Frenemy

Monday we talked about the importance of friends, so today it seemed logical to talk about something in a similar vein.

Frenemies.

Like friends, these are also important to have when you're a writer -- and also important to keep at a fair distance.

Why?

I'll tell you.

1. You can base your villains on them

Well, you don't like them, right? So you can use them as material for writing the characters that you don't like. Just don't tell them that you're doing it, because most people really don't like to be seen as the villain. And whatever you do, don't let them share a name with your character. 

2. You can base your minions on them

Maybe it's that you don't like them, but you don't hate them. Or maybe they just have some annoying quality that you just can't get past. Well, why not make them a minion? They're usually annoying (that or they're hilarious). Try it out, you never know what you might come up with.

3. You can learn from your experiences with them, to know how your protagonist should act around them.

This one's the biggie. You, the writer, act as the protagonist in most stories. That means you need to know how you react around certain types of people. So spend a little time with them and see how it makes you feel. Maybe pretend to text your real friends but actually take notes on it, so you'll have better material for your work.


Just don't keep those frenemies too close to you, or you might wind up in trouble.

[love]

{RD}