There’s Something I have To Tell You!

Writing a ‘Seasoned Romance’ With My Writing Group

And the final one of our group of seven - moi!

Making Progress

It’s been a while since my last post, chiefly because the writing and editing were progressing along pretty smoothly, with little to report. That is, until I decided I had to speak up!

I’m Not Happy With Our Main Character

I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I had to tell the group that I thought the way our main character, Claire, was being written up wasn’t working.

MC Claire

Claire had started out being full of confidence and energy, smart and funny and very likeable.

But since the advent of her father’s death, she was being written up as less and less proactive, more overcome by the situation she was in and more snappy with everyone.

Trish, her best friend (sidekick), was the proactive one, getting more written about her. There was not enough about Claire’s ongoing experience of events from her perspective. We weren’t getting to know Claire. We needed our main character to be strong, likeable and lovable, not miserable and cranky! Thank goodness the group took my feedback on board and could see my point of view.

Example

Initially, Claire had been written up as virtually sitting on the sidelines during the Wake after her father’s funeral.

The New Addition

Claire looked around the room at all the people who had come to honour her father’s memory, and she was filled with gratitude. “John, I don’t want this to be too formal, but I’d like to say a few words.” John nodded, rang the bell and asked for quiet.

“I want to thank you all,” Claire said, her voice sincere, “for coming today. It means so much to me that my father, Fitzy, meant so much to so many of you.” Her voice faltered as she continued. “I especially want to thank you, Trish and Pete, for all the support that you’ve given me. I wouldn’t have got through it without you both by my side. And John, you were more than an employee to Dad; you were his loyal friend. Thank you for that and thank you for organising everything today and making it so special.”

Claire’s words were heartfelt, and for the first time that day, her emotions were on show as she spoke of her father. She finished by raising her glass. “To Dad, Fitzy, you were a remarkable man.” Everyone present raised their glasses in a toast, “To Fitzy.”

MC Laurence

We also decided that we needed to write up far more about our second main character, Laurence, in terms of what had been going on in his personal life since he and Claire had known each other at university.

There was a gap of approximately twenty-five years between Laurence’s divorce from his wife Giulia and when he and Claire met again. We discussed what other relationships he might have had and how he cared for his son as a single dad.

The Grandmothers

Two wonderful Grandmother characters emerged out of this discussion. One of them is a traditional Italian Nonna, and the other is a woman who finally tells her philandering husband Howard (Laurence’s father) to go to hell and demands he buy her a house in Perth, so she can support their grandson on holiday breaks while he is going through his Perth boarding school years.

Change Of Plan

We are now about to enter Act 2, and Claire glimpses what living her truth might look like. But she will be forced to make a choice which, in Claire’s case, is between two irreconcilable goods: her incredibly successful career, which is about to take her to new heights, or a deeply fulfilling relationship with the love of her life.

The Scene

It’s getting close to nightfall, and Trish and Claire are stuck in the Australian outback. There has been an accident, and Claire hurt her knee and is in great pain.

Trish handed Claire a couple of pain killers, opened a box of sandwiches and sat down next to her, “Look at that sky, all that fairy-floss pink and mauve—the sun looks like it’s on fire! I never get tired of watching the sunset.

“Pete and I sit on the back veranda most nights and watch the sun go down. It’s become a bit of a habit, a glass of wine and a bit of cheese, helps him to unwind after a long day.”

Staring at the sky, Claire nodded, “Sounds like the perfect start to an evening. I don’t know, since I’ve spent time with you and Pete—well, all I seem to do is go home alone with a bag full of files or planning documents to work on. I think I’m kind of envious of what you and Pete have. Seeing the two of you together has got me thinking about my life.”

“How so?”

“Well, for a start, marrying someone on the rebound is a huge mistake, believe me! I think what attracted me to Bob at that time was that he was the total opposite of Laurie: quiet, unassuming, safe. Poor man, all he wanted was a nice family and the suburban lifestyle. The ectopic was probably a blessing because eventually I would have gone out of my mind with boredom.”

“Harsh, but honest!”

“Exactly,” Claire said, with a rueful smile. “So after that, my whole focus was on getting my Master’s and building my career in a new direction. I loved the challenge of working my way up. And now, if I win the research fellowship I’ve applied for, I’ll be going to Finland for six months. I want to learn how it established its own Sámi Parliament and how elected consultative bodies advise the national government on Indigenous land rights, specifically mining rights. I’m hoping our recent Referendum catastrophe will give my project a boost.”

“Wow, I’m suitably impressed!”

“I know, right! But now, on the other hand, I see you and Pete together. You are the perfect couple in the best possible way. And that’s the big part missing from my life. I want to have that kind of loving relationship, where each one is totally committed to the other.”

“I had no idea you were struggling with all this.”

“It’s taken me by surprise, too. I was travelling along just fine, and now you and Pete are to blame for my current existential crisis!” They both laughed.

What’s Next

It’s going to be fun writing up the next part. We’ll have a great time creating the two grannies, and in the first part of Act 2, Claire and Laurie start to get close again (they had an affair when they were at university before Laurie ghosted Claire). We have a very romantic destination here in Western Australia called Broome. It’s on the coast, with wonderful beaches and sunsets. We are going to send our couple there for a romantic interlude!

Love to have your comments on how you think we are doing so far!