RELATIONSHIP THESAURUS

ACQUAINTANCES



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HELPFUL TIP:

Relationships are part of the very fabric of your character’s life. How well or poorly they get along with others oftentimes comes down to personality, so carefully consider the positive traits and negative traits of your story’s cast. Another factor that can pull characters together or create friction is motivation, so keep each individual’s goal—both at the scene and story level—in mind as you write.
DESCRIPTION:
Acquaintances are the people your character knows—but just a little: the friend of a friend, the barista at the coffee shop, the guy who always sits across the aisle on the bus. These relationships are typically pretty surface ones, but even an acquaintance can be used to teach a lesson, be a cautionary tale, act as a contrast, inject humor, or provide necessary conflict.

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.

A relationship typified by surface politeness (the two people acknowledging one another, always saying "hello," etc .)
Asking small-talk-type questions about the acquaintance's life
Looking for common ground
Including the acquaintance whenever they're around
Making an attempt to recall important details from past exchanges (their name, their interests, a difficult time they were going through, etc.)
Seeing a need in the other person's life and offering to help
Empathizing deeply with the acquaintance's circumstance even though the character doesn't know the person particularly well
Picking up on the other person's cues (recognizing when they're uncomfortable or want to exit the conversation, etc.)
Avoiding eye contact so the character doesn't have to chat with the acquaintance
Forgetting the person's name or past conversations—not making an effort
Only being polite to the other person when it benefits the character
Making judgments or forming opinions about the acquaintance based on superficial or incomplete information
Ignoring the acquaintance; the character acting as if they don't know the other person

CHALLENGES THAT COULD THREATEN THE STATUS QUO:
Their casual relationship becoming more permanent, such as the two being thrown together for a time-consuming project or suddenly becoming neighbors
The character learning something about the acquaintance that increases or decreases their interest in them
A deep conversation leading to a desire for true friendship
A good friend entering the same space, giving the character someone else they'd prefer to talk to
A life change that results in the two characters no longer running into each other (a move, job change, etc.)

WOUNDS THAT COULD FACTOR INTO THE RELATIONSHIP:
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CONFLICTING DESIRES THAT CAN IMPAIR THE RELATIONSHIP:
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CLASHING PERSONALITY TRAIT COMBINATIONS:
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NEGATIVE OUTCOMES OF FRICTION:
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FICTIONAL SCENARIOS THAT COULD TURN THESE CHARACTERS INTO ALLIES:
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WAYS THIS RELATIONSHIP MAY LEAD TO POSITIVE GROWTH:
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THEMES AND SYMBOLS THAT CAN BE EXPLORED THROUGH THIS RELATIONSHIP:
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