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I’ve just begun writing a new novel, and one of the things I always do at the start is try to get to know my characters. What works for me is to fill in a character sheet. I start with straightforward questions about name, age, hair colour etc as a warm up, then move on to the more interesting questions – what did you dream of last night? What is your greatest fear? etc. I ask my characters to fill this in in first person, so it is almost like an interview. By the end, I feel I know who they are and what makes them tick. I also possibly have a few ideas for sub plots or back story…
Here’s my list of questions. Do other writers use something similar? I first had this idea from my writing tutor Della Galton but adapted and added to it since then.
| Name |
| Nickname |
| Age |
| Date of Birth |
| Hair Colour |
| Eye Colour |
| Face |
| Height & Build |
| Voice |
| Job/career |
| Favourite food |
| Favourite drink |
| A good night out is |
| Makes me smile |
| Makes me cry |
| Soft spot |
| Really good at |
| Afraid of |
| Get furious at |
| My one wish would be |
| A good holiday is |
| My view of money is |
| My prejudices are |
| Other people see my main qualities as |
| Other people see my main faults as |
| Do I get on with parents and siblings |
| The worst illness I ever had was |
| If someone tried to bully me I would |
| My most defining experience was |
| The best experience I ever had was |
| My secret is |
| Last night I dreamed |
Kathleen McGurl 
I always find these really hard to complete. I haven’t written a novel (yet!) but have had some short stories published. I tend to get to know my characters as I write or, sometimes, they are already a combination of people I have met or known.
When I wrote short stories I did the same, Clare, just let the characters reveal themselves as I wrote. But novels take so much longer – a character sheet helps me remember how I’ve described them as well!
This is a great idea! Never as easy as it looks, is it? I always like to add one more category – the shoes a character wears – size, type, fastening, decoration etc. Then I really feel I might be getting to know them!
Ooh I like the idea of adding something about what the character likes to wear – will add that one to my list!
This is really useful, Kath – Thank You loads!
Thanks for sharing the link this afternoon and thanks for writing this post. It’s helpful and something to think about.
you’re welcome, glad you found it helpful! Something else I do – if I feel I am getting stuck on the novel, I’ll go back to the character sheets and remind myself what kind of people they are. This will often help me find a way forward.