help uncover it.
1. What secret wish does my main character fulfill?
Every romance grants its characters something people secretly long for. Maybe your heroine finally finds someone who loves every imperfect part of her. Perhaps your hero discovers he doesn’t have to carry the weight of the world alone. Maybe two lonely people finally realize they’ve found the one place they’ve always belonged with each other.
Ask yourself: If my reader could step into my character’s shoes for one day, what experience would they secretly hope to have?
The answer usually isn’t “dating a billionaire” or “falling for a vampire.” It’s being chosen and cherished. Being understood. Being the number one priority in someone else’s life, and having them be theirs.
2. Why would readers envy this experience?
Truthfully, few readers actually want to experience the conflict and angst and danger romance characters have to go through. No one wants to be kidnapped by the mafia. Most don’t dream of accidentally marrying a stranger in Vegas. What they envy is the emotional reward waiting on the other side, such as:
- finding someone who always has their back
- discovering unconditional love
- becoming brave enough to leave a toxic relationship
- finding a partner who makes them feel safe
- realizing they’re worthy of happiness
When readers say, “I wish that would happen to me,” they’re almost never talking about the plot. They’re talking about the feeling.
3. What emotional promise am I making?
Every romance promises a happily-ever-after (or at least a happy-for-now). But every individual romance makes an additional emotional promise. Ask yourself what yours is. Maybe you’re promising readers that:
- love can heal old wounds
- second chances really are possible
- opposites can build something lasting
- damaged people still deserve love
- family isn’t always the people you’re born to
- vulnerability is worth the risk
- love is stronger than fear
Once you know your emotional promise, every scene should reinforce it. If your story promises healing, your conflicts should move your characters toward emotional wholeness. If your promise is belonging, the romance should bring your characters closer to finding home in each other.
4. What feeling should readers have after the final chapter?
When readers close your book, what do you want them to feel? Don’t answer with what happened in the story. Answer with the emotion.
Do you want them to sigh with satisfaction? Smile because love conquered impossible odds? Feel hopeful that everyone deserves a second chance? Believe that they, too, are worthy of unconditional love?
The best romance novels linger because readers carry those feelings with them long after they’ve finished reading. That emotional afterglow is often what turns readers into devoted fans. If you don’t believe me, go watch romance readers on TikTok as they swoon and gush over their favorite reads.
5. If someone said, “I wish that would happen to me,” what would they mean?
Imagine a reader finishes your novel and turns to a friend. They probably won’t say, “I wish I were forced into an arranged marriage.” Instead, they might say, “I wish someone looked at me the way he looks at her.”
Or: “I wish I found someone who accepted all my flaws.”
Or: “I wish I were brave enough to start over.”
Or: “I wish someone fought that hard for me.”
Those statements reveal the emotional fantasy your romance delivers. Notice that none of them mention the trope. They’re all about emotional fulfillment.
The Fantasy Behind the Trope
One exercise is looking past your trope and asking, “Why do readers love this one?” The answer is usually a universal fantasy.
I looooovvvvvveeee second chance romance. Why? The fantasy of one-destined true love. Two people who belong together and nothing and no one will get in the way of that. It’s why I liked fated mates as well.
That said, second chance romance can also tap into the fantasy that a broken love can be fixed.
When writing your romance, look beyond the trope (what the story is) to the universal family (what makes it emotional). For example:
Friends to lovers > The person who truly knows me chooses me.
Enemies to lovers > Someone sees beyond my flaws and loves me anyway.
Fake dating > Pretending becomes real because we’re perfect together.
Beauty and the Beast > Someone sees my true worth beneath the surface.
Notice that readers don’t become obsessed with a trope because it’s familiar. They become obsessed because it consistently delivers an emotional experience they long to have. That’s the power of universal fantasy.
When you understand the emotional desire at the heart of your romance, you’ll naturally write scenes that resonate more deeply, create stronger character arcs, and leave readers with the emotional experience they wanted. It’s what will have them picking up your next book.
Using Words to Tap into Universal Fantasy
The one place I felt the book fell short was in its explanation of how to write in a way that taps into universal fantasies. Simply listing the universal fantasies you want in your plot, chapters, and scenes doesn’t make them happen. How do you string words together that reach a reader’s desires?
Here are my tips for writing universal fantasy:
1. Make conscious choices about the universal fantasies you’re using in each chapter and scene. Even if you’re a pantster, you can determine the universal fantasy you’re tapping into when you sit down to write.
2. Understand what it is about the universal fantasy that resonates with readers. That’s what you’re trying to tap into when you’re writing a romance.
3. Use deep POV, which gives readers an overall immersive experience. This includes avoiding unnecessary words, reducing dialogue tags, showing not telling, and limiting all experiences (thoughts, feelings, etc) to the POV character.
4. Use sensory details, especially emotional ones. If you’re writing in deep POV, you’re already using sensory details, but I want to highlight it because you reach readers’ deep-seated fantasies through emotion. This is where “show, not tell” is crucial. Readers need to feel everything a character is going through: the yearning, the anguish, the ache, the bliss, the hope, etc. Telling the reader that the character is heartbroken isn’t the same as writing about the pain of heartbreak.
For detailed tips on writing with emotion, check out this post: Write Romance with Emotional Impact to Make Readers Feel all the Feels
Use Universal Fantasy in Your Marketing
If universal fantasy is what makes readers love books, then it makes sense to use it when selling books. Many authors focus too much on plot (what’s happening) instead of focusing on how the book will make them feel. In essence, readers buy feelings not plots.
Instead of saying: An arranged marriage forces two rival families together.
Try: He’s the last man she should trust… and the only one who has ever truly seen her.
The first example describe the story. The second examples sell the emotional experience. That’s what readers connect with.
Look Beyond Your Trope
Tropes are fantastic marketing tools because they’re a shortcut to telling readers what emotional experience they can expect. BUT… the trope itself isn’t the fantasy. The fantasy is what the trope represents. When you’re writing ad copy, social media captions, or your back-cover blurb, ask yourself: Am I describing the trope or the fantasy behind it?
Granted this can get tricky. A single graphic posted to Facebook or Instagram has limited time to stop a scroll. It’s why so many romance authors use tropes, because it’s a language romance readers understand and respond to. However, universal fantasy log lines can often work as well.
For longer forms of social media, such as captions or video content, using universal fantasy copy that evokes emotions can yield better results. Your marketing should invite readers to imagine themselves experiencing the emotional reward your story delivers.
Use Universal Fantasy Everywhere
Once you’ve identified the emotional promise of your story, it can influence nearly every piece of your marketing. Your book description should hint at the emotional transformation waiting for readers. Your social media posts should focus on why readers will fall in love with the characters, not simply summarize the plot. Your ad copy should tap into the emotions readers hope to experience.
Even the quotes you share can reinforce the fantasy. Instead of choosing dialogue that explains the story, choose moments that make readers think, “I wish someone said that to me.”
Romance readers aren’t simply looking for another happily-ever-after. They’re looking for characters who find the courage to love despite fear, heal despite heartbreak, and discover they are worthy of being chosen. That’s why romance is one of the most emotionally satisfying genres in fiction. Every love story offers readers the chance to experience being seen, accepted, cherished, and loved.
What are your thoughts on universal fantasy?
