1. camphore

    camphore Member

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    Strength of Characters' Relationship?

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by camphore, Feb 11, 2019.

    Hello, All: I have been a User for a couple weeks, and this is my first question to the community. This may belong in the Plot Development section, but I will appreciate any feedback and suggestions on how believable the relationship could be between two characters in a novel.

    The sci-fi idea in my introduction post on this forum got completely derailed last week when my fiance mentioned a murder-mystery cable show where a detective parked in his car sees a dog nonchalantly walking by with a human arm in its mouth.

    An entire convoluted plot flashed in an afternoon about the murder of a young woman set in a swinger nudist resort. A resort member who once had a close relationship with the woman is charged with crimes based on DNA evidence. However, the real killer is a slick televangelist involved in some highly illegal activity, who is discovered by the young woman, an employee of the community center run by the megachurch.

    The televangelist persuades a tree trimmer who runs a one-man operation to dispose of the body. It ends up on the grounds of the nudist camp, another big customer of the tree trimmer. The televangelist holds power over the tree trimmer, who during a job years before in a fit of guilt confessed to the preacher the sin of committing the only other unsolved murder in the history of the tiny town where the resort is located.

    OK, so my question is how feasible is this relationship between the tree guy and the shady televangelist? Is a meeting between a multi-millionaire and a laborer believable (i.e. for example, would George Clooney get puled into personal conversations with his plumber?). Any suggestions on how to make it stronger? BTW, the televangelist does not rat out the tree guy not because of any holy man confidentiality, but instead because he really just doesn't care and doesn't want to get involved. Hiding the body of the woman, though, is the tree-trimmer's "atonement" for the murder he committed.

    I've seen some replies on posts here from established members complaining that newbies are looking for someone to write their stuff, and I hope this request doesn't come across like that. S.O. and I both think the plot is solid, and I'm just looking for feedback. Thanks.
     
  2. LastMindToSanity

    LastMindToSanity Contributor Contributor

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    I think this is entirely believable, considering that the televangelist knows that the trimmer has already committed an unsolved murder, so of course he'd go to the trimmer to do the same thing again. Of course, the trimmer doesn't want to go to jail because of this, so he might be willing to help the televangelist.

    But, yeah, this works. If you need a job like this done, you get who you need to do it. I think it works as a good cover for the televangelist as well, because why would a multi-millionaire associate with a laborer?

    Go for it, man.
     
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  3. Maggie May

    Maggie May Active Member

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    You had me at the dog walking down the street with the arm in its mouth. Love it. And, it does happen usually it is bones that they drag home and then people recognize as human. That said. Your evangelist type personality would be conscious of those around him, people that he can manipulate (that is what he does best) and use for his own benefit. He's got to convince all those people watching him on TV to donate money to him, that takes a special skill.
     
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  4. camphore

    camphore Member

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    Thanks for the votes of confidence to validate my idea, folks. I committed to the idea, gave it some more thought, and finalized on the guy working for a large landscaping company and has a one-man tree trimming business on the side. He sees the televangelist out by his pool, approaches, and says "Bless me Father, I have sinned." Then confesses the murder he committed 15 years ago. And yes, the confusion with a Catholic priest is intentional.
     

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