101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer

The Best Friend

You know, you don't even have to be a reviewer to understand why this topic deserves an entire chapter. All you need to do is read a minimum of three books on Wattpad, and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

The best friend. There's lots of them -- the ditzy ones, the boring ones, the ones that serve no purpose but to tour the protagonist around the school. In fact, there are sometimes groups of these best friends. Not that I could tell, since all best friends in said group tend to sound the exact same, making me forget that it's more than one person.

Honestly, sometimes, the 'best friend' can make you question if the characters even know each other. Like, my gosh, are you seriously telling me that this best friend will suddenly stop giving a damn about the other best friend now that a hot guy has walked in? Like, gosh, my best friend would keep me around just so we can talk about the length of his--

His shoelaces.

Yes.

That.

Also, his ding-dong.

Anyways.

I thought it would be a fun task to just break down the types of best friends that exist in the realm of Wattpad Fiction.

So, in other words, get ready to have some fun. If you see a trope that looks familiar, feel free to tag the guilty author.

Please note: I could not rank them. I need your help. Please comment what you think they should be ranked!

Okay. Begin!

The "Air Hostess" Best Friend

Wait. I'm not even going to rant. I'm just going to...

Hi there! My name is Sunshine! Welcome to the Vegetable-Infested School of Dancing Noodles! Oh, what's this? We're in the same class for the first two sessions! Yay! I'll show you around! You can sit next to me, and I'll be super bubbly and chirpy and-- Oh, see that guy? That's the hot guy. Don't worry, you'll be dating him in a few minutes or so. Better yet, the reason I'm not in your third session is because he'll be in that session with you! Did I mention it's chemistry? Oh, yes, you'll have chemistry together.

Oh! I should also mention! I don't know your parents and they don't know me, but I'm coming over to your house tonight. Come on! Let's go, best friend who I met a minute ago!

Tired of me yet? Don't worry. Once you meet the bad boy and the plot actually starts, I'll probably go away. See ya!

Like, come on. What an absolute plot device. Either give this best friend purpose towards the plot, or make the protagonist find their way around school by themselves. Give them a map. Gosh.

The "Diverse Character Because The Author Loves Diversity" Best Friend

Don't get me wrong. I love, love, love characters of colour, or queer characters. I love my trans characters and my characters that aren't neurotypical.

But please, authors, do it correctly.

Do the research you need if you don't have experience, because it really shows when you don't. And please, please, please don't just go with the stereotypes. One of my best friends is gay. He has never once in his life called me 'sister'.

Obviously, some stereotypes stem from truth -- that is correct. However, when you overdo the stereotypes? When we have a fellow Asian named 'Dim Sum' in a book? Or a bisexual character that falls in love with every passing person because they swing both ways? Nope. That's not... I'm pretty sure that's not how it works.