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Writing Wednesday #2: Creating BFFs in Literature

Hello book lovers! Welcome to the second edition of Writing Wednesday! I’m so happy you could be here for this topic today, which is:


Creating BFFs in Literature

I know what you’re thinking. Writing best friends should be a piece of cake. Easier than anything! But alas, that’s so not true. A true friendship, one that a reader will feel a deep connection to, is not something you can just fake. Your characters that are BFFs should:

– Care when the other is hurting
– Have inside jokes, things that they only do/see/know
– Not show up just for kicks in a scene that doesn’t require them
– Doesn’t always have to be/agree with everything the other does
– and so much more

I’m going to help you write the best friends you’ve ever written in these few easy to follow steps and advice that I use myself, and that I’ve learned from years as a Book Blogger and Creative Writing lover. I’m not saying I’m an expert at all, or that these are musts in writing, but these things will help you (or at least be a guide) to creating BFFs that readers will also love.

BFFs aren’t like they used to be:

When we think of best friends from movies, they aren’t always like the ones we know now. How often does your best friend come over to your house and gossip about school, flipping through magazines and throw rocks at windows in the middle of the night for adventures? Not a lot anymore. So, unless your novel is set in the early 00’s or 90’s, your novel BFFs should recognize that:

– Technology is a huge part of modern friendships

– Friends can be boy/girl, girl/girl, boy/boy, or anything they identify as 

– BFFs don’t always have to fall in love or be jealous of the others partner

– Friends fight, it’s normal, and they don’t always get along 100% of the time

– Stereotypes are over-hyped. Don’t make your one BFF a goth and the other a princess, just to show how different they are. Friends don’t have to be from other sides of the track to be close, and vice versa.

– BFFs don’t always come in twos!

– Never forget that friends these days don’t always have to live in the same country to be friends



Famous best friends in literature:

Have you got a favourite friendship group in literature? Maybe you’re a Harry/Ron/Hermione fan. Or maybe you like the PLL girls. Or maybe you adore Simon/Leah’s friendship. What ties all these different characters together? When you break apart the friendships, for example, the Harry/Ron/Hermione friendship, we have a trio. Some scenes that you write aren’t going to include all three characters, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t as close as the others. Sure, Harry/Ron probably have more scenes together, but that doesn’t mean that Harry cares more about Ron than Hermione. It’s just how the story goes. Don’t focus on the amount of screen-time (metaphorically, book time) that the characters spend together, and build more on the amount that they care, or mention the friends/do things/protect/care for the friend, even when they aren’t around.



What makes a best friend their *best* friend, though?:

Sometimes there’s no BFF in a novel. Sometimes a character has a few friends, but they don’t know them like that. And in that instance, it’s other characters like family, or their love interest, that they find that connection with. But say that you’re writing a story about a girl called Clare. And Clare really likes a boy named Evan. Clare’s best friend, Freya, is the closest person to her. They’ve been friends forever. Just because Clare might start/starts dating Evan, and develops a major connection to him, it doesn’t mean that the friendship connection she has with Freya is gone. I see this happening so often in novels that when the love interest comes along, they forget about the friendships. They push them aside for love: and that’s not true to life (in most cases). 

Fancy reading with your BFF? Check out this article!

Best friend name ideas that sound awesome together:

Sasha + Patrick

Riley + Nolan

Mimi + Lydia

Sebastian + Audrey

Remi + Bonnie

Kai + Dylan

Willow + Ashlie

Penny + Sage

I hope that you’ve loved my few tips for writing BFFs in Literature!


Join me next week for:


Opening Lines!

happy writing!

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DIY Bookmarks!

If you’re
thinking of ways to brighten up your reading time, there’s nothing better than
a cute bookmark to slip between the pages when it’s time to take a break. Of
course, there’s always Etsy, Waterstones and Barnes and Noble for your bookmark
needs, but if you’re feeling creative but you’re not the best artist in the
world, DIY Bookmarks are easier than you think.
I wanted
this tutorial to be something that anyone with any skill level or budget can
achieve. That’s why I’ve loaded this tutorial with alternatives to some of the
items I’ve used and I will link all the products that I own too. I bought most
of these items at either Hobbycraft (for the paper) and Amazon (for the
sharpies) but for countries that don’t have these stores, feel free to comment
below and I will do my best to find you some substitutes where you’re from.
So let’s get
started!
All you’ll
need for this tutorial is:
–     Sharpies (or colouring pencils,
felt-tip pens or crayon)
–     Thick card or paper (craft store
card over 180gsm works best)
–     Scissors (please be responsible)
–     Laminator (totally optional, but
adds a professional touch)

First you’ll
need to find out what kind of size you’d like your bookmarks to be. I chose
bookmarks to be 2 inches to sit nicely in the book. I’m making these with A4
paper. Feel free to customise this part of the tutorial to suit your bookish
needs! In this picture below, you can see the blank piece of coloured card. If
your card is white, you can colour in your card with the sharpie, or leave it
it’s original colour. I feel like the coloured card gives the bookmark a bit
more quirkiness, but I like to play up the shade using metallics (which I’ll be
using as a POP of colour – but if you haven’t got metallic sharpies, gel pens
are a cheaper and great alternative).

