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.