: Re: The problem of the throwaway boyfriend In the first 10% of my novel, my MC has a boyfriend. MC is accepted into the Space Corps (or he's summoned to fight Troy - the particulars don't really

@LarsenBagley300

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If you don't have some readers disappointed by the breakup, you haven't done justice to the "throwaway" boyfriend

The problem appears to be that you want the initial boyfriend to BE a throwaway character, and at the same time want to be hanging story progress around that "throwaway" character's neck. Make the initial boyfriend charismatic enough, make him MATTER enough, that it's actually kind of a shame that him and MC can't quite make it work. That's more or less all there is to it.

The best writing (a thing I myself am still more pursuing than achieving), makes minor characters still be memorable characters. And your readers won't feel the tension and loss unless there is actually a real risk of loss, and ultimately a real loss.

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