alya1989262
2008-05-04 11:45 pm UTC (link)

How would they behave in various situations, like: being in love, discovering a friend's betrayal, coping with loss, going to a new country/school/whatever, having a big disappointment, etc.

The situations mustn't be too extreme, but also interesting and possibly life-changing.

These questions usually have the added benefit of making your characters' personalities relevant to the plot. However, you must be careful not to fall in the trap of making convenient characters for plot's sake.

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	msmanna 2008-05-04 11:52 pm UTC (link)
	However, you must be careful not to fall in the trap of making convenient characters for plot's sake. Now I'm curious. How do you determine what characters you need in a story except by reference to the plot? Or am I completely misunderstanding? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

alya1989262
2008-05-04 11:59 pm UTC (link)

Yeah, but their traits must be consistent. For example, a character who's typically very calm and detached shouldn't suddenly go mad with grief at the loss of a mere acquaintance, just because you need this in the plot. You must maintain a certain homogeneity within their personality, as opposed to creating a different persona for each situation to satisfy your plot needs. Sometimes, you can let the characters lead the plot.

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	msmanna 2008-05-05 12:16 am UTC (link)
	Ah, right! Now I understand what you meant -- changing existing characters to fit the plot, rather than creating new ones. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	limyaael 2008-05-04 11:50 pm UTC (link)
	What do they really want? That's a good plot driver. If a character doesn't want anything in particular, they're likely to sit around and do nothing- or, what I often see happen in fanfic and badly-done novels, they'll just be shoehorned randomly into a situation by an outside party. (Reply to this)

youngcurmudgeon
2008-05-05 12:01 am UTC (link)

A few weeks back, Jane Espenson wrote that you should figure out not only what your characters want, but what they don't want and what they're afraid of. To that, I'd add that you should figure out how a character would act in an uncomfortable situation -- being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, breaking bad news to someone, being polite to a jackass, taking care of a precious object (crown jewels, Sword of Ultimate Vengeance, small child, etc.).

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youngcurmudgeon
2008-05-05 02:41 am UTC (link)

Replying to my own comment and being lame 'cause I just thought of something no one's mentioned: how does the character sound? What words, phrases, dialect does he or she use? How does that speak to education level/social status/general attitude towards the world?

Obviously, in fic, there's generally a canonically established voice for a character, but just sticking two characters in a room (or writing one side of a phone conversation, or whatever) gives me as a writer a lot of insight into a character's personality. Have them play Questions!

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	beccastareyes 2008-05-05 12:23 am UTC (link)
	To take a page out of Babylon 5... Who are you? What do you want? By 'who are you?', I mean, how does these characters see themselves? How do they define themselves? What parts of their identity are important, and which parts are not. I think limyaael explained 'what do you want?' well enough. (Reply to this)

	notjo 2008-05-05 12:25 am UTC (link)
	I'm always rather fond of "how would they react to being propositioned for sex". However, your sister may want to look through limyaael's Fantasy Rants (both here and on LJ), as she has lots of things and stuff to ask yourself about characters. (Reply to this)

ladybirdsleeps
2008-05-05 12:32 am UTC (link)

The "deep" stuff that I think is important has already been covered, so... I like to have a clear idea of a first impression that a stranger would have if they met them on a normal day.

So I ask myself questions about their appearance, mannerisms, and so on.

Someone who is unsure about characterization might find it helpful to ask themselves: "do I think that this (trait, skill, event in his/her past, etc) is cool and/or sexy?" If the answer is yes repeatedly for the same character, then it's often a good idea to consider cutting a lot of the cool/sexy stuff out. Too much can lead straight to a Mary Sue or Penis Enhancement character.

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	ianthefira 2008-05-05 12:37 am UTC (link)
	I always thought one of the best things you can think about is, "what is their deepest darkest fear?" And by that, I mean, "what is the thing or things that they'd never in a million years want to confront?" ~~and it's oh-so-fun when they /do/~~ (Reply to this)(Thread)

	ianthefira 2008-05-05 02:37 am UTC (link)
	Also, personality tests are actually great, I've found, for fleshing out concepts. Try enneagrams or Meyers-Briggs. (Reply to this)(Parent)

puipui
2008-05-05 01:02 am UTC (link)

"What kind of underwear does this character wear and why?" Because you can learn a lot about a person from their underwear, man.

