How to write rivals

Rivals are super fun to write because these are in my humble opinion a GREAT beginning to write amazing enemies to lovers.

But what should you consider when you write them?

1. The reason they’re opponents

Rivals are people who have a reason to hate each other, such as different viewpoints on the same thing, and identities that collide.

I’ll give you some examples of each.

Different viewpoints:

A wants to win a prize to become king, B wants the same prize to become rich.

A thinks that a war might bring profit to the country, B thinks that said war will only make them waste their resources.

A believes that a person will come and save them from a situation they’re in, B thinks they’re delusional.

Identities that collide:

A’s culture believes in reckless ambition, B’s culture believes in humility.

A is a very soft person but cutthroat, B is not very ambitious but is totally selfless and defends people who are being treated badly.

A is the best at doing X, B is the best at the opposite.

2. Power

If one of them is an evil character who did horrible things to the mc’s village, and the mc hates them, even if they’re in a competition, these are not rivals! One of them is evil, and the other one is rightfully angry.

Make sure their motivations aren’t only right, but their powers are equal.

If one of them is definitely less powerful than the other one, the battle is lost at the beginning! Especially if you’re writing enemies to lovers, it’s vital that you write two characters who can actually compete with each other!

3. Mutual respect

Even if they’re rivals, they’re going to have to respect each other.

If they’re two athletes in a race, make them study carefully what the other is doing when they’re in the match. If they’re fighters, show them astounded by the other’s skill.

It’s vital that the competition between each other is unpredictable, nobody could ever say who is going to win, because this will keep your reader turning the pages!