Here's a list of things to help you get to know your characters. I skimmed through it last night and had some interesting revelations. I have no idea on the actal origins of this list. It was posted on http://www.romancedivas.com last night by someone who'd gotten it from another reposted source.
[Part I - Back to basics]
1. Where and when was your character born?
2. What is your character's name, as written on his/her birth certificate?
3. Is your character male or female (or something else)?
4. Was this character born before the story or during?
5. In November 2009, how old would your character be?
6. Is your character human? If not, what is it?
7. What role does this character play in the story (in relation to the main character)?
[Part II - A brief physical]
8. Describe your character's eyes.
9. Describe his/her hair.
10. Describe his/her predominant feature.
11. Does your character appear older or younger than his/her chronological age?
12. Does your character have any birthmarks or scars?
13. Tall or short?
14. Build?
15. If you got to pick the actor/actress to play your character in a movie, who would it be?
16. What's your character's physical health status?
17. Any physical particularities? Explain briefly.
[Part III - Personality and psyche]
18. Describe your character's personality in one word.
19. What does your character avoid at all costs?
20. Complete this sentence: "My character is most likely to..."
21. What's your character's favorite book/favorite color/favorite show/favorite expletive/favorite song/favorite food?
22. Who is your character's favorite person in the world - if they had to pick just one?
23. What are your character's hobbies?
24. What's your character's first memory?
25. Most vivid memory?
26. Your character's greatest fear?
27. Greatest regret?
28. Is your character bored easily?
29. What would he/she be most likely to do on a rainy day?
30. What would be your character's motto?
31. What would be the theme song of his/her life?
32. What is the single worst thing that could ever happen to your character?
33. How would your character describe him/herself?
34. Character's top five priorities (in order)?
35. How is your character's psychological health on a scale of one to ten?
36. Does your character get angry easily?
37. Talents and skills?
38. Greatest psychological flaw?
39. Character's darkest secret (I won't be surprised if people back out of this one XD)?
40. Optimist? Pessimist?
41. Introvert or extrovert?
42. Ultimate goal in life?
43. Tell me any additional information (related to personality and psyche) I should probably know about your character here.
[Part IV - Family and social]
44. What kind of childhood did your character have?
45. Your character's immediate family consists of:
46. What is your character's marital status for most of the story?
47. Is your character in a committed relationship for the greater part of the story?
48. Education?
49. Religion?
50. Social class?
51. Sexual orientation?
[Part V - Relationships]
52. How does the character relate to other characters?
53. Does your character have a major love interest, and if so, who is it? Are they/will they be in a relationship (if you can tell us)? What is your character's relationship with his/her love interest like?
54. What is your character's relationship with his/her best friend(s) like?
55. What was/is your character's popularity like in high school/middle school?
56. How's the relationship with the parents?
57. How about siblings?
58. Is there someone your character would die for, no questions asked?
59. What are other characters' general first impressions of your character?
60. What do others like most/least about your character?
61. What is a something your character cannot stand in other people?
62. What is a surefire relationship deal-breaker for your character?
[Part VI - Your character and you]
63. Give us a three-word description of your character.
64. Give us a paragraph description of your character.
65. Would you want to be friends with your character if they were real?
66. If you've ever talked to people in your life about the character, how did they react to him/her?
67. What genre is your story this year?
68. Do you enjoy/do you think you'll enjoy writing about this character nonstop for 30 days?
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Voirey Linger ~ http://www.voireylinger.com | Romance Divas ~ http://www.romancedivas.com
