I'm writing a story about the supernatural revolving around the lives of some four college students (to give you an idea, my main inspirations for starting this project were the Japanese novel/anime series Haruhi Suzumiya and my own college experience, which is swiftly approaching its end). Here's my question today: I'm in the middle of writing the first scene now, in which my male lead (who also happens to be the main POV character) first meets our female lead (who will probably have a couple POV chapters here and there, and the only character other than him who will have POV written, period), and they've already sorta undergone the 'awkward getting-to-know-you' bit. Anyway, before beginning the project, I had written this one much later scene that I see as the focal point in a sea change of their relationship, because she really doesn't like to show weakness (emotional weakness, or at least what she perceives to be emotional weakness) and she ends up showing it to him. I don't know if it's a "problem," but in what I've written so far, she's fairly polite and friendly to him given it's their first impressions of each other; she functions like a normal human being, and I intend to keep her that way (I hate MPDG and that is not what I have in mind for her). Most books, films and whatnot building a relationship like this seem to have boy and girl hating each other at first (Haruhi Suzumiya being no exception) or at best make them rivals at first or something. On the one hand, I understand why it's done and I certainly don't want her fawning over him or appearing not to have her own goals, and honestly, I think she could do to be a *little* nastier to him (i.e. take advantage of him buying her various equipment for their class project, chiding him for always being late to meetings, etc.). And yet I kind of like that they hit it off in the beginning and that you can sort of see the seeds of a naturally developing friendship (and it's more original than copying Haruhi who is herself a bit of a bully and jerkass). Would you want to be friends and keep hanging out with someone that's a little nasty to you? I just feel like suddenly making her a little more demanding (in literal terms and emotionally demanding) of him would seem a little unrealistic and just a tad bipolar. I guess what I'm asking is, how do I preserve the relationship I've established so far since I think it's fairly more realistic (without making it seem like she wants what he wants or like she fawns over him), but also make it so that they sort of have to 'work at it' (the friendship), in such a way as those boy-girl relationships that hate each other at first, such that the scene about her showing weakness to him when she wouldn't ever have shown such weakness to anyone ever is significant? tl;dr question: I feel like she's too nice to him at first but I don't want her to be a surprise bully or jerkass; WHAT DO!? I've now asked a writing forum (in two different threads) and my Dream Theater forum, and nobody has responded to either. Please help.
idk man, just go with whatever feels right. just write it out in your head I guess and see what you get
One thing I'd like clarified, is your story about a friendship or a relationship? If they're just friends then do what Pidgeon84 said but then they'll have to face a conflict together. If it's the typical boy meets girl "love story" (hate that term) you will have to create conflict between them, flirting for instance.
It's alright, it's been resolved, thankfully. Thanks for the help you guys (mods can now lock the thread if they wish).