I've had an idea for a story for a long time now and have wanted to give it a real shot but i'm totally stumped on where to take the conflict. The basic concept of the story is this: A girl living on her own, who happens to draw the same picture every day, of a boy she's never seen in her life, and she doesn't know how. A boy who lives on the opposite side of the country is experiencing the same thing, but dreaming the girl every night without ever seeing her. They are both at a dead end in their careers, and end up attending a professional development conference in another state in order to jump-start their lives. They meet, and are obviously shocked to find that the other person is the one they have been drawing/dreaming. I've been developing details regarding exposition and such but can't decide where to take the conflict. I'm totally stumped at this point. Any ideas are welcome and appreciated!
They're both married to other people? Neither of them can leave their town (job, caring commitments, whatever) so the relationship is doomed before it starts? There might be some destiny thing pulling them together, but they're complete opposites - he's an animal rights activist, she works in an abattoir. He's been slowly falling in love with her through his dreams, but her drawings are of him dying horribly. He wants a relationship, she just wants to save him.
C'mon, you're not going to all this trouble just to write some dumb romance... two lives destine to fall in love? What nonsense! The woman is a sketch artist for the FBI, or perhaps works in a big city for a metropolitan homicide squad, or missing persons bureau. One evening as she's coming home from a rough day at work she spots him, the man in her drawings that she's been sketching for years... first as a boy, then into manhood; is right there before her very eyes, sitting comfortably on the subway. Who is he?
This is interesting. I saw a TV movie many years back with a similar concept. Do not be dissuaded, yours is enough different to still be fresh. I do not remember the name or year. It was at least twenty five years ago. It involved a young man in New England who comes down with a mysterious fever. Three hundred years earlier, on a bed in that exact same location is a young woman also experiencing a mysterious illness when their minds come into contact over the centuries. Each forms a friendship with the voice in their heads. SPOILER ALERT It results in her being accused of witchcraft and the main conflict revolves around that.
A Cupid, desperate to get ahead at work, uses illegal methods/spells to fill his quota. The conference is actually a mass wedding ceremony in Las Vegas, organized by the Cupid. Most of the participants are too blinded by the love spell to see the odd coincidences, but your MC's are getting more and more suspicious.
The problem is that there is no conflict. What you have is a concept. It's a very good concept, but it's just a concept. What problems do they have in their personal lives where finding each other becomes so pivotal?
