Laverne and Shirley.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha.
I'm talking girlfriends, and a book (chick-lit, women's fiction and romance in particular) just isn't as good without at least one. In fact, life isn't as good without a girlfriend.
If you're lucky, you had friends in high school (I really was rather unlucky in that sphere). If you're really lucky, you carried one or more of those relationships throughout college (I was slightly more lucky). If you're incredibly lucky, you became part of something bigger than yourself and made friends for life (this is where I am most lucky).
Luck isn't really luck so much as confidence. The more confident you become, the more friends you make...and keep (that's the key). A good friend makes you feel confident.
A girlfriend makes you feel empowered.
Girlfriends are great for thousands of reasons. I recently read an article that stated GFs are like husbands without the sex or jealousy. I started to think about that, and I thought that there may be something to it. I'm not sure about the jealousy (I married a rather level-headed man who can keep his wits about him in a major crisis; he's not going to get jealous if I splash Adam Levine all over my Facebook page - right, honey? Right?) but I did see some merits to the thought.
When I create a girlfriend in my stories, there are some definitive traits she must possess. Here are some of what makes a good girlfriend great:
- No matter how stupid of an idea it is, she's got your back
- When you need to break a diet, she's already at the door with wine, chocolate and a babysitter
- You stay up late into the night texting like a teenager about nothing...and you can't stop giggling like one, either
- She cares about everything you have done, will do, or haven't yet thought to do
- She is at major events in your life because she wants to be there (or because she remembers the time you attended her great uncle's wake and helped her clean up her dress after you made her laugh so inappropriately hard she spit coffee from her nose)
- She knows when to talk...but more importantly, when to listen
- If she were a guy, you would've proposed eons ago
These qualities are the sum of a whole - and there's many more than just these few. When I see these in a book, I'm immediately invested in the story. I can relate - and the girlfriends in my own stories certainly reflect those who have been and are in my life.
Zesty. (It's a girl thing.)
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