I'm writing a novel in which the two main characters are in grad school, at Berkeley. She's sociology, he's history. This is a world I know nothing about -- the intensity of a PhD program, the day to day, and what it's like to live through it. Thus, I keep throwing questions up here, and I've gotten incredibly helpful replies.
My two characters are friends, although they're inching toward more, which is problematic because he's married. (No conflict, no fiction!) Anyway, I'm trying to get them alone in a car. I have a scene wherein she needs to get someplace an hour away (UC Davis, to conduct an interview) and her car has crapped out. He has offered to drive her, which would entail giving up much of his day. He's in the middle of writing his dissertation, and now I wonder if this is totally implausible. Is it inconceivable that he would make such a generous offer -- assuming that at this point they really are still just friends? Would his every minute be precious and spoken for? |