Activity

This is a list of questions to help develop your characters and give them a unique voice. Of course, you don’t have to answer them all.

 

Name:

Background:

Birthday:

Place of birth:

Parents:

What was important to the people who raised him:

Siblings:

Economic/social status growing up:

Ethnic background:

Places lived:

Education:

Favorite subject in school:

Special training:

Jobs:

Travel:

Friends:

How do people view this character:

Lives with:

Fights with:

Spends time with:

Wishes to spend time with:

Who depends on him and why:

What people does he most admire:

Enemies:

Overall outlook on life:

Does this character like himself:

What, if anything, would he like to change about his life:

Optimistic/pessimistic:

Real/pretended:

Morality level:

Confidence level:

How is he viewed by others:

Physical appearance:

Body type:

Eyes:

Nose:

Mouth:

Hair:

Skin:

Voice:

What people notice first:

How would he describe himself:

Characteristics:

Personality type (irritable, positive, sad):

Strongest/weakest character traits:

How can the flip side of his strong point be a weakness:

How much self-control and self-discipline does he have:

What makes him irrationally angry:

What makes him cry:

Fears:

Talents:

What people like best about him:

Interests and favorites:

Typical expressions:

When happy:

When angry:

When frustrated:

When sad:

Mode of behavior:

Laughs or jeers at:

Ways to cheer up this person:

Ways to annoy this person:

Hopes and dreams:

How does he see himself accomplishing these dreams:

What’s the worst thing he’s ever done to someone and why:

Greatest success:

Biggest trauma:

What does he care about most in the world:

Does he have a secret:

If he could do one thing and succeed at it, what would it be:

He is the kind of person who:

What do you love most about this character:

Why will the reader sympathize with this person right away:

How is the character ordinary or extraordinary:

How is his situation ordinary or extraordinary:

Core Need:

Corresponding psychological maneuver (delusions, obsessions, compulsions, addictions, denials, hysterical ailments, hypochondria, illnesses, behaviors harming the self, behavior harming others, manias, and phobias):

Anecdote (defining moment):

History: