Character building is more than just appearances. Here are a list of 23 questions to ask for every character you’re writing — for any genre. As well as some examples to help get your thought process flowing.
1. What Is Their Earliest Memory?
with family
with friends
with pets
with favorite toys
2. What Are Their Greatest Fears?
dying
failure
losing loved ones
spiders
helicopters
3. What Nervous Ticks Do They Have?
runs hand through hair
picks skin around nails
stutters
blinks too much
4. What Was Their Homelife Like?
divorced parents
no parents
parents were good
lived with someone else
lived with friends
good homelife or bad homelife
5. What Do They Smell Like?
perfume/cologne
outdoors
stinky
baked goods
campfire
spices
6. What Do They Keep In Their Pocket/Bags And Why?
family heirlooms
trinket
trash
receipts
writing utensil
small pet
7. What Kind Of Clothes Do They Wear?
latest fashion
rugged, torn, worn
second hand from family member
hipster
minimalist
color palette (earth tones, black, rainbow)
Patterns (stripes, plain, plaid, polka dots)
8. What Was Their Childhood Like?
good/bad in school
friends/friendless
explorer/homebody
deaths in family
always getting into trouble
9. What Sleeping Habits Do They Have?
never sleeps
sleeps in every day
has to sleep in a nice bed
can’t sleep with pillows
snores
10. What Biases Do They Hold Against People/Animals/Government?
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