When writing any story, it’s important to have a good sense of character makeup before you tear into the first draft. Yes, characters tend to evolve and even surprise you as you go along, but the deeper you know your characters at the onset, the easier it will be to show them as they are rather than tell things about them in the narrative.
With a fully grounded sense of your characters, you can just jump into your story and take off.
Here is a list of surface questions you can ask your characters.
FLESH:
Full Name
Age/D.O.B.
Locale
Race, Ethnicity, Nationality
Stature
Weight/Body Build
Hair
Eyes
Consistent Props
Vices
Nervous Habits
Distinguishing Marks
Physical Traits
Overall health
Scent
Voice
Appearance
Property, wardrobe, vehicle
MIND:
Occupation
Obligations
Socioeconomic Class
Education
Intelligence Level
World Views or Religious Beliefs
Convictions
Sexual Orientation/Values
Background Info
Main Desires/Goals
Minor Desires/Goals
Typical Day
SPIRIT:
General Disposition
Personality/Temperament
Optimistic/Pessimistic?
Real/Feigned?
Morality Level
Confidence Level
Trust Level
Quirks/Idiosyncrasies
Habits
Strengths
Weaknesses
Hobbies and Interests
Recreational Activities
Likes
Dislikes
Greatest Obstacle
Greatest Fear
Motivations/Driving Force
Talents
BEYOND:
Significant Other/Relationship/Marital Status
Love interest?
Lives with?
Fights with?
Spends time with?
Wishes to spend time with?
Family members/relationships, ages, occupations, conflicts
Best Friend
Other Close Friends
Acquaintances
How does he/she view his family, friends, boss/co-workers, employees?
How is he or she seen by others?
By Society?
Even if you never put most of these elements into the narrative or reveal them in dialogue, keeping them in mind when you’re writing will help your characters come alive for both you and your readers.
And here is a list of prompts to keep on hand when you want to delve deeper into psychological conditions or thought processes. When using First Person, you especially need a vibrant, gripping voice. Very important! Even a bland story with a quirky, funny, outrageous voice can carry readers far. Springing off a prompt or two is also a good exercise to do when you want to get in touch with that voice.
I don’t remember…
I remember…
I’ve always…
I believe…
I dreamt…
I see…
I try not to…
I don’t see…
I’ve never…
I know…
I don’t know…
I don’t want to…
I want to…
I wonder…
I try to…
I hate…
I love…
I can’t…
I cry…
I laugh…
So, there I was…
This summer…
This Christmas…
Last summer…
Today is…
You’ll never guess…
You’ll never believe…
If I could…
Someday I’ll…
When I was a child…
My earliest memory…
My worst nightmare…
My deepest regret…
My biggest fear…
My heart breaks…
My heart skips a beat…
My spirit soars…
The last time I tried…
I can’t stand…
I get chills when…
Tomorrow promises…
It kills me when…
Did you know…
When she/he…
Suddenly, my…
I’m haunted by…
My death…
I lied.
I’ve killed before.
What’s sin for you is mere survival for me.
Don’t judge me until you…
Bet ya never thought…
The world…
The darkness…
My home is…
I ran away…
I can’t take…
My future…
I’m dying…
My life changed forever…
I can never go back to…
I can’t escape…
I’m breathless…
I hunger for…
I can’t live without…
If I could just go back in time, I’d…
I can never die…
Immortality is…
Last night…
For the first time in my life, I…
How could you…
Please don’t…
Even if your work is more plot-driven, always delve deeper and find out the darkest, coolest, most fascinating aspects of your characters and make sure all that comes to the surface in your work. That’s what will make your work stand out and your characters unforgettable.
So get to know those babies of yours and make them leap off the page.
~CV
Great list! I always make a character profile sheet before I start writing. It’s not quite as in-depth as this, but it gives me an idea. I find the characters often develop into something more than I’d ever have thought when I’m writing.
Once a writer writes more and more books, a character can be bursting with life right at conception, and such an in-depth sketch may not be necessary, but it’s always good to have such info on hand, so it can be woven into the work. The little extras that are included make characters more identifiable and novels more hooking.
I wonder how many writers do use character profile sheets or outlines? That would make an interesting poll. I don’t use them. I generally start with a loose idea of where I’m going and a first sentence… or a comment I imagined one of my characters saying. Everything else just builds from that.
Hi Courney,
Nice article with plenty of content to absorb.
“Do you use character profile sheets or outlines?” That would make a good poll question. If you want to run polls on your blog, go to polldaddy.com
It’s free. You select the question and the number of possible answers. You select the style. It’s way easy.
Hi, Papawayne. Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment. I don’t really outline anything, not even my plot direction. I instead write one sentence blurbs for upcoming scenes as I go along. And I use character sketches, like in the article, and then I write the deeper stuff in paragraphs, which helps me get in touch with a character’s makeup, motivation, personality, desires and goals.