Also good are things like what kind of car they would drive, what kind of food do they like, what's their favorite movie, which is their favorite Muppet, how would they react if everyone in the room were suddenly hit by a defabricator ray, what three things would they take with them if stuck on a deserted island, etc. etc. The only thing is that you have to actually put some thought into it and really and truly answer the "Why?" part, otherwise it's just silly and not also helpful at the same time.

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	moonpigeon 2008-05-05 01:20 am UTC (link)
	I was totally going to post "boxers or briefs" but I guess now it's pointless. :\| (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	puipui 2008-05-05 01:27 am UTC (link)
	It's the best question ever! I can answer it for every character that I write, if I think about it enough. XD (Reply to this)(Parent)

cleolinda
2008-05-05 01:12 am UTC (link)

I seem to remember Meryl Streep saying that she makes up a secret for each character she plays, and she doesn't tell anyone, not even the director, what it is. (In the last couple of years she said her secret for Kramer vs. Kramer was that her character had never really loved her husband.) It's an interesting thing to try--something that only you know that you'll never actually use in the story ~~although a lot of times I end up using mine anyway~~.

Another one is that idea that your table manners reflect what you're like in bed. Heh.

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	plazmah 2008-05-05 03:37 am UTC (link)
	Another one is that idea that your table manners reflect what you're like in bed. O___O This... actually explains a lot. facepalm (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cleolinda 2008-05-05 04:08 am UTC (link)
	Here's the best part: you will never be able to eat with other people ever again, because that's all you'll be able to think about. MOO HA HA. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	plazmah 2008-05-05 04:55 am UTC (link)
	Oh god, all I can think about is my friend who eats his food too fast, burns his tongue when it's fresh out of the oven, then moans that his stomach hurts when the meal is over. shakes fist Curse you, Cleo! ;) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	fakename 2008-05-05 01:35 am UTC (link)
	http://corvid.livejournal.com/tag/world+building - I can't claim any credentials, but a lot of what I wrote in these entries is based on refining story concepts. She may find it useful. There's also a ton of questions and reasoning why I find them useful. (Reply to this)

notarose
2008-05-05 01:44 am UTC (link)

How do the little details about them affect who they are? Their eye color, their height, their weight, their birthday- all that. It's not just "what are the details" but "How do the details make them who they are?"

It's fun to grab one of those time-killing surveys and fill them out in character- especially the "soundtrack to your life" survey that normally is just filled with a shuffled playlist. The questions are often similar to what we used in high school acting class!

And taking a leaf out of high school acting class, it helps to know what their motivation/desire is in both the long-term and right now. The immediate objective can change from line to line, but in support of the super-objective.

Weird question I just thought of that could be interesting: Has the character been to more funerals or weddings in their life, and why?

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	janegraddell 2008-05-05 02:04 am UTC (link)
	This is kind of a variation on some of the other responses, but I find it helpful to figure out what would hurt my character the most to lose. Or, put another way, is there anything that they would never sacrifice, even to get their heart's desire? (Reply to this)

also_not_a_pipe
2008-05-05 02:47 am UTC (link)

I'd agree with most of the questions I've seen posted here, and add a few more. What would your character want you to ask about? What is a normal day to them, and how do they react to the idea of [story conflict] coming along to screw it up?

I've also had good results with something a little more informal than character interviews, which I can only describe as meta scenelets involving the characters goofing off outside the parameters story. Everyone gets a five minute smoke break between scenes. What does your character do with the time? What do they talk about if they go hang out with the smokers? Your character is at some party where they don't know anyone. How do they introduce themselves around, who do they end up gravitating toward? What is your character doing during the parts of the story when they aren't "on screen"? I have learned so many bizarre and useful things about my characters and their worlds that I wouldn't have thought of if I just stayed in the story by doing that sort of hypothetical scene changing.

I think the membership probably has a fair amount of overlap, but you might think of asking this question at

wankas_write as well.

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tarash
2008-05-05 06:32 am UTC (link)

You could try finding one of those memes that's a list of questions about yourself (favourite shoes, last person you talked to on the phone, vanilla or chocolate, or even the ones that're about what you did 1/2/5/10/20 years ago), and get your friend to fill those in for the character. Often they're completely trivial, but they can help fleshing out a character and maybe by thinking about the smaller details (what is my character's favourite kind of take-away/junk food?), you start thinking about more important things (why did my character talk to this person on the phone a few hours ago?).

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tehrin
2008-05-05 07:49 am UTC (link)

I like Cleolinda's Meryl Streep thing. I do something kinda like that.

