How to write Forced Proximity

Personally, I feel like forced proximity is more of a tool than a trope. Many other tropes use forced proximity to build on — enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, marriage of convenience, etc. All of these need some form of close proximity to work. So many tropes, such as the ones I just mentioned, need to employ forced proximity as the MCs may otherwise never willingly put themselves in situations that would bring them closer to their intended significant other. But it is often listed under tropes, so we’ll treat it as one in this post.

Forced proximity is exactly what it sounds like. The MCs who would otherwise never hang out (usually in these intimate settings) are now forced to have to deal with each other. Due to this, they begin to see each other in a new light.

Below are some tips on how to best approach the forced proximity trope.

Establish believable circumstances

The situation keeping your characters together should feel natural to your story world. Some common setups include:

Snowstorm, stranded on an island, broken-down car in the middle of nowhere.
Sharing a hotel room due to overbooking, being assigned as partners for a project, co-running a family business or event.
Babysitting the same child, attending a destination wedding, or fulfilling a loved one’s last wishes.

Establish credible conflict

The tension and growth in forced proximity stories come from the characters being at odds in some way. For example. :

One wants to sell the family business; the other wants to save it.
One is neat and orderly; the other is chaotic.
Exes who must work together or a person realizing they’ve been paired with their childhood nemesis.

Build intimacy

While proximity forces interaction, emotional connection develops in subtle ways:

One character might share a painful memory or a secret.
One cooks for the other, tends an injury, or helps during a crisis.
Laughing over a silly mishap or helping each other with an unexpected task.

How to write Forced Proximity