Second,
after you’ve cut your card into a bookmark size using steady, precise lines to
make sure it’s nice and straight, you’ll want to get that pen on paper! I like
to start by adding a background. For this tutorial, I’ll be making a floral
design that’s perfect for reading a cute YA book in the sunshine. I’ll add the
colours one by one (as shown below in step 3) and fade the different shades of pinks,
purples and reds into an ombré. Be sure to add something behind the paper as
you do this to make sure that the colour doesn’t bleed through too much, as
this can happen sometimes with wet colours.


Third,
DECORATE IT! This step is my favourite, when you get to add some pretty touches
to your design. I’ve opted to draw some flowers and metallic dots around the edges,
but this is totally up to you. If you’re not that great at drawing flowers,
swirls are your new best friend. They can take up those little free spaces that
you don’t want to leave blank. If you want to add quirky little sketches, those
can look so adorable, too!


Fourth is
where the magic happens. You’re ready to add your text! Personally, I love
making bookmarks that feature a nice scripted message or title, like above. Below are some bookmarks that I made as a beginner at bookmark DIY. If like me,
you’re a huge fan of big and bold letters, go ahead and write what you want to
make a statement about. For those of you who are looking for a sentence or mini
message to write, you can use alternating scripts and styles to create your
masterpiece. When you’ve written your fabulous text on your bookmark, feel free
to let it dry for a little while to make sure that your design doesn’t smudge
if you’re using felt-tips or any sort of Sharpie calligraphy.


Your final
and fifth step is totally optional: to laminate your design! I’m using a TEXET laminator for this tutorial, and some A4 pouches of the same brand. All you’ve
got to do is follow the instructions for your laminator settings and then you’re
done: you’ve made your own bookmark! Now that wasn’t too bad, right?!
If you’re
skipping the laminator step, make sure to let your design dry fully before
using it in your book pages because of the risk of smudging. If you’re
laminating, also wait a small while before putting them through the laminator
because the heat might make your design bleed and smudge.
Thank you so
much for reading my DIY Bookmark tutorial! Stay tuned for another bookish
tutorial coming very soon that will feature even more ways to get creative
while you read. This post was in no way sponsored and everything was bought
myself!

happy reading!

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Blogger Tutorial: How to Make a Header (Beginners)

So you have a blog, but you’re missing that *perfect* new header for it. Let me help!


If you’re a blogger or beginner in web design and you want to build your own header, my Pretty Little Tutorials guides are perfect for you. Today in this post I’ll help you gather the information you need to make your own header including graphic sources, free and premium fonts to use and how to upload it and size it correctly.



1. First, you need to decide what kind of header you want. Do you want just text or do you want some graphics in there too like flowers, books or various clip art? After you decide what kind you want, load up one of many free photo editors available on the internet. My favourites are PicMonkey and Ribbet. 

For this tutorial, we will be using PicMonkey. 




2. Load your template on your blogger platform and find out the width of your blog. This will help when you’re making your header to know what kind of fit you’ll need. For this tutorial, we’ll be making a header that’s 800 x 330. This will be a good standard size for a blog, but feel free to make it larger if you’re planning on adding bigger graphics.




3. On PicMonkey, we’ll start by clicking “design” which let’s you pick a customised size to start your header. You can input the size above or your own. From there, you can pick a different colour for your template header if you want. For this example, I’ll be using a white header.


4. Adding a graphic time! For this header, I’ll be adding lots of hearts to make it soft and pretty looking. For this, click the butterfly symbol and from the list, find some hearts that you like. I’ll be adding a few different coloured ones to make this cool look!


5. Time to add some text! Click the text options to see a range of fonts available on PicMonkey, or click “yours” to select from your own computer’s selection of fonts. If you want to buy a font for commercial use, I’ll list a couple of selections below. For this tutorial, I’ll be using the font Bromello. It’s free to download here and is for personal or commercial use. Simply add your logo, text or tagline wherever you choose! 




6. Once you’re done with your design, click the save button and you have your new header! You can input it onto your blog design in layout. If you’re planning on uploading it to a host website, Photobucket is a great free website for hosting your images. 


Other font alternatives are: Brushgyo, RofiTaste and Befonts have a brilliant selection of free or commercial use fonts. 


Stay tuned next week for another Pretty Little Tutorial. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know below or on twitter @LittleMemoirs. 


happy reading!

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