Any ideas on how to get feedback?

[Pedestriana]

1/10 through the novel I'm writing. I have some characters more fleshed out than others. One in particular struggles with his sexuality in teens and comes out in his 20s.
I really would like to hear from gay couples who have had similar experiences, but also from couples in LTRs as to how/where they met.
I quite like the story on the internet that was circulating recently where the guy advertised for a flatmate and ended up marrying the woman who took the room (after some years). Not sure it'd quite work in my setting though.
I'm on twitter and fb but have had little response. Any suggestions? I am not intending to replicate anyone's story, just get some insight and apply some aspects to my character.

[MissBattleaxe]

Hmm. Tricky. I would probably write about something I was more familiar with. I'm not saying you should eschew subjects instead of researching them, but if you're only 1/10th of the way through and have a hit a brick wall this early, I would consider using a background you could identify with more easily?

[PotatoGun]

Do you mean research rather than feedback? I'd agree with MissBattleAxe, I'm afraid, unless this character is very peripheral. And if he is peripheral, I'd stick in a placeholder and keep writing the rest of the novel. I'm a big believer in doing the research that turns out to have become necessary after a first draft.

[ImperialBlether]

Have you plotted this out or are you just starting and hoping you'll end up with a novel?

Generally I ask for feedback when plotting - I like to talk it over with someone - I might not take on board what they say but it does help me a lot to talk it through. I also ask after the first draft - I like someone who knows I can write better to read it through and imagine it's been written better!

[Pedestriana]

Yes, it's more of a peripheral character - he's one member of a family whose ups and downs are followed over the years. I've spoken to a couple of rl friends but would just like to hear more people's experiences.

I have plotted it out - each person has a series of events. This information would provide background rather than the actual story, if that makes sense.
In the story he's happily coupled up with his long-term partner. He was engaged in his teens. I have all that. It's just how/where they met and how they knew, really. Very peripheral.

I'm working on other parts of the stories though.

I know what happens at the end, what the red herrings and twists are, but I need to flesh out by getting inside people's heads.

[PotatoGun]

What do you need him to do in your novel, though? I appreciate you want not to misrepresent real gay people's experiences, but I do think it's a mistake, early on in the writing, to get overly hung up on the background of a minor character.

I say this because one of my big mistakes in early drafts of the novel I'm working on now was to get bogged down in researching background stuff (it's historical) which was really not necessary and a lot of which subsequently got cut anyway! And the early drafts were clogged with endless backstory on everyone, until I realised what I needed to do was not to info-dump, but to ask myself 'What does the reader need to know at this precise point?' If you already know he's a mid-20s gay man in a happy relationship now, can you go ahead with that until further interaction with other characters gives you ideas about his past?

[MissBattleaxe]

Agree with Potato. You don't need to put all the information that you know about your character in the book. It's probably enough that he lives with his partner.

You don't need to explain everyone's history, just what's relevant- as PotatoGun says.

If you are 1/10 of the way through, this delay will distract you from getting the story down. My advice is keep going and flesh it out later.

[ImperialBlether]

Yes, it's funny that sometimes you can explain something in a sentence, where you thought you'd have to have a scene.

[Pedestriana]

Thanks - I do have a tendency to overthink things. Potato your 'what does the reader need to know?' is good advice.

[MissBattleaxe]

Good luck pedestriana. The main thing is to finish that first draft. After that you will know more clearly what needs to be in and what needs to be out.

[Pedestriana]

Having let this sit for almost a week, I'll be back to the story on Wednesday, hopefully. I am most certainly worrying too much about other people in the story rather than my protagnosist. They're all members of the same family and I needed/wanted various conflicts or problems in their lives which reflect other family members issues, IYSWIM, but it seems they all have their own story.
So, notes on those but focus on Mr Main character. I have had time to think about why everyone is focusing on these personal issues, so that helps.

I think I'm partly battling my way out of the academic writing mindset where I've had to pull together various themes and link them, but with a lot of evidence and background.