Good romantic banter is more than two characters trading clever insults. It is a conversation in which each person understands enough about the other to know where to push, when to retreat and what might make them laugh.
The best exchanges reveal personality. A character's humour may be defensive, playful, competitive or unexpectedly gentle. The response matters just as much as the line itself. Chemistry appears when the conversation changes because both people are paying attention.
Banter also benefits from variation. If every scene uses the same rhythm of insult and comeback, the dialogue quickly becomes predictable. Let characters be sincere sometimes. Let a joke fail. Allow silence to carry meaning when a character cannot find the right words.
In romance, teasing can signal comfort, but it should not excuse cruelty. Writers should understand the difference between mutual play and a dynamic in which one person is repeatedly humiliated.
Court settings offer plenty of opportunities for witty exchanges because characters may need to maintain formal behaviour in public while privately expressing irritation. Assigned to the Ruined Prince uses the contrast between a troublesome prince and his reluctant watcher to create character-driven humour.
