Liwei (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
abyssalbeast) wrote2022-06-10 06:16 am
abyssalbeast) wrote2022-06-10 06:16 am
[Dev] 165 Must-Use Character Development Questions For Writers (wip)
165 Must-Use Character Development Questions For Writers
Click to expand each category
1. What are your character’s physical traits? (skin color, hair color, eye color….)
2. What is their ethnic origin or ancestry?
3. What does your character typically wear? What is their personal style?
4. Do they care about fashion? Or do they just wear what they like?
5. Do they dress provocatively (according to some)?
6. How do they wear their hair?
7. Do they groom their eyebrows?
8. Do they struggle with acne?
9. Do they wear make-up?
10. Do they use hair styling products? What kind?
11. Do they wear glasses or contacts?
12. Would they wear a swimsuit in public? If yes, what kind?
13. What do they wear when they go to sleep (pajamas? regular clothes? nothing?)
14. What is noticeable about your character’s presence? (Confidence? Nervousness?)
15. Do they sit up or stand up straight? Or do they slouch?
16. How does your character walk? Run? Dance?
17. What body language is typical of your character?
18. Does your character have scars or birthmarks?
19. Does your character have any physical disabilities?
20. What actor would you want playing your character in a movie?
21. Does your character wear any jewelry? Favorite pieces?
22. Does your character have any tattoos? Do they want any?
23. What do they wear on their feet?
24. Do they like/wear hats?
25. Do they color their hair?
26. Do they have any piercings?
27. Do they carry a purse or messenger bag / backpack / briefcase?
28. Are they coordinated? How well do they catch things?
29. Are they graceful or clumsy? Do they have natural poise?
30. Would anyone describe them as beautiful? Cute? Hot? Classically handsome?
1. House, apartment, duplex, etc.
2. Do they live in a city, a suburb, a rural area?
3. Describe your character’s neighborhood.
4. Do they have any favorite neighborhood haunts?
5. With whom does your character live?
6. How often does your character eat out or order in?
7. What’s in the fridge?
8. Do they have a favorite room?
9. Do they feel at home in the kitchen?
10. What’s the view from their window/s?
11. How does your character feel about their living situation?
12. Neighbors? Do they get along with them?
13. What items does the character keep close to their bed?
14. What do they sleep on?
15. Does your character have their own room?
16. What is their most prized possession, and where do they keep it?
17. Does your character like having people over?
18. How clean or tidy is your character’s home or private room?
19. Does your character have a pet? Or are there pets in the home?
20. Does your character want to live somewhere else?
21. What would your character’s dream home look like and where would it be?
1. What job does your character have?
2. How did your character get the job they now have?
3. How do they feel about the job?
4. How do they get along with their boss and coworkers?
5. Does your character have authority over any of their coworkers?
6. Do they ever spend time with coworkers outside work hours?
7. Has your character ever been harassed by coworkers or by their boss?
8. Do they plan on staying there long-term, or are they looking for something else?
9. If they could go (back) to college, what would they study?
10. If they could earn a good living with any job, which would they choose?
11. What is your character’s highest level of education?
12. Does your character want to learn a new trade?
13. Does your character have a side gig that generates some income?
14. What are some skills or talents your character has?
1. Does the character have a relationship with both parents?
2. To which parent does your character feel closest?
3. Does your character have relationships with any grandparents?
4. Do your character’s political or religious beliefs match those of their parents?
5. Do their parents support them financially in any way?
6. Do their parents accept them as they are?
7.How involved are their parents in their life?
8. Do they have siblings? If so, how many brothers and how many sisters?
9. If they have siblings, to which of them do they feel closest?
10. Is there someone in the family who is their #1 confidante?
11. Have they ever felt betrayed or abandoned by a family member?
12. How have their family relationships affected their ability to trust?
13. How have their parents disciplined them growing up (if they did)?
14. Can they count on family members to have their back?
15. What was their financial situation growing up?
16. What jobs do their parents have?
17. What is their family culture and what do they love most about it?
18. Have your character clashed with any of their parents’ beliefs?
19. What languages are spoken at home?
20. What is your character’s favorite comfort food — and who makes it best?
21. Is your character married or in a committed relationship?
22. Does your character have children of their own? By birth or adoption?
23. What other relatives does your character have? Any of them close?
24. How does your character feel about family functions or gatherings?
25. Has your character ever been embarrased of a family member — or vice-versa?
1. Is your character straight? Gay? Bisexual? Pansexual? Transgender? Asexual? …
2. Has your character come out to anyone?
3. Does your character have a best friend? Who is it?
4. How does your character feel about dating?
5. How easily does your character make friends?
6. What do your character and their friends do together?
7. Has your character ever lost a friend to political or religious differences?
8. How does your character respond to political or religious differences?
9. Does your character see the best or the worst in others?
10. Does your character want to trust others and repair relationships?
11. Or is your character more likely to hold a grudge and see forgiveness as weakness?
12. How easy is it to make your character angry? What would it take?
13. Has a friend ever betrayed your character’s trust? Or vice-versa?
14. Has your character ever fallen for someone who was wrong for them?
15. What does your character expect from their closest relationship?
16. Have they found someone they’d want to commit to for life?
17. Is your character’s significant other (S.O.) someone their friends like, too?
18. Has your character ever had their heart broken?
19. Is your character someone their friends can count on to be there for them?
20. Do any of your character’s friends go to them for advice? Or vice-versa?
1. Is your character introverted or extroverted?
2. Do they have issues with hyperactivity or distractibility?
3. Is your character introspective or outward-focused?
4. Are they Intuitive or do they rely more on their senses?
5. Are they thinking-focused or feeling-focused?
6. What is their relationship with routines & rituals?
7. What is their relationship with the natural world?
8. What is their sociability quotient (SQ) — low, average, or high?
9. Are they generally compliant or rebellious?
10. Are they musical? Do they have a favorite musical instrument?
11. What does your character do to relax?
12. Does your character have any addictions?
13. What music do they listen to?
14. What books do they read?
15. What extracurricular activities appeal to your character?
16. How does your character respond to bullies?
17. How far will your character go to have someone’s back?
18. What TV or movie characters would your character most love to know?
19. Does your character have crushes? How do they act around their crushes?
20. How does your character display affection? Do they like PDA?
21. Does your character enjoy traveling — or want to travel?
22. Is your character an overachiever, an underachiever, or just an achiever?
23. How well does your character get along with authority figures?
24. How would they respond to a crisis?
25. Are they a leader, a follower, or neither?
26. Are they more likely to see the best in others or the worst?
27. Are they a good listener?
28. Would they ever spread a rumor about someone?
29. How would they respond to someone who betrayed their trust?
30. Is your character neurotypical or atypical?
31. Does your character struggle with depression or anxiety?
32. Do they struggle with a learning disability (ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia…)?
33. Do they struggle socially? If so, are they on the autism spectrum?
34. Is it a challenge for them to feel complete without a love interest?
35. Do they self-medicate (with legal or illegal drugs)?
36. Would they avoid or eagerly participate in religious or political discussions?
37. Is your character a dog person? Cat person? Do they want any kind of pet?
1. What does the character want in the story?
2. What is standing in their way?
3. What are they willing to do to remove the obstacle/s?
4. What gets the character up in the morning?
5. Do they hit the snooze button or get right up at the first alarm?
6. What is their morning routine?
7. What is their nighttime routine?
8. What do they want to be or to do when they grow up?
9. What would they do if they won the lottery jackpot?
10. How do they generally respond to failure?
11. How does your character respond to stress?
12. Would your character create a vision board?
13. Do they journal?
14. Do they consciously plan their day? Or do they just take it as it comes?
15. Do they prefer writing things down or using an app?
16. Do they exercise regularly, or are they involved in sports?
17. Describe your character’s ideal love interest and/or ideal relationship status.
18. Do your character’s goals or desires ever get in the way of their relationships?
Click to expand each category
♆ Appearance ♆
1. What are your character’s physical traits? (skin color, hair color, eye color….)
He has jet black hair and amber eyes. His skin has a slight purple tint to it, and he has webbed fins in place of ears that are capable of hearing via small holds behind them. His tail is light purple with fins in a rosetail pattern. The fins go from deep purple at the base to a small level of dark blue at the tips in a gradual gradient.
2. What is their ethnic origin or ancestry?
He's a mermaid with deep sea ancestry,. In some worlds this is classed as Abyssal. Ancestry isn't something that the merfolk pay much attention to besides direct relationships as their people have very little interest in geneology. Merfolk come in all kinds of different colors and fin types and their genetic bloodlines are heavily ibtermingled to the point where differences in appearance are not identified as a marker of where they come from.
3. What does your character typically wear? What is their personal style?
His clothing style is fairly variable. He has some tops that are full covering, with a very flowy, elegant look to them, others which are more exposing, and sometimes he goes shirtless entirely. This is common among mermaids as clothing can make them slower underwater so many go with just jewelry and the occasional clothing for warmth. He wears jewelry often enough, though it's usually fairly simple, pretty things, often made with gold and pearls.
4. Do they care about fashion? Or do they just wear what they like?
He could not give less of a shit about fashion.
5. Do they dress provocatively (according to some)?
Considering his genitalia is hidden, that's actually fairly difficult. On occasion he will wear nipple adornments with nothing else, however, though this is only for times when it's effective as either a show or a flirtation attempt.
6. How do they wear their hair?
He wears his hair loose for the most part, but he will occasionally put combs into it for decoration.
7. Do they groom their eyebrows?
No.
8. Do they struggle with acne?
No.
9. Do they wear make-up?
Waterproof make-up is hard to come by and very expensive, so he only wears it when he needs to make a power play.
10. Do they use hair styling products? What kind?
No, he doesn't need them.
11. Do they wear glasses or contacts?
No, he doesn't need them.
12. Would they wear a swimsuit in public? If yes, what kind?
He would if he had legs, but since he doesn't, that's not an option. He would probably wear a speedo though.
13. What do they wear when they go to sleep (pajamas? regular clothes? nothing?)
If he's not in a safe place he'll sometimes sleep in whatever he's wearing, but generally, he sleeps in nothing.
14. What is noticeable about your character’s presence? (Confidence? Nervousness?)
He's extremely confident and as a leader of a large organization of mermaids that has its' share of rivals, he's developed a domineering presence on occasion. Sometimes he can just seem ordinary, but then he turns on the presence when he needs to be intense. The confidence shows through almost always though.
15. Do they sit up or stand up straight? Or do they slouch?
He tends to lounge when sitting, unless the situation is extremely important. His posture is fairly straight when moving around or floating however.
16. How does your character walk? Run? Dance?
He can do none of those things. He does have a graceful swim, however, though because of his caudal fins being slightly excessive, it's more tiring to swim for long distances.
17. What body language is typical of your character?
Generally calm, but he has fairly aggressive body language when he's extremely angry.
18. Does your character have scars or birthmarks?
He has a bite-shaped scar on his lower left abdomen from a fight in his youth, and another on his right arm just below his wrist.
19. Does your character have any physical disabilities?
No, he's perfectly abled. The closest that comes is the caudal fin, which has an excessivly amount of finnage. This means that swimming actually puts more strain on his body than it does most other mermaids. He's worked hard to become strong enough to offset this but long distances will still leave him exhausted.
20. What actor would you want playing your character in a movie?
Not sure.
21. Does your character wear any jewelry? Favorite pieces?
Yes, as mentioned above, jewelry is common among mermaids. As clothing is more of a pain to both come by and to swim with, most mermaids only wear clothing on occasion or clothing that's designed for ease of swimming. Jewelry instead takes on the role of being how people show their individuality.
Liwei enjoys jewelry, and has a fondness for gold and pearls. He also enjoys decorative hair combs. His favourite piece is a delicate web of thin gold that wraps around the waist and hangs down over the first third of the tail.
22. Does your character have any tattoos? Do they want any?
He does not, though he isn't adverse to the idea. He's yet to find anything he feels the desire to have put on his body though.
23. What do they wear on their feet?
As he has no feet, nothing.
24. Do they like/wear hats?
No. Hats don't work well underwater.
25. Do they color their hair?
No, it's all natural.
26. Do they have any piercings?
No.
27. Do they carry a purse or messenger bag / backpack / briefcase?
No, but if he had to, he'd prefer a messenger bag.
28. Are they coordinated? How well do they catch things?
He's highly coordinated in the water, a bit less so when on the surface. He rarely has trouble catching ordinary things, however.
29. Are they graceful or clumsy? Do they have natural poise?
He's very graceful. It comes naturally.
30. Would anyone describe them as beautiful? Cute? Hot? Classically handsome?
They would likely go more for beautiful than cute or even handsome.
♆ Home ♆
1. House, apartment, duplex, etc.
He lives in a house in a deep underground cavern that houses a number of other buildings dedicated to his group.
2. Do they live in a city, a suburb, a rural area?
He lives in an undersea city that solely houses his own people and their families/lovers and slaves. It's not in any recognizable style that humans would know and is lit by bioluminescent undersea plantlife.
3. Describe your character’s neighborhood.
The city is built out of stone, with bioluminescent plants growing on the buildings and the ceiling of the cave. The dark-colored stone and the location leads to it being very difficult to see naturally, so the bioluminescent plants have been carefully cultivated to grow everywhere possible that won't be in the way or look overblown. There is a lot of geothermic vents in the area, several of which have been rerouted via pipes to heat the area more evently.
Houses in the city tend to have round windows large enough to swim in and out of, and large round doors. They have odd shapes, often not matching, as some houses will be small and squat while others are lopsided and have a second or third floor which only takes up half as much space as the first. Still others are massive, while others are so small you would expect only a child to live there.
Liwei's own neighborhood is largely residential, with only a few businesses scattered around. Street sellers where people sell goods out of carts are not a strange isght, and many of these have erratic and unpredictable stock. Some of them are food sellers, but the majority tend to sell goods taken from wreckage or produced by humans for the purpose. It has wide streets and fully detached houses, some of which are immensely tall but the majority of which are average sized.
4. Do they have any favorite neighborhood haunts?
There's a park on the west side that is fairly peaceful. He likes to relax there at times. As mermaids don't need to drink, their equivalent to a bar is actually a restaurant of sorts, and he and his most close subordinates frequent one near his home that is known for its' shrimp.
5. With whom does your character live?
He has no family, but he does keep several human servants, some of whim function as bedmates and most of whom fulfil necessary chores.
6. How often does your character eat out or order in?
He hosts meetings in the local shrimp restaurant he likes a lot, but he is more likely to eat at home or eat at one of his subordinates' homes.
7. What’s in the fridge?
Varying types of meat are stored in the coldest room of the house, where they will degrade the slowest.
8. Do they have a favorite room?
His bedroom.
9. Do they feel at home in the kitchen?
Cripes no, he can't cook worth a damn. He'd be decent at it if he learnt, but he has no idea what he's doing so it's no good right now.
10. What’s the view from their window/s?
As his house is exceptionally tall, the windows overlook most of the city. Because of the darkness it's impossible to make out details, but he can see a curtain of shimmering lights in a variety of colors from the plants.
11. How does your character feel about their living situation?
He's quite happy with it.
12. Neighbors? Do they get along with them?
If they have a problem, they don't dare to say it.
13. What items does the character keep close to their bed?
14. What do they sleep on?
He has a large circular bed made from a soft material that is lower in the middle so that the edges form a natural wall to prevent falling out. There are about a billion cushions around the edges and in the middle that he lies on.
15. Does your character have their own room?
He owns the entire house and has no partner or family, so yes, he has his own room.
16. What is their most prized possession, and where do they keep it?
17. Does your character like having people over?
18. How clean or tidy is your character’s home or private room?
19. Does your character have a pet? Or are there pets in the home?
20. Does your character want to live somewhere else?
21. What would your character’s dream home look like and where would it be?
♆ Career ♆
1. What job does your character have?
2. How did your character get the job they now have?
3. How do they feel about the job?
4. How do they get along with their boss and coworkers?
5. Does your character have authority over any of their coworkers?
6. Do they ever spend time with coworkers outside work hours?
7. Has your character ever been harassed by coworkers or by their boss?
8. Do they plan on staying there long-term, or are they looking for something else?
9. If they could go (back) to college, what would they study?
10. If they could earn a good living with any job, which would they choose?
11. What is your character’s highest level of education?
12. Does your character want to learn a new trade?
13. Does your character have a side gig that generates some income?
14. What are some skills or talents your character has?
♆ Family ♆
1. Does the character have a relationship with both parents?
2. To which parent does your character feel closest?
3. Does your character have relationships with any grandparents?
4. Do your character’s political or religious beliefs match those of their parents?
5. Do their parents support them financially in any way?
6. Do their parents accept them as they are?
7.How involved are their parents in their life?
8. Do they have siblings? If so, how many brothers and how many sisters?
9. If they have siblings, to which of them do they feel closest?
10. Is there someone in the family who is their #1 confidante?
11. Have they ever felt betrayed or abandoned by a family member?
12. How have their family relationships affected their ability to trust?
13. How have their parents disciplined them growing up (if they did)?
14. Can they count on family members to have their back?
15. What was their financial situation growing up?
16. What jobs do their parents have?
17. What is their family culture and what do they love most about it?
18. Have your character clashed with any of their parents’ beliefs?
19. What languages are spoken at home?
20. What is your character’s favorite comfort food — and who makes it best?
21. Is your character married or in a committed relationship?
22. Does your character have children of their own? By birth or adoption?
23. What other relatives does your character have? Any of them close?
24. How does your character feel about family functions or gatherings?
25. Has your character ever been embarrased of a family member — or vice-versa?
♆ Friends and Lovers ♆
1. Is your character straight? Gay? Bisexual? Pansexual? Transgender? Asexual? …
2. Has your character come out to anyone?
3. Does your character have a best friend? Who is it?
4. How does your character feel about dating?
5. How easily does your character make friends?
6. What do your character and their friends do together?
7. Has your character ever lost a friend to political or religious differences?
8. How does your character respond to political or religious differences?
9. Does your character see the best or the worst in others?
10. Does your character want to trust others and repair relationships?
11. Or is your character more likely to hold a grudge and see forgiveness as weakness?
12. How easy is it to make your character angry? What would it take?
13. Has a friend ever betrayed your character’s trust? Or vice-versa?
14. Has your character ever fallen for someone who was wrong for them?
15. What does your character expect from their closest relationship?
16. Have they found someone they’d want to commit to for life?
17. Is your character’s significant other (S.O.) someone their friends like, too?
18. Has your character ever had their heart broken?
19. Is your character someone their friends can count on to be there for them?
20. Do any of your character’s friends go to them for advice? Or vice-versa?
♆ Behavior & Personality ♆
1. Is your character introverted or extroverted?
2. Do they have issues with hyperactivity or distractibility?
3. Is your character introspective or outward-focused?
4. Are they Intuitive or do they rely more on their senses?
5. Are they thinking-focused or feeling-focused?
6. What is their relationship with routines & rituals?
7. What is their relationship with the natural world?
8. What is their sociability quotient (SQ) — low, average, or high?
9. Are they generally compliant or rebellious?
10. Are they musical? Do they have a favorite musical instrument?
11. What does your character do to relax?
12. Does your character have any addictions?
13. What music do they listen to?
14. What books do they read?
15. What extracurricular activities appeal to your character?
16. How does your character respond to bullies?
17. How far will your character go to have someone’s back?
18. What TV or movie characters would your character most love to know?
19. Does your character have crushes? How do they act around their crushes?
20. How does your character display affection? Do they like PDA?
21. Does your character enjoy traveling — or want to travel?
22. Is your character an overachiever, an underachiever, or just an achiever?
23. How well does your character get along with authority figures?
24. How would they respond to a crisis?
25. Are they a leader, a follower, or neither?
26. Are they more likely to see the best in others or the worst?
27. Are they a good listener?
28. Would they ever spread a rumor about someone?
29. How would they respond to someone who betrayed their trust?
30. Is your character neurotypical or atypical?
31. Does your character struggle with depression or anxiety?
32. Do they struggle with a learning disability (ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia…)?
33. Do they struggle socially? If so, are they on the autism spectrum?
34. Is it a challenge for them to feel complete without a love interest?
35. Do they self-medicate (with legal or illegal drugs)?
36. Would they avoid or eagerly participate in religious or political discussions?
37. Is your character a dog person? Cat person? Do they want any kind of pet?
♆ Goals & Motivations ♆
1. What does the character want in the story?
2. What is standing in their way?
3. What are they willing to do to remove the obstacle/s?
4. What gets the character up in the morning?
5. Do they hit the snooze button or get right up at the first alarm?
6. What is their morning routine?
7. What is their nighttime routine?
8. What do they want to be or to do when they grow up?
9. What would they do if they won the lottery jackpot?
10. How do they generally respond to failure?
11. How does your character respond to stress?
12. Would your character create a vision board?
13. Do they journal?
14. Do they consciously plan their day? Or do they just take it as it comes?
15. Do they prefer writing things down or using an app?
16. Do they exercise regularly, or are they involved in sports?
17. Describe your character’s ideal love interest and/or ideal relationship status.
18. Do your character’s goals or desires ever get in the way of their relationships?