: 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

Provide multiple possible resolutions

From a Doylist perspective, of course they're going to break up. From the beginning, a long-distance relationship isn't very interesting - having the MC meet someone new and exciting a bit further into the story has much more "meat". So it's just a question of when. Once the conflict appears, it's therefore rather obvious how it ends.

Remove the 'obviousness' of this resolution, and keep the readers guessing. For example, maybe the boyfriend also has a chance to join the Space Corp (but at a later date), but isn't sure if their parents will let them.

Trick your readers about what the conflict actually is. If the readers think that the conflict is about helping the boyfriend throw off the influence of their parents, then when the stress of trying to do so puts strain on their relationship and causes a breakup, then it will come as more of a surprise then if the relationship was made the focal point of the conflict to start with.

Convince the readers that they want this other resolution to happen. If the readers want and expect one thing to happen, then they won't look to hard at other possible routes the story could take, and will be affected as strongly as the protagonist when the desired path falls through.

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: Is this attribution clear and sufficient? My characters are well read and some like to recite poetry. My MC is particularly fond of Paradise Lost and is known to quote a few lines here and

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: Effectively conveying an unreliable narrator I have been working on a post-apocalyptic novel for about a year. My female narrator/protagonist, named Eris, was isolated for almost all of her life

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: Not projecting myself onto my characters I have struggled with mental illness for my entire life. Writing has been an extremely helpful and important mode of self-expression for me, since I

@Sue2132873

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: Character is onscreen for three seconds I have a character Joe who leads the task force hunting my MC. His reputation is known to the MC and he is well aware of how effective he is. Joe

: 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

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: Is this attribution clear and sufficient? My characters are well read and some like to recite poetry. My MC is particularly fond of Paradise Lost and is known to quote a few lines here and

: Effectively conveying an unreliable narrator I have been working on a post-apocalyptic novel for about a year. My female narrator/protagonist, named Eris, was isolated for almost all of her life

: Not projecting myself onto my characters I have struggled with mental illness for my entire life. Writing has been an extremely helpful and important mode of self-expression for me, since I

: Character is onscreen for three seconds I have a character Joe who leads the task force hunting my MC. His reputation is known to the MC and he is well aware of how effective he is. Joe

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