Establishing Character Moment dilema

So I'm planning on writting my first long novel, I have the characters, the plot, the setting, the plot twist and even the epilogue all figured out.

I started writting the actual prose a few weeks ago but I realized there's one big trouble I'm fasing (which incidentally is at the very beggining of the story).

So, my main two characters have sex at a party... unprotected sex.

The reason is, the guy has been in love with the girl for quite some time, was drunk and... well, hormones take the best of you when you're in a bed with a girl and both are naked.

The girl had been cheated on by her boyfriend a day before said party so she was depressed, drunk, heartbroken and... let's say the guy wasn't a retard (and was kind of lucky).

Anyway, the thing is, I wanted the opening scene to be the party and the sex because, in my opinion, it would be too good of a hook to keep readers interested and incidentally the "start as close to the end as possible" rule makes this scene the perfect point to start the story because it's when the plot starts (anything before is meaningless for the plot).

Anyway, my issue is that I wanted to reveal the circunstances of both characters later in the story, but I'm afraid that the scene would be too much of an Establishing Character Moment and the audience will think of them as a pair of idiots who like to get wasted and have one-night-stands every other day.

What would you do? I'm afraid readers will hate my main characters (even if in the morning after they actually admit how stupid it was, reveal that it was the first, and hopefully last, time they did that and the first thing the guy does is going to the drugstore to buy the whatever-they're-called-in-english pills), but in the other hand, I feel like I'm missing a great first impact by beggining the story before that.

I'm not a native english speaker, please forgive my bad grammar and misspells.

It's all about how you present it in the story. I'd have to read it to be able to judge.

One suggestion: make one of them look like the idiot and the other like the victim. Then, as the story progresses, the idiot begins to look like the victim and vice versa.

Under World. It rocks!

The way you talk about your characters makes me think they went and robbed a grocery store or something. Unprotected one-night stands aren't wise but it's hardly kicking the dog. I might roll my eyes but it'll take something more serious for me to dislike them.

edited 14th Jun '11 2:11:49 PM by melloncollie

A main point in the story is that they're neither victims nor idiots.

How much would the impresion of "irresponsable promiscuous drunktards" be implanted on you? And how hard would it be to wash it off? Or should I just stop worrying?

edited 14th Jun '11 5:09:02 PM by redpyro

I'm not a native english speaker, please forgive my bad grammar and misspells.

By my preferences, it'd be pretty easy for me to look past the character establishing moment/unprotected sex based on what happens after that (or depending on your story's sturcture, before). Sure, that's a pivotal moment, but seeing how the two act and react after that is more important than the actual deed.

So basically, I say you shouldn't worry about it too much. It's nice to think about, sure, but don't dwell on it. Think about what comes after that more than anything else.

edited 14th Jun '11 7:55:30 PM by Voltech44

My Wattpad — A haven for delightful degeneracy

I don't really know, I would have to read the work in question.

Yes, just stop worrying. I don't know if your "drunktards" earlier was a typo, but I'm just sayin', getting drunk and having one-night stands isn't as uncommon or widely looked down upon as you seem to think.

I suppose their ages would have an affect. If they're 14 I'd be grossed out. If they're 20-somethings that seems like fairly normal behavior to me (YMMV of course).

I know this post has a while, but I just wanted to drop by to tell you I’d personally find it an interesting twist if you presented the characters as "irresponsible promiscuous drunktards", as you put it, and then revealed they’re actually sensible people who just made a mistake. You’d actually be subverting Establishing Character Moment by presenting them as one thing and then revealing it was an OOC Moment. 0.o Which is perfectly okay and plausible. I say go for it. Go with your instinct to start the story as it rings best for you. And good luck :)