Doralynn, I think somewhere on the romance forums at tnbw we had a discussion maybe a year ago as to who does outlines, who don’t and why they work for some of us. Haven’t studied the listing about, but nowadays, I find I work better with outlines. I have too much to do, so it helps me if I have a general idea of where I’m going and the highpoints of how I’m gonna get there. Saves me going dry in the middle and wondering where to go next.
Good post Courtney. The beyond list and the final one really takes you deep into the character, which is great.
It doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried it. It’s just another way for me to procrastinate. Some of the best stories I’ve ever written started without any idea of where they were going. I had a first sentence. I just try to get out of the way and let the story tell itself. I usually draw heavily from my experiences, though, so there is some kind of foundation. A friend of mine who publishes great crime and horror stories, and has been published in several big magazines, works the same way. He asks people to suggest titles. Then he starts writing a story that he thinks will go with the title. He never outlines anything. He just sits down and starts writing. Every idea of mine that has begun with an outline, has never been finished. Not one. And I’ve been writing a long time. The only time I ever outline is when the book is finished and an agent asks for one.
I’m the same way. I think it depends on how we’re wired. I never know where I’m going. I just start and let the characters and story take over. It’s like they possess me. By the way, I watched an interview with John Grisham some time ago and was surprised to discover that he too never knew where his characters were going or even where the story was headed. I find it fascinating. I also only write an outline when an agent asks for one. Then I spend wretched hours trying to come up with one. On the other hand, there are many writers who start with an outline. Very interesting. I wish I could do that, but the thing is I freeze up, and then never get round to the writing.
So, in my psychology class, we’ve been talking about people who like to turn over every stone before making a choice, and people who make a snap decision in an instant and don’t think about regretting/appreciating the choice until it’s over–they just decide.
I’m the latter, and filling out a list like this would never work for my personaliity because I know it all intuitively, and having to stop and fill out the list slows me down.
Yet someone like my mother, who’s extremely methodical (and usually better prepared than I) would feel empty-handed without a list like this prepared.
I think different writers use different approaches?
I feel much more comfortable opening into a scene and letting the characters come to life as they play out the story.
I could very well be selling myself short? It’s a lack of patience and hating to be pinned down that would make me quit the story before I ever got around to finishing this list.
For my mother it could enrich her story before she started…
I think you do make a list but just don’t think of it that way. Before you begin, you have it formed in your mind what your character is like, what their goal is, their age, occupation, economic status, what they may look like, their family dynamics, love interests. That’s a mental sketch. Works just the same. A writer doesn’t necessarily have to get it on paper but should have a good understanding of their characters before they start. What exactly would anyone begin with if not a fully-developed character?
Some newbies put weaklings or bores on the page that don’t jump out and hook. They’re works are missing something. Test readers may be saying that their characters are flat, one-dimensional, going nowhere, not believable. This list is just a tool to help give characters more substance.
Oh, I see. You’re right.
I don’t actually begin with a mental list at all, but I develop one as I go; I don’t believe a newbie does.
In the NaNo novel I’m working on, all I knew when I opened the story was that my lead character was a Red Cross nurse in 1918. By Chapter Three I knew she was from Cincinnati, raised in money, bored of being pampered, itching for something, though she doesn’t know what, compassionate though she never learned to show it, etc. But I had to let the story play out to learn all this. If I’d know it entering the story, I think the writing would have a different feel? When the author discovers it with the writer, the spontaneity is palpable, IMO.
I guess my point is that the story itself should ask the questions you’ve listed above. The story should bring out the answers, and for me, that’s how I develop my characters.
Different approaches is all. Your point is to create real, fleshed-out people, and I’d say we agree there.
*When the author discovers it with the WRITING, the spontaneity is palpable, IMO.*
Typo. Wish we could edit these things.
Right, having fully developed characters is key. This is just a bit of pre-work, akin to research.
Everyone has a different method of course. Some people are plot outliners for instance, sticking to a rigid map. I don’t work that way at all. I let my plot unfold organically as I go. You do the same thing with characters, but you’ve learned a lot about writing already. You have a good understanding of how to bring that depth out and make a character engaging.
But some newbies though take chapter 1 to TELL about their characters, rather than just SHOW them as they are. And that’s where characters can run flat. I read a lot of chapters for fun on various forums, and although people can write richly, their characters never come to life. Something is a bit empty.
Good luck in NaNo. Sounds like a great project.
Thanks!
I recently began two YA books and, I admit, those were both inspired by odd ball things, one a noise, and one a simple concept. I didn’t have any characters or anything in mind until I started typing. I have two decent first chapters now with identifiable characters I think.
But before I go further into the books, I’d have to sketch them out more, know who their friends are, their quirks, interests, just surface stuff. Then as I go along, I build on all that as they surprise me and move the story in unexpected ways, make choices I never planned, do things that aggravate me, adopt new goals and dreams, tell me their hidden demons.
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