Knowing your Characters

There is nothing more important than knowing your characters inside and out. You need a solid understanding of who these people are in order to make a compelling case to your readers that your characters are real, or more importantly, that their story matters.

That is to say nothing of the issue of continuity. Many times authors without a solid understanding will change character traits or even appearance without realizing it and create continuity errors.

One of the exercises that I find most beneficial to my writing is character interviews. These are a series of questions that you answer in the character’s POV in order to better understand them, their voice, and their background. I have a list that I found online of a 101 questions which I will sample for you below. The link to the full 101 can be found at the end of today’s post.

Feel free to answer some questions or add your own suggestions in the comments!

Character Interview

1. What is your full name? Do you have a nickname?

2. Where were you born? Where do you live now? Are you patriotic?

3. How tall are you? How much do you weigh?

4. To which social class do you belong?

5. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?

6. What kind of vocabulary do you use?

7. List three quirks or other defining characteristics.

8. What is your earliest memory?

9. How would you describe your childhood in general?

10. When and with whom was your first kiss?

11. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

12. What is the most embarrassing or shameful thing ever to happen to you?

See all 101…click here