Looking for feedback on an outline

[FallingToFly]

I have an outline for an romantica novel I intend to write- at this tsgae, it has a fairly sketchy outline, but I'm looking for suggestions on names, situations, etc, or just what you think of the outline in general.

OUTLINE - Beautiful Mistake

Characters:

Lauri Gustafsson
32, Swedish. 6'2, 163, black/blue. Heroin addict and lead singer for FEAR, a popular glam/goth rock band. Step-brother to ? Thomas


? Thomas
27, American. 5'6, 112, brown/green. Was a nurse at a detox clinic, now a reclusive nutitionist who writes healthy living books and articles for magazines. Step-sister of Lauri. Was engaged to Lauri's former guitarist, an American named Seth Paige. (Lauri and ?'s parents met through Seth and Lauri's association.)

Seth Paige (deceased)
American. Description not yet determined. Former lead guitarist of FEAR, and former fiance of ?. Met at a detox clinic where he was fighting heroin addiction. When he was clean, he hunted her up to start dating. Whirlwind romance, both of them a bit too young and desperate to really think before they leaped. Went back to using heroin about a year into their relationship, while on tour with the band. OD'ed in Seattle (because everyone OD's in Seattle, lol).



PLOT:

Lauri is told by his record label that he either cleans up, or they drop the band. They give him, and the rest of the band, six months off of touring, although he has some recording time scheduled. Not wanting to do another stint in detox/rehab, he hunts up his step-sister and asks her to help him get cleaned up. She's extremely bitter towards him because she blames what happened to Seth on him, as he was the one using heroin in the first place.

He recruits her mother to help him convince her, and she finally does cave in and agree to help, on one condition: he has to come to her, she won't try to get him clean in L.A.

EVENTS:

The breaking of the Gibson over his head when she catches him using.

The bathroom scene, where they have an argument that ends abruptly when she storms out of the shower and yells at him.

Their first meeting- through Seth at a rehearsal. (Flashback/memory sequence)

 

[SweetErika]

I'd suggest changing Lauri's name to something that strikes readers as more masculine. I grew up hearing Swedish names, and still assumed Lauri was a woman until I got to the plot (the assumption made me skip over the 'step-brother'). I'd either make it completely foreign so the average reader has no association, or something that they're going to identify as more masculine. A couple of lists:
http://www.20000-names.com/male_swedish_names.htm
http://www.babynames.org.uk/swedish-baby-names.htm (turn your sound off first; annoying ad)

Lauri Thomas has a nice ring to it and fits nicely with her description, IMO.

Some (rhetorical) questions that come to mind and might give you ideas for additional events and scenes:

Where does ? live? Is she reclusive due to Seth's death, and did anything else compound that? People deal with deaths all the time, and usually move on the best they can, so I'd wonder what else might be behind this one, or what in her personality led to the retreat (if his death was the main factor).

How and why did Lauri get into drugs? That is, what's really driving the addiction?

What's the outcome of his rehab?

What's the 'beautiful mistake'?

Who's the romance between? What are the events and outcome of that?

What do the characters learn about themselves and each other? How do they grow/change? What events lead to/create those changes?

Is the bathroom scene the climax? If not, what is?

What's the resolution/ending?

 

[FallingToFly]

Thank you!

I've been toying with this idea for a while- in my head, the story has some great points, on paper... not so much. Thank you for your thoughts, they have helped me immensely start refining and double-checking myself on this outline.