How to Make two characters interact in a realistic manner?

by Alex
(Texas)

Hello some 14 year old kid here, I'm writing a novel about some guy that after slipping into a coma from severe gunshot wounds, He dreams of a medieval place, but later find out he's not dreaming. He's in 1514...Well what he believes Blah blah.

Later on, He falls in love with a Huntress named Sarah Coleman, but she is mostly bothered by him.
How do I write a realistic relationship between the two? By this I mean Conversations, Events, Interactions etcetera etcetera.

Answer: It all starts with knowing who these characters are - what they want in life, what they like/dislike, and what they can offer each other.

For instance, imagine a girl who longs for adventure but feels oppressed by her tyrannical parents. She might be drawn to a boy who invites her on an clandestine adventure.

Imagine a boy who is always pressured to be respectful of ideals/institutions he inwardly doesn't respect. He will appreciate a girl who is brave enough to challenge convention and speak her mind regardless of the consequences.

On the other hand, a boy whose identity is tied to his status within one of these institutions might be turned off by a girl who is disrespectful. He might see her as a potential enemy rather than ally.

A girl who is smarter than those around her, but is a bit cowardly might see the adventurous boy as an barbaric idiot, but go for someone who is her intellectual equal with whom she can enjoy trading witty barbs or sharing cultural pursuits.

A great relationship is one in which two people see eye-to-eye on certain things, but also one in which each person can offer the other something that person needs or wants - a different perspective, a different approach.

If you know one character well, you can design the other character to be someone who they will naturally be drawn to. Once you know both characters well, you should instinctively know what they will do or say when together.

Of course, there are other factors as well. Most girls are attracted to boys who appear powerful. Most boys are attracted to girls who look "healthy." But appearances can deceive - which can also make for an interesting conversation when one person disappoints the other or they discover they are not good together.

There is also a tendency (exploited in most romance stories) for two people who are forced to spend a lot of time together to start to bond. You may find this happens when you start to write their conversations.

Before you start writing, you might consider creating an outline of the arc of their relationship. When will they first meet? What brings them together? What is their initial impression of each other? That's the first stage of the relationship.

Subsequent meetings will challenge that first impression. Usually this second stage is where the relationship starts to bloom. They start to learn or benefit from each other.

Typically, there is a "black moment" or relationship crisis where they have a falling out and it looks like their relationship cannot be saved. Maybe someone refuses to give in on something or does something that looks like betrayal.

The last stage is where they realize their true feelings for each other, find forgiveness, and miraculously get back together. (That's assuming you want the romance to work out.)

Best of luck.

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