Webcomic story problem

[Klaustasya]

Hello everyone! I'm opening this topic because i have an unusual thing going on with my own webcomic.
What do i mean? I mean:
I have the start of it, already published, while the introduction is in the storyboard process so i'm working on it. I have the ending too, but...i don't have the central part, which is basically the "Body" of my webcomic.
I have to say that this comic is a very shoujo manga-like one, so how the characters slowly fall in love with each others and the romantic dynamics are important. But i have NO CLUE on how to do this!
I can't think of any romantic trope or situation, or plot device; i just have this very big plothole in my hands...can you guys give me some advices about it?

[BobbyjoeX]

personally, i just make it up and make sure it fits but someones going to come in here and call that terrible advice so...

[keii4ii]

This is actually a common problem. I've seen a number of other creators face the same issue. So you're not alone!

If I were in that situation, I would put the comic on hold. Pause the updates, officially announce that you're taking a break in order to work on the story. Because as you work on the middle part of the story, you might find that you want to tweak some of the beginning as well. And the more pages of the beginning you finish, the harder it would be to do that.

Also, don't be too attached to the ending you've got right now. I mean definitely keep it on file, but keep an open mind; maybe as you work out the middle, a more suitable ending will come to mind.

[miripao]

Hmm, try imagining scenes you'd like to have in the story. Maybe the whole pining for each other parts, how each character feels about their feelings/other characters, or scenes that can show their dynamics would be good as well.

For example, you decided that you want A and B to go on a date together. So you can think of what leads to them wanting to go to that place, how did they ask the other out, what will they do before and during the date, and so on.

Once you have a few scenarios that you like, try to link them to each other, and finally the intro and ending.

Another way is to work backwards, since you already have the ending, you can start by thinking what happens before the ending, and continue backwards. o/ You can also think of the conflicts/obstacles the characters face in the story, what leads to it, and how they solved it. (introduction >> rising action >> climax >> falling action >> resolution)

Having a timeline with just bullet points work better than just typing out the whole story immediately, or at least that's the case for me, haha.

Also if you're having troubles coming up with romantic situations, try reading other comics or stories to gather inspiration! o/

[DiegoPalacios]

What can help you is to work on the personality and characterization of your characters. The idea is to know how your characters react to any situation.

Characters make the story happen, so figuring this out will help you.

[off_brand_barbie]

Oh ho you and I need to have a chat my friend

If you end up still having trouble pm me more information and I think I will be able to help you out!

[amortelito]

I agree with miripao!! Think about scenes you would like to see. Maybe put the characters in situations in which small gestures count to start building up their feelings. You can think about their normal day and insert those moments. It will help a lot if your characters have a job, or a hobby to have variety in the scenes. That way they feel more human. It is often strange to have "good for nothing" characters that literally interact all day long and think about each other all night too Like, do they even do anything else? Maybe you don't need a complicated plot if you are telling about their everyday life and those bits are interesting enough.

[shazzbaa]

So, you know you have these two characters, and you want them to slowly fall in love with each other -- what are the obstacles to that?

And I don't mean like, "think of a trope that could get in their way!" but that like, any time you put two humans together, there will be obstacles in interacting with someone who isn't you and doesn't think like you. What are those SPECIFIC differences for these two people? Like if one person is shy, and the other person is outgoing, and so the shy person avoids this outgoing person because they come on so strong -- what happens to finally push both of them to realise and confront this difference and figure out how they're going to compromise?

Something I did for some of my characters in a non-romance story that helped me a lot was ask the question "what do they have to learn" and "who or what is going to teach them?" So like, if you have a character who's been burned before that has to learn to trust again, what's something that's going to challenge their idea that you have to avoid trusting others? If you have a character who never stands up for themselves, what's going to teach them they CAN stand up for themselves, and what -- positive or negative -- is going to push them to finally DO it?

You know where you want your characters to be at the end of this story -- what experiences do they need to have to bring them to that? Because hopefully, the person they are at the end is different in someway - you don't ever meet another person who already fits you perfectly; you have to compromise and learn about both yourself and the other person to figure out how to be partners.
And on the other hand, what experiences are going to show each of them what's beautiful about the other person? Like if you have a character who acts cold and aloof, but goes out of his way to look out for and protect vulnerable people, then something needs to happen to let his love interest see that side of him. If another character seems naive and silly, but is actually a kind but determined person who won't let anyone push him aside or do harm, then his love interest may come to respect his kindness when they see the strength behind it -- what's going to happen to make his love interest see him in a new way?

Etcetera etcetera -- obviously these are all just examples that probably don't fit your specific characters, but it might be a direction to help with thinking about Scenes and Choices and Challenges that your characters might face as they figure out their feelings for each other!!

[beta1042]

There's already a lot of good suggestions here, so to add to all that,
when I have some open spots/gaps in my story that I need to fill I like to think of what messages I want to send to readers. One of the reasons I like to write is to convey some meaningful concepts and life lessons through my story, try to teach readers or bring awareness to issues and usually when I consider what type of message I want to give my readers, I can then think of a scenario that can tell that message,

[Klaustasya]

thank you so much! you are so kind! i'll def pm you once i'll go back to the story T^T

[mariusthered]

you already have lots of good advice here.
just remember love can come from lots of different angles and most of the time not from where people expect.
if it were me i'd put them in a situation where one is injured in some way and the other has to care for them, this would bring them closer.

[Klaustasya]

yeaaahh i thought something similiar too

[off_brand_barbie]

Sounds bomb!! I can't wait to hear from you!!!

[MGComics]

As George RR Martin said in an interview, sometimes it's about asking questions

You want your A person to be shocked at a B person's action but you don't know what or why, for example.

What would A person's personality be shocked at?
Would B have the same mindset as person A?
Why was it such a shock? Person A maybe had a life experience that makes her/him more shocked?
Etc ^^

The rest was already beautifully expressed by miripao

[Stardust-clearwater]

Problems are generally things that start the plot and develop character. so have some problems that your characters need to deal with. Outside problems can also push the plot forward especially if they are big enough to affect both parties. Like a natural disaster striking and now the power has gone out and its not coming back any time soon. Or given recent events a school shooting happens and your characters get separated and have to deal with the after math.

Or since you say shoujo manga, you can scale down disasters to more impersonal crises, one or both of them can become ill. Conflicting class schedules that make it harder and harder for them to interact. Have money be an issue for one or both of them. Cheap dates force you to become creative whether you are writing them or arranging for them. Or cheap not-dates like spending a day leaving funny notes in public places or catching and marking various animals. Or scavenging the dumpster for a school project.

Unless both characters are automatons there's always the little bumps and various personality clashes to write about which can bleed into their interactions. If they both have issues communicating then you can list a bunch of things that start arguments or just grate on each other. they have mastered proper communication then have them team up against something else. or just write very spirited debates that you characters can enjoy with each other like movie head canons and such.

TLDR: What ever can go wrong should go wrong. if things are going too well have someone get hit by a freak accident.