Creating a story character from scratch

 

There are many versions of the character creating questionaries you can find, but they all have some things in common: 

→ their goal is to help you develop a realistic, well-written character 

→ they consist of questions regarding the character’s identity and purpose

I will now show you the questionnaire that I'm personally using when creating characters. Go through it and modify it to your liking!

General information

• name, nicknames

• age + birthday

• pronouns

• nationality

• spoken languages

• voluntarily: archetype / personality type / enneagram type / temperament 

• school / job

• sexuality

• character type (MC, antagonist, background character,...)

Appearance

• face

• hair 

• body build

• clothing style 

• accessories 

• bodily modifications

• wounds, scars 

• other remarkable characteristics

Health

• psychical health issues

• mental health issues 

• medication 

• treatments

• current condition and why

Relationships

• with themselves

• with their job

• with family:

° parents

° grandparents

° siblings 

° aunts, uncles

° cousins 

° life partner/s

° kids, grandkids

• friends

• enemies

• partners

• colleagues

• neighbors

• authority figures

• animals

• others

Interests

• hobbies 

• other things they like to do 

• things they don't like to do

• things they're good at 

• things they're bad at

• things they hate

Identity 

• personality traits

• strengths 

• weaknesses

• everyday routine 

• customs & traditions 

• religion

• life philosophy

• fears & phobias 

• dreams

• long-term goals 

Life

• what is their current living status

• where do they live?

• are they satisfied with their present?

• are they where they want to be in life?

• upbringing, cultural background

• financial situation 

• important events from the past

• important people from the past 

• life's breakthroughs

• regrets

• traumas

• happiest moments

• saddest moments

• did they change a lot in recent years?

Role in the story

• why are they in this story?

• what do they bring in?

• why are they important?

• what is their goal in context of the whole story?

• will they achieve their goal? How?

• their relationship with the MC?