Asking For Help: Novel Writing Edition

[rsadelle]

You may have noticed from my last couple of writing goals check-in posts that I haven't done any work on my book for a while. I hit a point where I feel paralyzed. My characters are going on a first date. I've never been on a date, so I have no idea how this should go: What do they talk about? When they leave together, do they take separate cars to one of the characters' houses or do they share a car, leaving one of them to take the other back to her car later? Part of my problem with this story in general is that I want it to be not terrible (really, I totally buy into the idea that erotica doesn't have to be perfect to sell) because the lesbian romances I've read are unbelievably bad. If this were a m/m novel, I would have no problem; I know the patterns for that, and I can write those kinds of stories all day long. But this. I feel like I'm floundering in a space where I have no examples, and I don't have the personal experience to draw from as a substitute. (Also, one of my characters has business ambitions, which I don't understand at all.) It seems like this should be easy anyway since it's just your standard marriage of convenience plot (think Jennifer Crusie's Strange Bedpersons and The Cinderella Deal), but somehow every time I think about, I get paralyzed all over again.

So, help? I don't know if I need ideas for what they can talk about or if I need suggestions of things to read that would help me learn the patterns or if I just need ideas of how to stop being afraid of it. I'll take whatever you've got.

Comments

[terl-girl.livejournal.com]

Disclaimer: I've never been on a first date with another girl, but I'm assuming there are some commonalities with going out with guys.

Re: taking two cars vs. one, it depends how well they know/trust each other. Personally I wouldn't want a guy I didn't know well to be my only ride home in case he's a jerk or a rapist or something. That might not be as big an issue with another girl, but they still might want to take separate cars in case the date is a total dud. But then again, if the one girl is more of a traditional romantic type, she might prefer to be picked up and wined and dined.

Things to talk about - if they don't know each other very well, probably stuff like their jobs, what kind of movies they like, their pets, fairly superficial stuff. Or maybe if one or both of them is the really straightforward type, they get into what they're looking for in a relationship or talking about sex.

So I guess the answer is "it depends on the characters"? Eh, hopefully this is in some way informative.

[rsadelle]

That is helpful!

The characters have met once, at a party where they mostly flirted a lot, so I suppose there's a lot of getting to know you talk they could have - which means the real task is to make that (a) interesting and (b) relevant to the story.

They definitely take separate cars to the restaurant, but I think they're going to leave and hook up after dinner, and that's the logistical thing I'm probably overthinking.

[allegram.livejournal.com]

I would never go on a first date where I had no avenue of escape be that public transit or my own vehicle (also depending on where this is set remember city people seldom drive, so both might not have vehicles), I would only go on a date someplace where I didn't feel isolated or out of control (course I would never go to somebody's house on a first date, and can't imagine sleeping with someone on a first date so my experiences might be not helpful). I think that most girls these days are wary of putting themselves in a position to rely on someone else. Most of my first dates involved walking someplace with someone,they came to my co-op to meet me and then we walked/ took the bus to our destination by well lit and public routes....
If I was going to go to somebody's house that I didn't know well I think I would want to take my own car so I could change my mind at any point, and wouldn't be 'trapped', it also means you don't have to deal with their idea of an appropriate amount of time to snuggle afterwards if you're just there for the booty call.

As for what to talk about, same sorts of things you talk about when you are having dinner with any new person, family, work, interests, whatever commonality that caused you to be having dinner with the person to begin with. The difference is that there are fewer subjects that are off limits, normally you try to avoid contraversial topics with near strangers but when you are trying them on as a partner you are allowed to bring up politics, religion, etc. People are also often more invested in the answers they get, where as you might not normally care about someone's religious beliefs that's a lot more important with someone you are thinking about entertaining as a partner. In a way it's almost like a mutual job interview where you are aware that your answers matter, and both sides are trying to come off as desirable and not desperate....

I think you should just go ahead and start writing and if you are worried about believability send me snippets and I'll tell you if I'd buy it!

-Erin

[rsadelle]

They definitely take separate cars to the restaurant (I think it's a car-type town, not a public transportation city [I've been very vague about exact location]), but I may be overthinking the logistics of them going home together.

Part of the problem is that I never have dinner with new people, so I don't have a frame of reference even for non-date conversations. *sigh* I'm also trying to make them fun and flirty and not boring, so that's part of what I'm worried about.

♥

[allegram.livejournal.com]

Well maybe just skip ahead and write things that you're not feeling blocked about, and then you can go back later and fill in the conversation when you know what they need to have said? Also maybe start with just what topics you want them to have talked about and then later figure out how to make it flirty (though in my experience flirty is usually less what your talking about than how you say it....) I mean think about some of the Crusie books, generally her characters aren't having sexy conversation, she builds the tension through other means and their conversations are light and fun...

And as for whether they drive together to the house I think it would depend on why they decide to go home together and who they are (like the stereotypical guy would take his car so he could get out of dodge faster, but someone who was drunk might not since they wouldn't want to drive (Like a scenario where A got tipsy and B decided to drive A to A's home, and then things proceeded...not that I've been trying to think of scenarios....)

I don't know how helpful I'm being but eh, can't hurt hey?

[rsadelle]

I'm trying to make sections all the same length, so I can't really write ahead - also, I don't know exactly what happens until I write it! I will try to think more about how to make it flirty than what they talk about.

Oh, they're going to make a premeditated decision to go home together.

Talking it out always helps! If nothing else, it reminds me that what's a straightforward question in my head needs more information to be clear to people outside of my head.