I like to think of a bizarre quark or hobby. I had a character who collected chess pieces and had a whole chest full. I then like to come up with a reason why the character does the hobby or has the quark. In this character's case, it was because her father was a carpenter and made a chess set for a nobleman once, who in turn taught him how to play and he taught her, and she proceeded to learn how to kick his butt and everyone else's at it. Even if I never use it in the story, it shows the character's relationship to her father and also shows her as a good strategist. I like to think the pieces were trophies from her victories.

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tehrin
2008-05-05 08:01 am UTC (link)

Oh, I also use a character sheet I got off of some writing site a long time ago. Here are the questions on it. I don't always go through the trouble of drafting one for a character, but I keep a lot of it in mind when I go through the trouble of doing a story (especially the pet peeves part).

What is your character's major goal? Why is this goal important to your character?

Are there any events in the characters past that are significant enough to affect this goal?

How was/is the character's relationship with his/her parents?

What are your character's vices?

What are your character's pet peeves?

What is your character's strong point?

What is your character's middle name (if they have one)? How does your character feel about it? Do they use their middle initial routinely? Do they have any nicknames? How do they feel about those?

What is your character's attitude towards money and how do they spend it or earn it?

How is their handwriting? Are they a rightie or a leftie?

What are their hobbies? Do they collect anything?

What are their pet peeves?

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	rowanberries 2008-05-05 11:51 am UTC (link)
	If it's a powerful character, what do they suck at? If it's a weak character, what are they good at? If it's a good character, what's bad about them? If it's a bad character, do they have any redeeming traits? Those are questions I like to play with when I pick up RP characters - it helps them from becoming too one-sided once you have their basic personality. (Reply to this)

msmanna
2008-05-05 11:52 am UTC (link)

asking questions can be helpful, but my single biggest rule with characters is never to over-define them before I start using them. By that, I mean leave plenty of wriggle room in their likes and dislikes, relatives, skills, etc. Then there's both space to add in things which turn out to be necessary for the plot, and room for characters to evolve in unexpected directions as the story progresses. I find that if I nail down all the details too tightly up front, the characters become a little stiff and less varied.

Random generation has a lot to recommend it, as well. Draw up some tables, or steal them from RPGs, and use those for coming up with personality traits and quirks. Again, it helps make the characters less samey.

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	jar 2008-05-05 02:37 pm UTC (link)
	I just have to thank you for asking that because I've been looking for a list of questions to ask myself about a character I'm writing right now. I've been thinking hard about characterization (too little to no effect, er). Awesome timing! (Reply to this)

	cmdr_zoom 2008-05-05 06:23 pm UTC (link)
	"Why does your character think Statesman is a big jerk?" (Reply to this)

ickle_snowflake
2008-05-05 06:38 pm UTC (link)

Make your character turn out their pockets right now, what's in there?

(It's a minor one, but for me it helps to flesh out the little details of someone. The person who has lint and a half-chewed toffee in there is very different to the person who has string, a notebook and a compass.)

How do other people react to them? That needs to be thought about. How we act depends a lot on how other people act towards us. If your character is visually striking, do they shy away from people staring? Or do they act brazen and enjoy the attention (It's always good for a storyline to consider realistic reactions to appearances too).

Do they have any strange little gestures? These can be readily cribbed from watching people IRL. Do they tug their ear when nervous? Do they twitch their fingers when thinking hard? Can they sit still or do they fidget? Do they chew their thumbnail when they lie?

It's not important to the character, but it's the details that make them step out of the page and become a person rather than an archetype..

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	alya1989262 2008-05-05 08:05 pm UTC (link)
	You made me think of another important question: are they a good liar? Do they lie often, for that matter? Why or why not? For instance, do they never feel the need to lie, so they don't know how to do it? Or do they have the capacity to lie perfectly, but are morally opposed to it? Or maybe they're so lacking in self-confidence they can never lie convincingly. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	digigirl132 2008-05-07 06:16 am UTC (link)
	The biggest thing I do is I use the characters before I actually write the fic (or play them in a game). For example, if I have just created a new character for a story, then I will write a few short pieces that put the character in completely absurd situations. Once I feel I have a good handle for the character, then I go ahead with what I was going to do. (Reply to this)

	entropicdecay 2008-05-07 12:42 pm UTC (link)
	How about "how does the character feel about having superpowers?" And do they take on the role of a hero readily of feel burdened by it? (Reply to this)