As an author of teen fiction, there are many things I absolutely love about my job: meeting new people, spending all day creating fictional boys for my readers to crush on, and developing whole new mythologies inside my head. But I have to say that one of the absolute best parts of my job is that watching shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gossip Girl, Veronica Mars, and Friday Night Lights is actually considered work. After a long day of writing and mommyhood there’s nothing better than cuddling up with my hubby and a bowl of popcorn and firing up the TiVo.

Some may call this vegging. I call it research.

You see, as I’m watching, I’m also taking mental notes on the choices the writers and directors have made concerning plot, dialogue, pacing, and the progression of the characters I’ve grown to love (or love to hate) and how they relate to each other.

The latest edition to my TiVo lineup of shows to dissect is The Vampire Diaries. And boy, does this show never disappoint me—not as a fan who watches it for pleasure, nor as a writer who analyzes the show for research. While there are so many things to love about The Vampire Diaries (Damon . . . no, Stefan . . . no, Damon) I have to say that, as an analytical watcher, one of the aspects of the show that fascinates me most is how the writers have subverted our expectations of the typical “best friend” roles present in most television shows through the development of Bonnie Bennett’s character.

Fictional Best  …