Professional Documents
Culture Documents
demographic characteristics
family history
physical appearance
psychological profile
behaviors
how others see the character
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this is the list i use to jog my creativity when i'm creating characters and to
help me keep track of decisions made about my characters as i write.
each character starts off with her or his own list, but i don't "fill out" every
item in the profile for each character. rather, i read through the items and
respond only to those items that seem to jump out at me (i.e., they feel important
to the story i'm trying to tell). then i start writing. as the character's
personality unfolds in my writing, i return to her or his list and fill in those
personality traits i've uncovered.
you can certainly fill out a complete profile for each character before you start
writing about them--if that feels right for you; however, if you're like me, you
may find that too constraining. experiment with this list and find out what
works best for you. perhaps only a subset of these items will do so. if that's
the case, work up your own outline which spins off this one. perhaps this list or
a spin off won't work for you at all. that's okay--any way you look at it, you'll
have found what works best for you.
demographic characteristics
military experience?
reaction to his/her military experience?
any traumatic incidents while in the service?
aptitudes?
character's general intelligence level?
past successes?
what is the character most proud of?
past failures?
what events caused this character to be ashamed or feel regretful?
what opportunities have been missed?
what does the character most regret?
family history
parents/siblings?
what were/are they like? abusive? supportive? alcoholic?
marital status/history?
if married or divorced--
to whom is the character married to?
why did the character marry the spouse?
sons?
daughters?
step-sons?
step-daughters?
how good's the relationship with the spouse and the kids?
if separated, why?
if divorced, under what terms?
how many affairs or marriages has the main character had?
when and how did s/he discover sex?
if single, is there a significant other?
significant others?
best friend(s)?
lover?
physical appearance
psychological profile
behaviors