please add to the list

[huxley]

i want to make a list of questions to help create,help organise a charater.
(like in a book the first time the character is described)

-back ground -
-where is he from?
-parents,brothers.ect?
-past jobs?
-age?
-profession?

-physical appearance-
-tall or small ?
-fat or skiny?
-does he sweat a lot,is he always out of breath?
-did he have a accident and can't walk very good,or can't do ?
-is he sad ,happy,or no expresion?
-his wardrobe ,expensive or cheap?
-face:mustache or not,eyeglasses?,hair? his eyes look tired?

-his character traits-
-is he always mad?
-does he smoke?
-genrous,or a real nasty persone?
-does he drink a lot?
-has energie went he speaks?
-what are his flawse?
-real smart,dumb?
-always wantes to be in charge?
-agressive?
-he gets pissted off fast?
-is he a to serious ?
-very cold and unemotional?
-brave not brave?


please had other questions to help create all types of characters.from main to a one time encounter, characters in a story.

thanks

 

[G4G]

Is he addicted to porn?

Chocolate?

Drugs?

Has he been in prison?

 

[abecedarian]

Any pet peeves or funny quirks, ie. picks out the blue m&m's to feed to the cat..or corrects other's grammar or spelling mistakes..

Is he a bad speller?

Favorite songs?

Sings in the shower or car?

favorite/least favorite relatives?

 

[Doug Johnson]

I made this list. By "bible," I mean what does a character put their faith in. A typical scientist would put his faith in observable facts. A young child would probably believe whatever their mom told them. (Of course, if their faith is challenged, the story is more interesting.)

Different genres, would require a different list. (For example, the last item probably isn't that important if you're writing chick lit. You'd want to dig much deeper into their attitudes towards romance and their romantic back story etc.) There's not much on my list about friendships, ethnicity is missing. (I like to think about the items below before "assigning" an ethnicity. I think the characters are less likely to be stereotypical that way.)

It's important to not get too carried away. No one acts a certain way 100% of the time. For example, "Works from principals or specific facts:" I might assign values 80/20. (Then when the facts contradict her principals, it's interesting.) If her huband is 20/80, there's going to be lots of conflict.

I go back and forth between using my list and not. Once you "get to know" characters you don't really need it. On the other hand, you can easily forget things like exact birthday, hair color etc, so it's nice to have it all in one place.


Functional Items
Name:
Age:
Bible:
Occupation:
Marital (or dating) Status:
Relatives who are alive:
Relatives who are dead:
Where they live (and who with):
Car they drive:
Pets:

To relax:
Average evening:
Average weekend:


Hobbies:
Income:
Debt:
Net worth:

Character motivation:

Most prominent psychological feature:
Psychological make up:
Biggest “Issue”:
Proudest of:
Most ashamed of:
Type A or high social needs:
Works from principals or specific facts:
Kind of people most comfortable with:
Kind of people least comfortable with:
Thing they most wanted before story starts:
What they most want now:
What they most wanted to prevent before story starts:
What they most want to prevent now:
Things blocking them from their goal:
How the story changes them:

Physical Characteristics
Most Dominant Physical Feature:
Eye color:
Hair:
Height and weight:
Physical appearance:
How fit are they:
How often do they exercise:
Quirkiest physical feature:
Quirkiest mannerism:
Other mannerisms:

Speech
Speed:
Are words long or short:
How formal/casual is speech:
Poetic or functional:
Uses analogies:
Use of Profanity:
Quirks:
Most frequently used word or phrase:
Word they would never use:
Most likes to talk about:
Hates talking about:

Back Story:
Previous Occupation (Career Path):
Relationship History:
Childhood:
Highest education:
Grades:
Family poor, middle class or wealthy:

Other:
Attitude towards guns:

 

[huxley]

doug johnson has the right idea ,good job doug.


what would be the name for this types of list of questions.for exemple if i was in english class and the teacher would say here 's your page on (name for this sort list)


what would be the name for the character question list ?
and the story question list?

types of list with many question to help create and organise a story.


thanks again

 

[Doug Johnson]

I called mine a "blank character profile," but I'm not a poet.

I really think strong characters are all you need to get started. Then, put them into conflict and see what happens. If nothing interesting happens, you need better characters, more conflict, higher stakes or all three.