Getting characters to fall in love

[eloisem.livejournal.com]

I need my main female character to fall in love with my main male character because part of my plot twisting at the end hinges greatly upon it. Only thing is that I can't seem to get them to fall in love with each other. The story is set in a medieval setting (but no magic or anything), so it's not like they can hook up via myspace or whatever. They know each other, they work together, and they flirt a lot - so anyone have any ideas on how to get them to fall madly in love?

Comments

[soviets.livejournal.com]

You could lock them up in a place together? Maybe make it storm really awfully so that they're both stuck in the same building for a couple hours until the storm blows over...and then the mood of the storm could make one thing lead to another? I don't know.

You could also put them in a really stressful situation where they're the only two people involved so that their stress/need to be with someone who understands what they're going through eventually leads to love.

[divinebird.livejournal.com]

you could just make it something that they don't see coming, but it hits them...maybe just a moment, a few words...something like, he stands up for her or vice versa, and they realize they connect on more than a friendly level. Of course, you could go whole hog and have one of them rescue the other, or they have to go through some major event together (also known as the "Speed" effect) ;)

[wiccagirl24.livejournal.com]

I say hurt one of them. Twist an ankle, break a leg, give them the flu. Weaken one so that they are vonerable, and dependent on the other. Maybe they are at work and no one else is around to help? Or the wounded one needs to be entertained while they recover, and they end up seeing a different side of each other.

[miscellanelle.livejournal.com]

Is it mutual or one-sided? If mutual then the other comments have some really good ideas. But if it's specifically that the girl falls in love with the guy (and it appears from her perspective to be unrequited) then...eh, make her jealous: she sees him interacting one-on-one with another girl and realizes how angry/envious/sad that makes her; then she realizes "Oh dang, I'm in love with the guy" (or the appropriate medieval equivalent).

Good luck!

[eloisem.livejournal.com]

Well I'd like it to be mutual, but right now it seems like they just can't get along with each other at all. I don't think jealousy will work for my character because she doesn't seem like the type to put up with that kind of thing. I think the problem is that they are both too stubborn to fall in love.

[jenny-1981.livejournal.com]

she could confide in him about a work problem.... the boss is being a tyrant....

they could be sent together on a mission somewhere and fall in love along the way


or... suddenly, boy walks over to girl and grabs her and kisses her.... write the physical stuff first and go back and find the reasons after

[eloisem.livejournal.com]

I guess the biggest problem with the work thing is that i forgot to mention he is kind of the boss.

but I like the idea of going on some sort of mission or quest together - it would have to be quick though since I'm already at 21,000 words...

[jenny-1981.livejournal.com]

no one said you couldnt write more than 50 k

-grin-

[perkyshai.livejournal.com]

Well, powerful women are sexy. How about an exploration of her role, and the increased allure that competence brings? A redefinition of leadership responsibilities and eventual forced cooperation would be interesting too.
How about separation? Crisis forces them apart, they figure out a mehtod of communication , and problem solve together...learnign to respect one another in the process. Also good for exploring satellite characters, team building etc.

[poetic-art.livejournal.com]

I agree with the idea of locking them up. It will give them a chance to discover something about each other that would never have otherwise come up...so to speak.

[peregrin8.livejournal.com]

It's too easy; they're taking each other for granted. A mysterious person from his or her past should come back and make one of them have to decide.

[eloisem.livejournal.com]

Well there is a mysterious person scheduled to come back into my female character's life...and I really didn't even think of using that route! Thanks!

[paeoniflorum.livejournal.com]

It is not impossible to fall in love without MySpace, methinks.

For a medieval setting: one stages his/her death to escape from a real, plotted assassination. The other confronts a barrage of emotions and realizes how much they cared for the "dead" person. Said "dead" person comes during the night to explain what happened. Confession of feelings ensue.

[liz-ensley.livejournal.com]

What's MySpace? *grin* The only things I've seen there are invites to either porno groups or these "get paid for surveys" scam things.

[virusq.livejournal.com]

Have her get betrothed to someone else. That *always* sparks interest in the nearest remotely interesting character. ;)

[galadhir.livejournal.com]

Have them fall in love with other people - it would be original and the readers would never see it coming.

[liz-ensley.livejournal.com]

Send in the third party! Either another guy to flirt with, a gal who flirts with, or an ax-wirlding matchmaker. >=} (Although with the first two--nothing like a touch of competition to stir things up a bit).