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In general, yes, it works. But, okay...
Have you ever had someone close to you come out?
No matter how tolerant you are, no matter how liberal you are, it's a shock. It's HUGE. It makes you sick. It feels like you've been cheated. It feels like a joke. It feels like your entire life is different. It's a grieving process. Being fine with gay people in general is one thing...but when it's someone close to you, it hurts. It really is painful.
The ending is fantastic, but I think it would be more realistic if you set it a few chapters away. Give her some time to come to terms with this. For me, at least, it took a few days, a lot of crying, and a lot of support from my friends. I avoided my sister for a few days because I couldn't handle what she'd told me and I felt like she wasn't the person I thought she was.
Have you ever had someone close to you come out?
No matter how tolerant you are, no matter how liberal you are, it's a shock. It's HUGE. It makes you sick. It feels like you've been cheated. It feels like a joke. It feels like your entire life is different. It's a grieving process. Being fine with gay people in general is one thing...but when it's someone close to you, it hurts. It really is painful.
The ending is fantastic, but I think it would be more realistic if you set it a few chapters away. Give her some time to come to terms with this. For me, at least, it took a few days, a lot of crying, and a lot of support from my friends. I avoided my sister for a few days because I couldn't handle what she'd told me and I felt like she wasn't the person I thought she was.
Yes, I agree. What you have here will work very well, and could add a great deal of richness to your novel. But it would need to take place over time, over several scenes, to seem real. Whatever Ginger's first reaction is, shock or anger or betrayal, she'll need to fully experience it before she can move on to the next stage. And I think it would be much, much harder for the father to find the words to tell her, especially if he's lived in denial for so long.
When my cousin came out, I didn't feel sick with shock. He's like an older brother to me, especially since I was a lonely only child with a psychologically sick mother, and spent most of my time at my aunt's place.
I was actually happy he decided to finally be himself, and didn't feel he had to rely on the opinions of others to make him happy anymore. Granted, I was pretty sure he was gay before he came out, though I seem to be the only one in the family that had a clue.
Then again, he wasn't my dad. I guess it would hit me harder if the person who fathered me was gay, but then again... I'm a secure adult, and if my dad walked up to me and said he wanted to date a dude right now, I'd be like, "Great, twice the chance for a date next weekend, Dad!"
It would affect me more, I'm sure, if my parents were still together and the two were splitting up over the issue. If I thought my father was lonely, I wouldn't care if he was doing a guy, as long as it made him happy.
The reaction greatly depends on the person on the receiving end of the information.
I was actually happy he decided to finally be himself, and didn't feel he had to rely on the opinions of others to make him happy anymore. Granted, I was pretty sure he was gay before he came out, though I seem to be the only one in the family that had a clue.
Then again, he wasn't my dad. I guess it would hit me harder if the person who fathered me was gay, but then again... I'm a secure adult, and if my dad walked up to me and said he wanted to date a dude right now, I'd be like, "Great, twice the chance for a date next weekend, Dad!"
It would affect me more, I'm sure, if my parents were still together and the two were splitting up over the issue. If I thought my father was lonely, I wouldn't care if he was doing a guy, as long as it made him happy.
The reaction greatly depends on the person on the receiving end of the information.
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Perhaps it would be better if he didn't do the I-have-something-to-tell-you thing, but she had to pry it out of him. If he's been withdrawn and she's pissed about it, wouldn't she be nitpicking at him and start a fight, just to get him to pay attention to her? then it could all come out, but not because he was ready to tell her.
As far as being cool with it, sure, in real life, that often happens. But it isn't great drama when everybody gets along! Good stories depend on conflict. So either Ginger has to have a hard time with it, wrestle with it, then come to terms with the knowledge, or else there isn't any point bringing it into the story.
Want plus obstacle equals action. She wants to have her father back, have their relationship the way it was, and his secret is in the way. So she has to take action--pry the truth out of him. But then she has this new knowledge, and their relationship will never be quite the same. (In the long run, it will be better, because he's living an honest life and will be happier. But at first, it won't be, because he's damaged her trust.)
