Character issues......

[IThinkICan29]

I can't believe I'm having this problem...and I'm almost ashamed to reveal it....ALMOST....;) In my WIP the protagonist is all over the place (he has to be). He's trying to find Miss Right Now (typical guy :tongue ) but deep down really wants Miss Right. And it's driving me absolutely nuts. Is there a such thing as controlled chaos? I'm beginning to hear..."I think I can't...I think I can't"...Maybe he reminds me too much of an ex or something--whatever it is...the project is close to falling off current WIP status.

[NeuroFizz]

Put another complicating factor in his life that "grounds" him between his episodic search for Miss whatever, or maybe complicates it. It could be a previous girlfriend who dumped him. Or he dumped her only to find out too late that she was the one--now he wonders if there is another right one out there? If he continually hooks up with girls in the hopes of finding her, he could be disappointed due to a comparison with the former "one" who he has built up in his mind to where no one else can compete. Just think baggage...

[Judg]

I just read the first Harry Dresden book, Storm Front, and that's an exercise in controlled chaos if there ever was one. You might want to check it out. The author has a blog (http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com) which is mainly a series of writing lessons which you might find useful, especially if you're writing a high-energy, high-tension kind of book.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Green eyed vampires and hunchbacks. Those are can't miss complications. :D

[KiraOnWhite]

Get him a makeover spree, doing stupid and nonsensical things along the way to change his image yet in the end, he still feels like a failure.

[Chasing the Horizon]

If I'm reading your post correctly, it sounds like your hero is in a very similar place to where mine is in the beginning of my WIP. He has no desire to be in a serious relationship and enjoys having lots of different women. When he meets the heroine he is shocked by how quickly he develops strong feelings for her. Since this isn't what he wants, he pushes her away. He can't bring himself to break up with her, because he knows that isn't what he wants either. After he succeeds in pushing her away and she leaves him, he finds he's still unable to think about anything else and eventually goes out and finds her. They get back together and the story continues.

I have no idea if any of that's any help. Probably not, since a good number of romance books have that same basic plot line. (This is only a temporary plot line in my book which is resolved within a few chapters)

[san_remo_ave]

Perhaps he has a wakeup call, like losing a loved one, that causes him to realize he really does want permanancy and someone to grow old with? Naturally, before he completely kills the relationship.