Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. Some of those relationships are positive and supportive, pushing the protagonist to positive growth and helping them achieve their goals. Other relationships do exactly the opposite, derailing your character’s confidence and self-worth or they cause friction and conflict that leads to fallout and disruption. Many relationships hover somewhere in the middle. A balanced story will require a mix of these dynamics.
The purpose of this thesaurus is to encourage you to explore the kinds of relationships that might be good for your story and figure out what each might look like. Think about what a character needs (good and bad), and build a network of connections for him or her that will challenge them, showcase their innermost qualities, and bind readers to their relationship trials and triumphs.
The following is just a sample of the content available for this relationship. To see it in its entirety (along with 45+ additional relationship entries), check out our Description Thesaurus Collection at One Stop For Writers.
Best Friends
Description: Best friends have each others’ backs. While this relationship usually consists of two people, it can consist of a wider group of besties. This kind of friendship can look different for men and women, but themes of loyalty, respect, and enjoying each other’s company are largely universal.
Relationship Dynamics:
Below are a wide range of dynamics that may accompany this relationship. Use the ideas that suit your story and work best for your characters to bring about and/or resolve the necessary conflict.
Spending as much time together as possible
Being each other’s wingman (or woman)
Knowing the important people in each other’s lives (kids, spouses, etc.)
Actively supporting each other in times of trouble (when one person hospitalized, the death of a parent, etc.)
Sharing the same interests or hobbies
Clashing Personality Trait Combinations: Adventurous and Timid, Cautious and Reckless, Efficient and Scatterbrained, Extroverted and Introverted, Generous and Greedy, Independent and Needy, Optimistic and Pessimistic, Persuasive and Weak-Willed
Negative Outcomes of Friction
One person having increasingly negative thoughts about the other
Two friends distancing themselves and not being as close
Decreased trust
Ways This Relationship May Lead to Positive Growth
Mutual respect making both parties more open to each other’s ideas
One friend seeking to become more like the other (in a positive way)
Themes and Symbols That Can Be Explored through This Relationship
Beginnings, Betrayal, Coming of Age, Crossroads, Endings, Family, Friendship, Journeys, Love, Passage of Time, Refuge, Unity
Other Relationship Thesaurus entries can be found here.
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The content you’ve just read is a sample of one entry found in our Relationship Thesaurus at One Stop for Writers. To access the complete entry and the other collections in this powerful show-don’t-tell Thesaurus
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.