Tips For Writing a Good Best Friend

With my other post being about villains, I figured I could set aside my evilness (temporarily, of course) and bring out my sunshineyness (ignore spellcheck. this is a word.).

Alrighty. Think about your best friend. What do they do that gives them that title? For my BFF, it's because

1. She knows me almost as well as she knows herself.
2. She's always there for me.
3. Aaaaand she makes me laugh even when I'm trying to be mad. The impertinent turd.

And, of course, there are countless other reasons. I love my best friend to death. And the thing is-- we're almost polar opposites. Sure, opposites clash-- and believe me, we clash-- but we always forget about it in a few minutes. Or if it's serious, maybe an hour. We're trapped in the same house, so...we kinda have to band together. We're the only sane ones in our family. Survival is key.

BUT. My best friend and I are not the main topic of this post. Writing for best friends in general is.

Same as my Tips for Writing a Good Villain post a few days ago, I will be offering the tips in the form of questions.

Question #1: What personality meshes best with your MC?

You've got to make it believable. A person with a horrible temper is not going to get along with a prankster, or a person who likes to tease people just to see them get mad. I've got a bit of a temper and nothing makes me want to hurl my pillow across the room more than people who tease me relentlessly, even when I tell them to stop. When I glare at people who do that, I'm mentally putting duck tape over their mouth and tying their hands. Call my methods violent and possibly illegal, but I'm 100% sure that would work for making them shut up.

Why is the best friend the best friend?

This is a lot like the question of Why is my villain the villain? (Apparently, I like to come up with questions that make no sense.)

But seriously. Why are your MC and this other person best friends? Were their parents best friends before they were born, so they automatically spent gobs of time together? Did they meet during detention? Give them a backstory.

What do they have in common?

Common interests are often what get people talking in the first place. Dancing? Singing? Reading? Do they share hobbies? Favorite types of music? Favorite authors?

What's something they disagree about?

It doesn't have to be a huge issue unless you plan on a fight breaking out. If not, just make it something simple. It could be clothing styles, or how you rate a book. It could be anything.

How are they different?

Take me and my sis. When we read books where the characters make social interaction with a new person, my automatic reaction is to not trust that person in the least. I can't help it-- I just always expect the worst things to happen. My sister chooses to see the good. Not so much so that it's stupid-- she can tell when they're not what they show themselves to be-- but she gives them the chance to prove that they're good people.

This next bit just includes a few suggestions.

Give them inside jokes.

Make them argue. Best-Friendships aren't perfect.

last, but not least,

Make them close. Make them, like, sibling close. They're going to be around your MC a lot, so get to know them just as good as him/her.

Hope these help!

Later,

Tansie G.