The Saturday Character Clinic: What are the fundamental questions I should start with when creating a character?
Exploring the Questions that Bring Characters to Life
Characters are memorable only when the author has taken time to consider the whole person. Emotions, flaws, past experiences are important - details matter. While you can’t examine every aspect of a character’s life, each character must be considered carefully before writing your story.
THE SATURDAY CHARACTER CLINIC is dedicated to discovering how thoughtful questions help writers to better understand their character’s better.
THE QUESTION CORNER
What are the fundamental questions I should start with when creating a character?
WHY THIS QUESTION MATTERS
Characters are the building blocks of your story. A well-written character can propel your plot forward. Details of the character’s experiences, personality and emotions help to create drama and complex emotional arcs creates drama. Simple questions, such as what is the gender of the character make a big difference. For example, if you choose to make a character a six year old boy, he will interact with the world much differently than a seventy-five year old woman. The stories cannot be the same and may be wildly different.
UNLOCKING THE CHARACTER - QUESTIONS BENEATH THE SURFACE.
Below are some of the basic questions when starting to plot a character. This is not a complete list, but it will start the conversation.
What is the gender of the character? Does your character identify with her gender? Is the character treated differently because of her gender?
What is the character’s name? Does the name mean something or foreshadow what will happen in your story? Is the name passed down in the character’s family. If so why?
How old is the character? Is it appropriate for the age group you are writing for.
Where was she born? Will the location be predominant in your story?
What does she look like today? Does she have identifying scars, birth marks, etc. Does she like to wear a specific type of clothing? Does she walk funny? How does she look different from others in the community?
What did her parents do for a living? Is the character trained in their vocations? Are the skills useful for the character’s future.
Were you well off, poor, or somewhere in between, as a child? How did this affect her upbringing and her future. Is it still affecting her life today?
Does the character have brothers or sisters? If so, what are their names and ages? How is the relationship between them. If they do not get along, why? Does this affect the story in any way? Will the siblings appear in the story? Are you the oldest or the youngest? Who is your parent’s favorite and why?
If the character is an adult, what does she do for a living? Where has she chosen to live?
POCKET-SIZED WORKOUT- TRY IT YOURSELF
Write a short paragraph describing a new character. Think about the questions above and use them to post backstory. I’d love to read them so please post your paragraphs in the comments. I will post my paragraph there before next Saturday as well.
CHECK IN
Is there a particular question that you ask your character when you are creating her life? If so, please leave a comment so others can share.
REFLECTIONS
The questions we ask our character creates the mood, plot and flow of your novel. Our worlds will be different. The deeper a writer can delve into the character’s world the better prepared for plotting a satisfactory ending.
NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION
Who was your character like in her childhood before the world changed her?
