I'm Writing a story about a lady that falls in love with this man. They don't know each other very much. And this is there first time going out with each other. They are eating at a Chinneese place. And I don't know what questions she could ask that would start a conversation. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
Maybe he's eating something she doesn't really like, or something she's never tasted before and asks him how it tastes like?
You could engineer the conversation to be awkward, especially at first if that fits the story line. Perhaps she could ask him a really stupid question just to try and start a conversation, and then they both start laughing at how stupid it sounded and then things become more relaxed from then on.
If you've ever heard the expression, "write what you know," it's an idea. I can only assume that you've never been in that sort of situation. Now, that doesn't mean you don't already know it. Try and envisage the situation. You're with a guy you like who has taken you out. Think about every detail; people in the area, the food, the smells, the wine, the air, the night sky. Are they outdoors or indoors? Is the woman even the kind who would ask questions? Are they nervous? Can they comfortably share silence? Maybe the guy is a nervous talker, who talks quickly and too much when he's nervous. This gives you a bit to work with. But if you're just looking for ordinary dinner chat, you're very likely going to lack a lot of romance. It has the chance for learning about the characters; ask about family and career and school and all that. But, then, if it's more modern than that, perhaps they already know all about each other. It's then that you have to rely on their personalities to come to the forefront and show what kind of talkers or listeners they are. Still, I have to say that you should be avoiding question and answer scenarios. There's very little romance about that.
He could order the wrong thing because he doesn't understand the menu. Like raw squid or something, in an attempt to impress her. Unbalance the power in her direction as she asks him if he meant to order that-- when he's like, "I sure did" the conversation could take on an awkward tone as he forces himself to pretend to enjoy the horrifying meal. Sidenote: If you're having trouble figuring out how to start a conversation, how are you going to get your audience to go along on this journey or care about this relationship? Not trying to shoot you down or anything, but that sounds like you might not be ready to tackle a whole novel. Either way, best of luck to you!
How to start a conversation? There are loads of ways to do this. It doesn't have to be related to the food or restaurant. Start by asking yourself what tone you're going for. (Tone-setting is always, ALWAYS the first thing to keep in mind when writing any scene.) Is it awkward, or ominous, or do they hit it off right away? Topics I've talked about on first dates include politics, music, pets, funny stories about weird/rude people I know, movies/shows/music, what I like to do, etc.
Don't do a boring back-and-forth conversation, i.e. small talk, unless you mean for the date to be disastrous. Inject some humour, make it interesting. Use your life experience (if you have) or watch some romantic movies to see how it's done?
Maybe they could learn the basics about each other - like what they do for a living, general things about each other's lives etc. But overall, I think you should focus on where you want the story to be headed. If you have in mind a characteristic of this man that will be very important in the story, try to reveal or throw hints about it. He could be too honest, for example. Show this coming up in the conversation or the events somehow. First think about what you want to happen when the date ends and then try to come up with the conversation that leads up to that. Hope this helped!
People watching is a good way to get ideas. Sometimes when I'm out with my boyfriend we'll people watch and make up our own stories about what they're doing or talking about. It's a lot of fun and a good way to stretch yourself creatively.
They may start their conversation in the one thing they have in common - their first meeting/conversation/reason they have decided to go out for the meal. How do they know each other?
You may not know your characters well enough. How the conversation will go, what each is likely to say or do, is going to depend on the characters themselves. Humans behave in a variety of ways under such circumstances.
Hi, She could let him order saying she wanted to try something different, as she's eating he could ask how the sheeps testicles were, depending if it's a comedy you could take it to funnier levels and she showers him with sheeps sperm as she spits it out or she might just swollow it with a blank expression then they both burst out laughing. Might just be a joke and it might be a port ball really to break the ice.
If they are trying to use chopsticks, there are a multitude of possibilities. She could accidentally flick something into his lap and after a horrified pause they'd bust out laughing, or one of them could show the other the correct way of holding them--their hands touch, etc, etc...
