: Re: Choosing between two people in a romance? So, my dilemma is as follows. I have a romance project with the MC trying to choose between two women who he cares for very much. Each has broken

@Kaufman555

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There's another character in this equation: the MC. It's why this is called a love triangle rather than a love-decision or a love-fork.

Relationships are not like ordering "chicken or fish". The MC is completed, or complemented, differently by each woman. Figure out the chemistry between the main character and each woman – that means there is something new in his character when he is around each woman, something that grows and has its own story arc.

Who does he become when he is around the woman with the dark past? What does she bring out in him? How are they alike, and how are they "good" for each other? Is he afraid of being hurt again? Maybe he trusts her but not the drugs – and maybe that says something about his past.

How is he a different person when he is around the waitress who gets the wrong kind of attention? Is there an aspect of hero-worship? Is she more exciting? More fun? What is the downside of excitement? Is she maybe too flirtatious? Does she solve all problems by finding a man, and is her problem always some other man?

Each situation has a smaller story within it, a conflict and a reveal, something that makes us care.

Most of all what is the MC lacking when he is on his own? Why does he need a girlfriend at all? Why does he have to decide NOW? If we don't see any problem, we have no reason to feel one way or the other when it gets "fixed". If there are no stakes to him finding a relationship it's just stuff that happens.

It doesn't matter if he eats the chicken or fish. You can describe the the sauce and spices, and tell me how each is grilled or baked, but it's not important unless it actually changes the MC. The decision is not between Girl A and Girl B, it's between Relationship A and Relationship B. It's the relationships that you have to develop and make us care about because those are the things that cannot mutually co-exist.

Once you figure out what each of the relationships are actually about, they will likely have a natural resolution. One relationship may resolve itself, while the other moves into a new phase but with lingering issues – the conflict is more important to the story than the conclusion. Your MC should also be "solving" his issue about being single – whatever has held him back he makes a choice to move past it.

If it's still not clear at that point which relationship makes more sense then it probably doesn't matter to the story either way.

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