I have read from several sources that the love interest should be shown before a rival in the novel so that the reader identifies with the love interest. My protagonists boyfriend needs to be shown before the love interest in order to show that the boyfriend is not a particularly nice person. Would it be best to do this by a phone call rather than introducing him properly, or is just ignore the above advice because I'm not really dealing with two love interests of equal worthiness but rather one love interest and the other the readers will not like anyway?
Reader love interest identification with first man they meet.
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I would ignore that advice - show the character living his or her life, with their jerk of a boyfriend, then outline the meeting with the new guy, and have the main character think to themselves how attractive they are. Heat up that attraction, then bring the jerk boyfriend back in.
That's the way I'd do it, from what I got in your post
That's the way I'd do it, from what I got in your post
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I'm with MissMacchiato. Introduce the jerk bf, then have your FMC meet the new guy. If the bf is enough of a jerk, the reader will already be rooting for her to get out of the relationship, so meeting the MMC will be a huge relief.
The only thing I'd be careful with, and I've seen this before, is making the bf too much of a jerk. There have been a lot of FMCs I've lost respect for in chapter 1 because they were with someone that was so much an ass I couldn't figure out why she would have stuck around for any length of time at all. It's a fine line. We've all dated jerks, but for most of us we realize pretty quickly what we're dealing with and we get out.
And I'm not talking about a bf that's abusive at all, emotionally, physically, or mentally - that's totally different. I'm just talking about a guy that's a complete jerk. Rude to servers and bartenders, always late, never complimentary, says things to strangers and his friends about his girlfriend that should be private, completely indifferent to the people around him, etc. Most of us wouldn't put up with someone like that for very long, and I would wonder about a FMC that did.
Also - I tend to ramble. Sorry.
The only thing I'd be careful with, and I've seen this before, is making the bf too much of a jerk. There have been a lot of FMCs I've lost respect for in chapter 1 because they were with someone that was so much an ass I couldn't figure out why she would have stuck around for any length of time at all. It's a fine line. We've all dated jerks, but for most of us we realize pretty quickly what we're dealing with and we get out.
And I'm not talking about a bf that's abusive at all, emotionally, physically, or mentally - that's totally different. I'm just talking about a guy that's a complete jerk. Rude to servers and bartenders, always late, never complimentary, says things to strangers and his friends about his girlfriend that should be private, completely indifferent to the people around him, etc. Most of us wouldn't put up with someone like that for very long, and I would wonder about a FMC that did.
Also - I tend to ramble. Sorry.
Very good points. I was planning on having him neglecting her needs in many ways. She really wants to make the relationship work and thinks it's perhaps her that has made him change. So she sets out a fancy dinner for him and plan on having a nice night and then he'll get home from work, eat the dinner and say "Okay, I'm off to bed." without even a kiss goodnight. He has been having affairs with women from his work (he's away working a lot so she see's him only a couple of days per week), and this means he doesn't feel any need to do anything with her except use her for what she gives him. A meal on the table at the end of the night which he knows she'll put the effort into but there is no real mental connection there for him anymore. She realises this pretty soon and this is what sways her towards ending the relationship half way through and pursuing the love interest because she deserves better. Thoughts?
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So this is a change for him? He hasn't always been this way? That would definitely make me more understanding. Maybe he got a new job or a promotion or something that changed him. I could see that. I'm guessing that when we first meet her, she'll already be at the end of her rope with the current guy, then she finds out about the affairs or something? I would make sure that she's already fed up with the neglect she's getting from him. I've read some books where the bf is acting like that and the FMC just keeps making excuses for him. I usually don't finish reading them because I can't stand how wimpy and easily-manipulated she is.
Is she going to be having feelings for the new guy before she leaves the jerk? Or is she going to decide to leave the jerk, and then meet the new guy? Either way works, really. You could have her do her whole stand-on-her-own thing for a while where she leaves him, then meets the new guy and is a little hesitant to be with anyone because of her trust issues. Or you could have her meet the new guy and see the contrast between what she currently has and what she could have. Although that way seems to easy, and doesn't lead to a lot of book-filling conflict.
She is forced to get in contact with the love interest character after 8 years apart (teenage lovers who split for careers and completely lost contact on different continents) but she holds the secret that connects them: she has an 8 year old son which is also his son and he does not know (climax of novel). She reluctantly meets him for another reason and he begins to pursue her despite her rejections. When she tries one last time to make things work with her current boyfriend who has changed from who he used to be (she doesn't know why) and it falls flat on it's face again, she takes a stand. She leaves him and decides to actively pursue the love interest and they fall in love which means it is too late for her to tell him the secret without risking everything. The current boyfriend also tries to ruin their relationship and make life difficult for the love interest because the love interest has totally screwed up the good thing he had going (she was doing his bidding to try and get the relationship going again). In the end it becomes a race against time to tell him because the boyfriend is also trying to tell him and she must risk everything. That is the crux of the story with other subplots throughout.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
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Or...
From another perspective you could certainly start chapter one where 'HE' walks back into her life. There's plenty of ways to fill in the backstory later. A romance really is about two people falling in love. If you wait a few chapters to introduce him, your readers may have already picked out one of your supporting characters for her.
Take this advice with a grain of salt, I may not know what I'm talking about, and good luck however you decide to go.
Steve
From another perspective you could certainly start chapter one where 'HE' walks back into her life. There's plenty of ways to fill in the backstory later. A romance really is about two people falling in love. If you wait a few chapters to introduce him, your readers may have already picked out one of your supporting characters for her.
Take this advice with a grain of salt, I may not know what I'm talking about, and good luck however you decide to go.
Steve
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Interesting......never heard that before. In my book, the love interest doesn't show up for about 40-50 pages. Starts with a different BF, then the MC goes through a rough time before meeting Mr. Right. But my book is classified more as women's fiction/chick lit.
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Can I ask what are you writing? Romance? Women's Fiction? A love story? It's not clear from your question. Also what is the intended length of the story?
TBH from what you've described here it sounds like back story which will kill down the pace. When does your story start? When does your protagonist leave their ordinary world?
I've heard something similar but this advice applied to short romance - less than 60K where you don't have a lot of room for manoeuvre.
TBH from what you've described here it sounds like back story which will kill down the pace. When does your story start? When does your protagonist leave their ordinary world?
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