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110 Part II: Realising That Character Is Everything
Friendships develop and change with time. You lose touch with some friends
and gain new ones. Some friends just drift away, while others are lost after
some crisis or betrayal. The same is true for your characters. To explore this:
1. Select one of your character’s friends. Write about the complete friendship,
by writing six significant moments from the start of the friendship
to the present moment or the end of the relationship. Think about how
many years are between these six moments.
2. Write a scene in which your character first meets her childhood
friend, and then write a scene later on. Does she still want to be friends
with that kind of person or not? If not, why?
3. Write about someone your character fell out with a long time ago, and
then write about her seeing the person again. How does she feel? What
does this response reveal about your character?
Sometimes friends are carefully chosen: you admire something about them,
are attracted to their company, feel good when you’re with them and share
their interests. Other times friendships develop by accident: you meet someone
by chance or in unusual or unexpected circumstances.
People’s friends are not always predictable and people come together for all
kinds of reasons. Think about somebody unexpected with whom your character
becomes friends. Write the scene where they meet and then a scene later
on after they’re friends. This exercise can help you create an unlikely friend
for your character – these characters can be very useful!
Exploiting friends in your fiction
In a story, friends can be useful in a number of ways. They can:
✓ Act as a foil to the main character
✓ Act as someone for the main character to confide in
✓ Pass on information to the main character
✓ Support the main character and help her; or get in the way, accidentally
or deliberately
Friends can be your biggest help and support – but we all know those socalled
friends who constantly undermine you! Try this exercise to think about
both these options: