Creative Writing Tips –

Complete a character questionnaire for each of your main characters or even secondary characters that play a vital role in your story. This way you will know your character(s) well before you start writing about them.

Fill in as much information about them as possible. Don’t only answer what you will need in your story. The objective here is to get to know your character till he becomes a ‘live’ person in your mind.

So let’s begin…

1. In a few sentences write down a summary of the plot

2. Character’s personal details
   1. First name
   2. Surname
   3. Age

3. In a few sentences write down the character’s back story (a bit about his background)

4. The role of the character in your story
   1. What are character’s goals?
   2. What are character’s motivations?
   3. What is the character’s conflict?
   4. How will the conflict stop the character from reaching his goal?
   5. What is he going to do to overcome the conflict?
   6. What problems will crop up during the story?
   7. How will those problems get worse?
   8. What will the character do to overcome those problems?
   9. How will he resolve the conflict?
   10. How will your character’s background influence how he behaves in your story?
   11. What is the relationship with other characters, if any, in your story?

5. Physical Descriptions
   1. Height
   2. Eye colour
   3. Hair colour
   4. Hairstyle
   5. Hair length
   6. Complexion
   7. Shape of face
   8. Body type
   9. Weight

6. How does his expression change when…
   1. He’s with a loved one
   2. He’s with someone he dislikes
   3. He’s with his boss
   4. He’s with a colleague

7. Personality
   1. Type? (shy, outgoing, insecure, dominant etc)
   2. Distinguishable traits?
   3. Mental scars? (Complexes etc)
   4. Ambitions?
   5. Sense of humour?
   6. Fears?
   7. Anxieties?
   8. Phobias?
   9. Overall personality?
   10. How does his personality change when he’s experiencing different emotions?
   11. How does he act when he feels confident?
   12. How does he act when he feels inadequate?
   13. What gestures does he use when he talks and thinks?
   14. How does he walk? With confidence? Does he slouch or stride?
   15. What mannerisms does he have? (Does he fold his arms? Does he flick his hair?)
   16. How does he speak? (Clearly, mumble, confidently, drawl etc.)
   17. His voice? (Rich, loud, soft, etc)
   18. His vocabulary? (Casual, formal, illiterate etc)
   19. What does he think when he’s alone?
   20. Does he have any secrets he hasn’t disclosed to anyone?
   21. His prejudices?
   22. Dominant motives?
   23. Values most?
   24. Desires most?
   25. How does he treat those around him? (children, superiors, etc)
   26. Any vices or virtues?

8. Likes and dislikes
   1. Favourite colour, food, etc
   2. Favourite music?
   3. Taste in clothing?
   4. Does character like something in particular?
   5. Does character dislike something in particular?

9. Lifestyle
   1. Where does the character live (country, city)?
   2. Does character live in a house, apartment etc
   3. Does character like where he lives?
   4. Does where he lives reflect what kind of person he is?
   5. Does he have a favourite room? (Or a piece of furniture or other object etc)
   6. Does he have a car? What type? Does the car reflect the person he is?
   7. Any hobbies? Personal habits (neat, sloppy etc)

10. Background
    1. Parents names
    2. Parents occupations
    3. Describe relationship with parents
    4. Any siblings?
    5. Describe relationship with siblings
    6. What kind of childhood did the character have?
    7. What kind of adolescence did the character have?
    8. What kind of schooling did character undergo? (Private or public? Has this shaped who he is?)
    9. What was the highest-level achieved in school?
    10. Citizenship/Ethnic Origin?
    11. In which country does he currently live?
    12. If the country he lives in is not where he was born, why does he live there?

11. Character’s current position
    1. Any friends?
    2. Any enemies?
    3. Acquaintances?
    4. Has character been married before?
    5. Has the character been engaged before?
    6. Any children?
    7. Most meaningful experience?
    8. Any disappointments?
    9. What is the character’s goal in life?
    10. Attitude towards the opposite sex?
    11. Attitude towards life?

12. Employment
    1. What kind of job does character currently have?
    2. What kind of jobs has the character had previously?
    3. Is character content in current employment?
    4. If not, what would be their dream job?

13. What do you feel for this character?
    1. Admire
    2. Love
    3. Hate
    4. Dislike
    5. Like
    6. Pity
    7. Envy

Whatever you feel for this character, your emotions must be strong. If they are not, either build on this further or begin building another character altogether.

This article was posted on August 24, 2004