Hi there! I am the worst when it comes to introducing two very important characters together, which is why I need some help. Character B is on his way to fame when he meets Character A, they fall in love even though everyone wants to see them apart, eventually he does end up breaking her heart, the usual. I want to make their relationship impactful even from the beginning, I’m just struggling on how to make their introductions pop. Any help would be deeply appreciated, thank you!
I don't read romance, but for a writing assignment a few years back, I did write the beginnings of a romantic meeting. I went over-the-top with it -- Lady has an important job interview, but is nervous so goes to a quiet park and sits near a pond to calm her mind and go over her portfolio (lots of artwork papers). Man decided to walk through the park on lunch break and as he passes by the pond a gust of wind blows Lady's papers into the pond. Man goes into the pond -business suit and all- to retrieve the papers. Lady thanks him, but laments that the papers were ruined and she needs to go to the job interview. They go their separate ways. Long story short, Man is the son of the boss, Lady gets hired (on her own merits), romance is a go. The only other romantic beginning I wrote was Man goes into coffee shop. Lady is barista, makes his coffee, they become good friends, would've gone into romance if I had kept writing that story. Not really a memorable first meeting but more a normal day-to-day meeting of two strangers who become friends. Real life introductions are usually pretty boring, friend of a friend intro or work intro, so if I ever write a romantic sub-plot (highly unlikely) in any of my books, it'll either be a boring introduction or over-the-top zaniness. If it's a romantic comedy, over-the-top is best.
You could always go with 'the last thing they expected' sort of 'meeting' scenario. Rather than some logical kind of meeting—they go to a singles bar, etc—they do something one-off/unpredictible. This results in the kind of meeting they will look back on, later in their lives (when they are together?) and say, with some astonishment at the way fate works, "If I hadn't gone there that day, we would never have met." Make them do something they wouldn't ordinarily do—something unusual that's outside their comfort zone, or something completely impulsive and against their normal run of life. Don't forget that it's okay to START a story with a coincidence. Lots of real-life meetings happen like that. It's just a bad idea to resolve a story's dilemma with one.
All my romantic beginnings are long, drawn out and often agonizing. In my latest novel, my MC is already involved with another lover. Another individual comes along and they realize that there is a spark for each other, but he does his best to be true to who he is with. Through heartbreaks and other outside circumstance, his present relationship breaks down and they wind up finding themselves growing closer until they finally end up together.
I kinda tried once get the ball rolling between a contract killer and a special agent, in a diner. (Mind you they didn't know they would be at odds later). In that instance the Guy knew about the diner before hand, and the Agent was taken there by her partner cause lunch and she didn't want him to drag her to some crummy fast food place. So coincidence is pretty much a standard for the genre. On a side note, what is the deal with diners being known for their pie? (Topic for another discussion in fictional worlds). So the bigger the environment (City) the more options. Though the rural setting can be played as well. (I don't like the interview thing, the books that shall not be named kinda killed that idea for me, at least).
The first image that came into my head, was a teacup ride at the fair. They keep catching one another's eyes as they spin around. I heard a funny one about a real couple, who met riding escalators in a shopping mall. One going up, the other going down. They both fancied the look of each other so decided to go back, and crossed paths again each going in the opposite direction. They did it again, and then finally one waited for the other.
I'll tell you how I met my husband. I needed a housemate at university and posted an advert on easyroommate.com. Yes it's a real site and no it's not for hiring sex workers However, you can only read people's PMs if you pay a subscription, which is sneaky as heck. It's free to post an advert and free to message other people, but you need to pay to read the messages. Lots of people were doing what I did - using the free service and not realising the other end can't read it. I sneaked my email in right at the end of my advert. My husband was the only one who read all the way to the end and caught on. He emailed me. I thought it was a woman because his name was Jan. Typical Germanic male name, but I'm from England so I read it as a girl. He'd been in the UK for a few years by then so he knew there would be confusion, so the smart boy had attached a photo of himself. Pity is, I'd already accepted a different housemate. But hey, my friends next door - my friend and my ex-boyfriend to be precise - still needed a housemate. Ex was German so naturally he was in Germany. I'd recently fallen out with the other friend so I didn't wanna contact him. So what did I do? I arranged a house-viewing with my husband and went to meet him myself. My ex at this point had obviously told our mutual friend about the house-viewing, so friend I'd fallen out with also showed up. I wasn't needed there at all, but what the heck. Friend and I made up - it was one of those bitter fights via PMs on Facebook and the moment we saw each other, we just hugged. Anyway, husband liked the house and signed the contract. He also had a girlfriend back in Prague. There was actually a third girl in the story too. Long story short, we got together, moved to Prague, got married, had a baby. Daughter's gonna be 4 in July! (I literally only just realised it will be 8 years in Oct) And I also would never have met him if I hadn't taken the wrong degree all the way back in 2005 Life's funny like that. I always tell people it's like a frigging Eastenders episode. My parents had a similarly dramatic story. Apparently they met during their summer job when dad let my mum have the final bottle of coke from a shop. They became best friends while my mum complained constantly about the guy she actually liked to my dad. Because the guy she actually liked also liked her, except he wouldn't ask her out. Being from the previous generation and Chinese, it wasn't considered dignified for the woman to make the first move, so mum was left frustrated. My dad decides to fess up and tell her he's into her anyway and said he'd wait, and he'd be willing to bet she and that other guy wouldn't work out Apparently a year later said guy saw my parents together on a bus and rang her at midnight to ask about it. My mum to this day says, if the guy had actually just told her he liked her then, she probably would have broken up with my dad. Well, they're happily married for over 30 years now, so all is well. Not sure if any of this helped...
It depends on the setting(location and time mainly) and age of the characters. Also from your description cB as a guy and cA as a girl from what i read. Is cA the MC? Or is it cB? (Or both?) I ask because if you are writing from a woman's perspective i think details are important. Something small that he does when they meet that makes her remember something that made her heart beat faster etc etc etc. If it's a man's perspective, it will have to be more verbal than that to draw the reader in. Think of witty repartee that could make him stumble, make her elusive but semi present at first. (Neighbour in city setting is good, college/work/interest is better but i'd personally go with barista at the shop (that can be her day job while doing something else if the story needs it) where he plans his future or a jogger in the park (if he's the type). If we are talking fantasy or village or other situations like postapocaliptic or something. things change a bit depending on how prelevant you want to the C to be and your society's rules and customs. maybe the lord decides who you get married but the village crier tells you the wrong name... or the parents choose and they meet the wrong person. (if you really want a cute meet up that will eventually lead in heartbreak) *Shrug* without knowing more it's hard to give relevant ideas.
Ridiculous encounters are always fun. Two examples stick out in my mind. In His Banana a clutz accidentally eats her new boss' banana. He's OCD and this banana is his one daily treat and very ingrained into his habits, so it's fairly comical. The other one that comes to mind is Groupie. The MC is headed out of town and needs money so she goes to sell her concert tickets. While trying to find where to sell them she encounters the lead singer of the band who's doing a publicity stunt. Fans are in a competition to find him before the show and win VIP tickets if they locate him. She doesn't even know who he is but sees him and gets the VIP tickets kind of begrudgingly since she was trying to leave town quick. The winner also gets to go on stage and get sung to be the lead singer (she later finds out as she is pushed up there).
Perhaps B, seeing as he is on his way to fame (AKA poor AF) is a waiter in a restaurant trying to get some money to live on while his band climbs the ladder. Character A is in the restaurant on a very unpleasant blind date, and he rescues her in some manner from this clammy-handed, reality TV obsessed mouth breather.
