The internet is full of helpful lists of questions to ask your date so you can get to know them. But have you ever thought about using these questions to get to know your characters?
After all, you’re about to embark on an intimate journey with this person. You need to know more than just height, build, hair colour and eye colour. Just because they’re not actually real doesn’t mean these aren’t important things to know. And even if you never use these details in your writing, they will inform how you think about your character, resulting in a more multi-faceted picture.
So, here are a few things off the top of my head.
- What’s your biggest goal in life? (Most important question you will ever ask your character!!)
- What was your childhood like?
- Have you been hurt before, and how have you responded?
- Do you have a nickname, and how did you get it?
- What are your hobbies?
- What is your relationship like with your family?
- Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
- What do you think about love?
- Are you easily convinced, or a skeptic?
- What would you die for?
This is in no way an exhaustive list. I hope this will serve as a starting point when it comes to getting to know – really know – your character. Feel free to add your own questions in the comments below. 🙂
Erin E. M. Hatton 
Great post. Everyone should ask these of themselves
Agreed. Thanks! 🙂
These are also great questions that one can use for writing a biography as well for memory joggers. Great post!
Too true. Thanks! 🙂