How Can Enemies Become Friends?
Whether you’re writing about a small town, an alien planet, or a space station, there are certain types of stories that can make enemies out of the people in your story. While a lot of these stories have a pretty straightforward structure, you’ll want to be sure that you build the relationship and tension enough that readers will get emotionally invested in your characters.
A classic, the friends to enemies trope takes place when one or both of your characters betray the other for reasons that are completely unrelated to their friendship. In this case, the betrayal can be anything from one character’s personal flaws to another’s societal biases that they’re unaware of.
In this scenario, your characters might be able to become friends again if you create a new situation in their lives that changes the way they think about the situation and makes them look at it differently. In some cases, this might be a physical threat or something more subtle like a change in the weather that causes them to feel different about their relationship with their friend.
If you’re unsure how to create this kind of scenario, try using an existing movie or television show that uses this type of plot to help you. Then, you can focus on making the relationship work and giving your readers the emotional payoff that they’re looking for.
1. Social Biases:
Many societies around the world have strict rules about who can be friends with who and who can’t. This can be as simple as forbidding relationships between a man and woman, or it can be as complicated as allowing friendships only between people of a certain class or race.
2. The Enemy’s inclination:
Ultimately, the enemy is just a person with a unique inclination. Unlike your own inclination, which is more likely to be positive, theirs is more likely to be negative.
Therefore, you should never let an enemy’s inclination to be negative trump your own! Even if it’s something as simple as being a jerk, you should always help your enemy subjugate their negative inclination.
3. Competition With the Enemy:
A great way to increase your own productivity is to put yourself in a position where you can compete with someone else. This can be at work, in a sport, or even in school. When your mind is in a position where you’re trying to out-craft your competitor, you’re going to be able to produce more than double what you would have otherwise.
