1. As a full-time writer, I spend a lot of my working life on my own - no office parties, no gossiping in the office kitchen, no Christmas lunches (unless you count me with my sad little mince pie eaten at my desk). It's basically just me and my notebook/laptop and lots of blank space on the page. Writing characters who could be my best friends can help make the job feel a little more sociable!
  2. Unlike real-life friends, my book friends will do what I tell them. Most of the time.
  3. Although, as much as they're my creations, sometimes my characters surprise and confuse me too. It's fun when that happens too, because they start to take on a life of their own. (Which is why I said, "Most of the time" in no.2.)
  4. From the writer's perspective, I'm going to spend six months or more hanging around with these people. It's definitely more pleasurable if they're people I enjoy spending time with.
  5. And that goes the same for my readers too. We all like to read about people we can invest in emotionally; that's what makes us feel as if we're living the story with them. If I can give my readers characters that they can really root for, it makes the reading experience more pleasurable for them, and that makes me happy too.
  6. I can give my characters traits I wish I had - things I admire in other people, things I admire in my real friends, like being brave or loyal or able to remember punch lines, so they don't stare at a sea of confused faces every time they tell a joke.
  7. My characters can wear the things I'd never dare to wear, say the things I'd never dare to say and do the things I'd never dare to do, and I get to live it vicariously with them!
  8. I can learn from both their strengths and weaknesses as I explore their characters and work out what makes them tick.
  9. I've discovered in real life that sometimes the most unlikely people - people you'd never expect to click with - can be the firmest of friends. The same is true in my fictional world. I can create people totally different to me, but I can still have a real fondness for them by the time I've finished writing the book.
  10. When my not-real characters talk to me in my head, sometimes they come up with some pretty good real-life advice!