Writing Inspiration | Tips

Writing Friendships || Part 1 ||

If a character's only purpose in the story is "be the friend", then I guarantee you that he is going to be a flat and uninteresting character. CREATE THE CHARACTERS AS INDIVIDUALS FIRST. This will ultimately lead to a friendship that no reader will be invested in. Make sure that your friend characters are fully developed in themselves, and not simply "sidekicks", with no other obvious role in life. One of the most interesting aspects of fictional friendships is the way the characters interact with each other whilst important plot points are occurring.

1. Questions to ask while creating friendships.

Do both of these characters have a history?

Passions?

Dreams?

Values?

Internal journey?

Other relationships? Friends? Family?

This is the most vital step.

Once you nail this down, you will have a strong foundation to develop your friendship further.

2. Give Them Something in Common

Now that you have established that these two characters are their own persons, you need a reason for them to be friends. What brought them together? What makes them friends? What gives them a reason to hang out with each other?

Give them common interests.

You need to give them similarities.

This can be several different things:

Status

Hobbies

Struggles

History

Background

Interests

Enemy

Goals

Dreams

3. Differences

Don't just make your characters different. Give them meaningful differences that can build on each other. With meaningful differences, your two friends can help support their strengths and build them up during their times of weakness. This all leads to a strong friendship.

Here are some great ways to give them differences:

1. Skills

One friend can be really smart in terms of intelligence while the other friend is just fantastic at using her hands and inventing things.

One friend might be good at coming up with plans, while the other friend might be good at improvising when the plan goes awry.

2. Conflict Resolution

A bully is bothering them. One friend might want to go and blow up at the bully, while the other friend chooses to just ignore it

They are in an argument. One friend might try to talk things out in a diplomatic way, while the other friend just likes to play devil's advocate and throw more heat into the argument

3. Personalities

One friend is confident and sly while the other one is quiet and awkward

One is cold and determined and the other is more relaxed and compassionate

One is an easy-going pleasure seeker, and the other is a serious planner

4. Method of Action

When faced with an obstacle, how does each friend try to get around it?