In my WIP, my MC is looking for her twin sisters who disappeared while attending university. While on the way to the university to look for them she meets an artist, who is going to the same school and she befriends them. While going through the artist's sketchbook the MC finds a sketch the artist did while they were bored a year ago and in the corner the MC recognizes her missing sister. She asks for more information from the artist but it was a year ago and she doesn't really remember much. The picture comes in handy down the road but for now it just gives the MC a general area to begin her search. I'm wondering if the gaining of this clue is too contrived/convenient. It seems unlikely that one of the first people the MC meets while on this journey, has a useful clue for her. But I was going for a "right place, right time" kind of thing and the artist does become a regular character in the story after this, but the initial meeting keeps coming off as too convenient and easy for the MC. However, I'm not sure how else to introduce either the artist character or the picture she has. Any suggestions or thoughts would be much appreciated.
You could reverse the order of the meeting and discovery of the sketch. Your MC could see the sketch or maybe a finished work displayed somewhere (the art school building, a coffee shop that features local artists) and inquire as to the authorship and seek her out. Some might still see it as a little convenient, but it involves investigation rather than everything falling in place unearned.
Yep on reversing the order of discovery. Or the artist could “recognize” her and then realize, oh, his mistake, she looks very much like a friend of his.
Yeah, just be clever about how she meets the artist. You can also use the technique of foreshawdowing in the beginning of the story so it won't be a surprise. But I had a lot of other questions come to mind: are they identical twins? did they attend the same university? how much time has passed since she disappeared and the search begins?