Luke's fingers flew across the keyboard. His heroine had just finished a moving speech. It was right before a pivotal battle scene. His heroine excelled at these because they were her creator's favorite thing to write.
Luke loved movies where the coach rallied the team before the homecoming game. He loved the war movie where the commander gave a moving speech before the big battle.
That swell of emotions. That charge to advance forward and conquer. Luke couldn’t get enough of it.
He wasn't at the end of the book. Not yet. In this part of the plot, the Captain and her ragtag team were going to make a small advance on the enemy. Her troops were rallied and ready. She'd thought of every eventuality, and Luke had put each event down on the page as an inner monologue.
All except one. The one eventuality that he'd laid as a trap to trip her up right before the climax of the book. He knew his readers would be flying over the pages at this part of the story. Their anxiety high and their anticipation at an edge.
He'd finished the captain’s moving speech. It was one of his best so far. He knew it would move readers. But now, he was stuck.
Luke knew he couldn't have the troops rush directly into battle immediately after the speech. The readers needed a breather scene, a bit of space to digest what was just said, to build the anticipation of what was to come. But what plot device could he use to fill the next few pages before the deciding battle?
Even as he asked himself the question, his fingers began typing. Her second in command, who was a hero in his own right, came into her makeshift office. The man she'd trusted most, the man who knew her best, had a bone to pick with her about her speech.
On one page, they were arguing about the battle plan. On the next page, he had pulled her into his arms and was professing his long-held feelings for her.
Luke's hands froze over the keyboard. His fingers curled away from the keys. The captain remained trapped at the cursor in her best friend's arms. Both his heroine and her author were stunned at this new revelation.
Luke had never intended to go in this direction. He wasn't a romance author. Love stories were not his forte as an author. Or even as a man. He never thought he’d live up to his parents’ epic love story. So, he never attempted to write one for himself. Yet, here, love was showing up on the page.
He fought a war with his fingers as they flexed and relaxed. His index fingers twitched to get back to the keys. But his thumbs rested on the space bar. In the end, Luke left the tug of war at a stalemate and backed away from the computer.
He needed some space to work out this particular plot point. Did he want to go down this road with these two? He wasn't sure? He wasn't sure about anything. He needed to take a walk to clear his head.
The good thing about staying on a ranch was there was plenty of space for him to clear his head. And he didn't have to do it on his own two feet.
Luke made it to the stables when the sun was the highest in the sky. He mounted a horse and took off. Horseback riding was like flying. But in this case, he felt both the wind and the power of the ground at the same time.
His head felt clear when he came back to the stables. But he still didn't have an answer to his plot problems.
"Writer's block?"
He turned to find Dr. Patel.
"No,” Luke confessed, “the opposite. The book wants to go in a new direction."
"And you don't want it to go that way?"
The man’s voice and smile reminded Luke of his own father. So, he couldn’t help spilling his guts about his literary problems.
"I'm not sure what I want. My heroine is fearless in battle because she's used to fighting for others. But she's never fought for herself. I don't know how to make her see that she's worthy of love. That having love in her life might add to her life. That it might strengthen her to stand beside someone instead of in front of them. That love isn't a weakness."
Luke looked into the doctor’s bright gaze. Patel’s gaze was so clear that Luke felt he was looking into a mirror at his own reflection. But all the psychologist did was nod.
"Why does your heroine believe that love is a weakness?"
Good question. “I’ve kept her backstory vague.” Luke paused. His mind turned back to the other night for an answer. “But, what if she came from divorce, her parents’ divorced, I mean?”
Patel looked at him as though he knew where this new story was coming from.
"Parents teach kids how to love. Children of divorce have seen both sides of love and know that love can hurt and make people vulnerable. They have seen that love is a risk."
"I'd never hurt her," said Luke. He cleared his throat and began again. “My character, I mean. How do I get her to see that? In dialogue, of course. What could the love interest say to her?"
Dr. Patel nodded. “He—your hero—would have to know that communication is key. He should strive to be honest and open with her. Those two things are paramount."
Well, there went strikes one and two. Luke hadn't given Elaine the whole truth when they'd met. But she'd said it was fine back in the library.
“For dialogue, if your heroine gives short answers like I'm fine, you will know she isn’t telling the truth. That is not good communication.”
"She said that." Luke sighed, rubbing a hand across his forehead.
"Your character?"
Luke bit his lip. He didn’t feel the need to answer. He knew his motives were transparent. But Patel kept up the farce, likely for Luke to save face.
"She's not fine,” said Patel. “But, you can use that as subtext in your book."
"What can he—the male love interest—do to win her trust?”
"He can show her support. She'll likely have high expectations due to her need for stability and routine. She'll have a fear of abandonment and will need constant reassurances. For her, love is associated with pain. It'll take time for her to believe it otherwise. How long is this book?"
"I'm willing to make it as long as it needs to be for her to believe it.”
Patel patted Luke on his shoulder as they walked away from the stables. “I have a feeling it's going to be a bestseller."