Sorry, long-winded answer. But it's because I think you're on the track of something that you could do really, really well, and add a depth to your characters.
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This line made me laugh:
Can I put in my .02 about shock? It works differently for different people. Sometimes it takes days or weeks for someone to work out the fact that they are feeling something - and may even then, not know what that emotion is.
I thought her reaction was honest. And I would use this as a springboard to explore what other emotions she has about this throughout the rest of the novel.
I liked it.
Can I put in my .02 about shock? It works differently for different people. Sometimes it takes days or weeks for someone to work out the fact that they are feeling something - and may even then, not know what that emotion is.
I thought her reaction was honest. And I would use this as a springboard to explore what other emotions she has about this throughout the rest of the novel.
I liked it.
Yeah, it definitely depends if there were signs. With my sister, there were NO signs. I had no idea. And she's very close in age to me, my best friend. I also felt betrayed that she had told her friend and our parents before she told me--had it been the other way around, she definitely would have been the first person I'd told.
I'll stop using this thread as my personal shrink now.
I'll stop using this thread as my personal shrink now.
It won't take away from anyone's likability to have Ginger stew about it for a couple days. And well, it's funny when characters overreact, so keep that in mind, too.
I think how you react depends on how you were raised. I have a gay uncle, who has had the same partner as long as I've been alive, and my mom was always involved in community theater productions, which are pretty much a magnet for Ohio gays. I've had gay friends since high school.
So when a relative of my ex-husband's came out, I was the only one who shrugged and said, "Oh, okay, that's cool. Can you pass the potatoes?" Everyone else had the horrified reaction that Shady described above.
To me, honestly, a friend coming out is about shock-worthy as a friend telling me they got a new dog.
So when a relative of my ex-husband's came out, I was the only one who shrugged and said, "Oh, okay, that's cool. Can you pass the potatoes?" Everyone else had the horrified reaction that Shady described above.
To me, honestly, a friend coming out is about shock-worthy as a friend telling me they got a new dog.
Community theater rules! Maybe I should just cut the whole scene. It's a humorous story, not, as my MC put it, "A Lifetime Original Movie starring Tori Spelling."
If you can take it in a humorous way, then go ahead and keep it, man. But if it takes too much drama into everything when you want it to stay funny, yeah, give it the axe.
Sounds like your MC doesn't have tons of people coming out to her at every turn. So she might not be so casual about it as say, Patti.
Sounds like your MC doesn't have tons of people coming out to her at every turn. So she might not be so casual about it as say, Patti.
I liked her reaction too. It had the shock there, the anger, but it showed that their relationship was also strong enough that the shock wouldn't ruin it. I get a nice Veronica Mars feel from this & the father-daughter relationship was great on that show. And there is certainly no reason why she can't smile at his jokes & show affection for her father even if tomorrow she's going to realize she's still a little upset.
Well, it's believable. I'd just lengthen the scene a little so the reader doesn't go, "Huh? That quick?"
Okay, this is going to sound bitchy, but I feel like I'm being put on the spot, here. I have plenty of gay friends. I have plenty of gay distant relatives. And if a relative of my ex-husband came out, I'd probably be eating potatoes too.
It was different when it was my sister, and I was twelve.
Uh, oops. Certainly not my intention, Shady. I was just writing a scene and needed some writing advice.
Point taken though. Too controversial.
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Uh, oops. Certainly not my intention, Shady. I was just writing a scene and needed some writing advice.
Point taken though. Too controversial. The scene is cut in favor of something else entirely. Been a big help though, because this is definately not the kind of debate I'd want with an agent, right?
Sorry, roskoe. Lost my temper there a little. Don't let me decide anything.
I usually know when someone's gay anyway. Blokes, I mean. If I fancy someone, there's a 99% chance I'm not his type, if you get me.
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