I guess it may be from his own life. He might have had a girlfriend of someone he loved to make the romances.
We have no idea when Shakespeare first tried writing poetry.
Academics use the word "romances" to describe Shakespeare's late plays in which tragedy gives rise to a happy ending and family reconciliation is a common theme. Plays usually categorized as romances are The Tempest, Pericles, The Winter's Tale and Cymbeline.
Hoeniger has written: 'Shakespeare's romances since 1958'
Barbara A. Mowat has written: 'The dramaturgy of Shakespeare's romances' -- subject(s): Adaptations, History and criticism, Romances, Tragicomedies, Tragicomedy
Struggling citizens
Shakespeare wrote histories, tragedies, comedies, dramas, and romances. The dramas include Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Lear.
Shakespeare wrote in poetry, even when he was writing plays.
The categorization of Shakespeare's plays as "romances" is a recent one. Generally, The Winter's Tale, The Tempest, Pericles and Cymbeline are put in the "romance" pigeonhole.
M. M. Croteau has written: 'Female beauty in Shakespeare's romances'
Catherine M. Dunn has written: 'The function of music in Shakespeare's Romances'
Two romances written by William Shakespeare are "Romeo and Juliet," a tragic love story between two young lovers from feuding families, and "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a romantic comedy involving the intertwining love lives of four Athenian lovers and magical fairy creatures.
Before Shakespeare began writing plays he was an actor.