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IMDB rating: 6.80 Plot: Two Americans on a hunting trip in Scotland become lost. They encounter a small village, not on the map, called Brigadoon, in which people harbor a mysterious secret, and behave as if they were still living two hundred years in the past. |
Available versions:
DivX Version (Normal Quality), iPod/iPhone Version
Actors: Kelly Gene,Johnson Van,Jones Barry,Laing Hugh,Sharpe Albert,Thompson Jimmy,Owen Tudor,McGiveney Owen,Quillan Eddie,Adams Peter,Fantasy,Musical,Mystery,Romance,
Tips for making characters realistically meet and befriend each other?
In real life, it’s often a painfully slow process, or else a fast and incomprehensible one. I want my characters to become very close in a relatively timely fashion without too much stalling– but realistically. None of this Brigadoon-esque fall-in-love-in-a-day crap either. I find it’s hard to keep these things true to life– and if you do, you’ll often bore your reader and get in your own way. This relationship isn’t even the central one in the book, but it is very important as both a set-up and a foil for the main relationship emerging later. Any tips for making it real enough, expediently enough?
@29:Cuaz– To clarify, the characters become close friends. They have a brief stint of romantic involvement, but it ends quickly when they realize that it was just a mistaken extention of their platonic closeness.
The problem is (as you more or less said) is that if it is TOO realistic the reader will lose interest. What I think might work it so to have the characters meet briefly at some sort of event that they would both be interested in, then not meet again until a little bit later. At the second meeting, they can discuss what happened at the first one with the benefit of hindsight. That way, it’s not instant, but it doesn’t drag it out too long either.
| Aug 10, 2009
Mutual interest, book store or something like that. Plan to meet up again in a few days to attend something they’d both like, have lunch… etc… it can be quick.
The Wife | Aug 10, 2009
well, there’s always the cliqued class project where they’re stuck with each other. Honestly, I’d either have them do something that requires them to spend lots of time together or have them both realize that they have a common interest that they didn’t realize and work through their friendship that way. that’s how I got a lot of my friends.
Midnight | Aug 10, 2009
In one of my books I had my characters like run into each other(and i mean literally) and they were like "Oh um sorry." and just moved on. But then later on in the story they met up by accident and were like "Hey i know you!" and the friendship just went from there.
Just think about how YOU meet people and how YOU meet friends. Take some of that and use it because its most definitely is real 
Jesse | Aug 10, 2009
this is a really good point, and actually i really need the advice too. but this is just something i thought of when i read the question.
my best friend met her boyfriend because my best friend’s friend goes to school with this boy. and one day there was a party and my best friend was invited, she met the boy, but there was nothing very special about him. then they started texting a lot and talking on msn and now they’re like the cutest couple i have ever seen.
im sorry that wasnt romantic at all, but its kind of how a lot of couples meet these days. on the internet, i mean.
charlotte | Aug 10, 2009
have you ever been in a relationship? ask your self how it was, and what you enjoyed from it. write however you want if you dont like the boring parts of relationships, cut em out. you are "god" of the novel, you control what is said. obviously, however, you should not care about your readers. thats not what a good book is. that is called being greedy for money. you should write a book the way you like it.
Phillip | Aug 10, 2009
Love at first sight. but it doesn’t have to be mutual love. Maybe they were friends before the story begins and then work from there. If you want to make it so they become friends throughout the book, the best way I think is to make them get in situations were they are faced with tasks that make them realize that they have a lot in common or something that shows their true side. Stuff like that I could really get into.
Will Dude | Aug 10, 2009
Um, I met my husband and fell in love with him at first sight. True story. Most of my friends were made that way, too. If most people were honest, they’d say that they knew whether they liked the other person enough to be friends/lovers within the first hour or so of conversation. It’s establishing a long-term relationship, accepting the places where you’re different that can sometimes be difficult.
That said,most people meet in places that are already indicative of their similarities – a bookstore, for instance, for bookworms. You’re right, though, if it’s tedious for you, it’ll be tedious for the reader. New relationships, as friends or otherwise, are always sort of exciting, challenging and terrifying…Take one of your own relationships, friendships, and use it as the base. How did you meet? On what was the initial meeting based?
Baycat57 | Aug 10, 2009
Your question is not specific enough. Are you trying to make them become close friends or have a more intimate relationship? Your initial question hinted that you want them to just be friends, but in the description you stated that you didn’t want any of this "Brigadoon-esque fall-in-love-in-a-day crap". By that you could have meant that you didn’t want them to instantly become close friends or that you wanted them to eventually fall in love with each other. However, despite your somewhat vague question, I shall answer it to the best of my abilities.
Often times, in real life, a catastrophe or major disaster involving two people will bring those people closer together. For instance, say two people are both commuting to work one Wednesday morning at about 8:43 am. As the one of the commuters, lets call him Harold, is rushing down the stairs leading into the subway, he drops his briefcase and papers spill out in several directions. The second commuter, lets call him Andy, bends down and helps him pick the papers up. Preceding this minor event, Andy was casually strolling down the stairs listening to his walkman. You can see by now the very early stages of character development. Harold is a stressed-out, hard-working, man who values his job while Andy is more relaxed and calm. After handing Harold back a few of his papers, Andy introduces himself. The two are now acquainted. Since this is Wednesday during rush hour, the subway platform is packed. Harold boards the train just as the doors are about to close, but sees Andy running towards the train in an attempt to catch it. Harold holds open the door so that Andy can get in. After about eleven minutes of motion, the train slams into another one. Whose fault? Nobody knows… That is unimportant. What is important, however, is that the train is on fire and people are hurt. Not Andy and Harold though. Harold is an Atheist and Andy is a devout Scientologist. Both Andy and Harold work together to help carry people to safety. After everyone is safely out of the train and in the cold carbon dioxide filled subway tunnel Andy makes a witty remark. The two then realize that they work in the same building on different floors. After work the two get coffee and are now close friends.
As you can see, such a disaster as two trains colliding can bring two people together.
Here is another example:
Harry Potter and Ron
Dumbledore is dead
29:Cuaz | Aug 10, 2009