Characters can be loads of fun to create, or they can be downright stubborn when it comes to revealing themselves. It is quite difficult to develop a story without really knowing who the characters are, their backgrounds, motives, quirks, and interpersonal style. Without clearly defined characters it is easy to use them as pawns in your plot without regard to consistancy, or realistic interactions, a thing most annoying to readers who may feel they know your characters better than you do. Mushy, unrefined characters can allow readers to imagine themselves more easily as the hero or heroin, but in the end are not very memorable or captivating. It is also easy to use stereotypes to an extent that characters become too predictable and flat, which may be alright for side characters but is never as interesting as a more fully developed person, even if our encounter is only brief. It is essential to take the time to get to know your characters so you don't find yourself fighting against them as the story unfolds. Following, is a wealth of questions to ask about your characters while trying to draw them out and get a handle on who they are and what they would do or say.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Appearance

General
Race/Species

Are they have a mixed linneage or species? If so, what might this entail physically and socially?

Gender

How old are they in years? And relatively what age group does that ammount to?

Do they look their age? Or do they look older or younger?

How normal/average, or abnormal are they? and how much are they percieved to be?

Hair
Hair Color, and any peculiarity or changability

Hair Type (straight, fine, coarse, kinkley, curly, wavey, frizzy, dry, oily, slippery, stickey, ragged, tangley, thick, thin, sparce, gravety-defying)

Hair Length

Hair Line (high forehead, low forehead, widows peak, balding, etc.)

Whispies around the face or back of neck?

Parts and Cowlicks

Bangs or no?

Hair Styles

Hair Care Routine

Past hairdos

Notable hair accessories, hats, or other headpieces which are characteristic of this person

Eyes
Eye Color & does this ever change, either for real or in people’s perception

Eye shape (round, ‘almond’, large, small, sticking out slightly, deep set, wide set, close together)

Any glasses or other eye-gear ? (cyborg eye, monacle, coloured contacts, habitual shades)

Is their sight particularly good or bad, and in what circumstances?

Any extraordinary sight abilities (through walls, behind them, ghosts, invisible things)

Squinting, watery eyes, or one that is weak?

Do their eyes get watery, or sensitive?

Lazy eye? or ability to move one eye independantly

Can they cross their eyes?

Are they good at seeing those optical illlusion things?

Are they masters of the Look of Death? (figuratively or Literally)

Are they masters of the ‘Puppy eyes’?

Do their eyes betray their “poker face” or are their eyes hard to read?

Any other particularly sharp or dull senses?

Any ESP of some kind? how does this affect their other senses, or their character in general?

Skin
Skin Tone (blueish undertones, yellowish undertones, reddish undertones, greenish undertones, very light, light, medium, dark, very dark)

Complexion (acne, easily burned, dry, tanned, leathery, smooth, easily turns red, pale, healthy, rosey, yellowed)

Notable non-head-hair or furr or lack thereof

Freckles, Moles, or Birthmarks

Other Distinguishing Marks (scars, streaks in hair, tattoos, piercings, make-up, war paint, discoloration, etc.)

Does their skin fit well, or is it kind of loose or wrinkly?

When embarrased or stressed what physical signs are there if any
(such as get red in the face or ears, sweat a lot, twitchy muscle, stammering, etc.)

Face

Facial Hair or whiskers

Eyebrows or antenna (thick, thin, unibrow, sparce, straight, well shaped, etc.)

Ears (small, lage, pointy, sticking out from head, earlobes that curve up before connecting to the head, or angle straight to the side of the head, always have a pencil tucked behind one, etc.)

Nose (large, small, turned up, turned down, straight, bump in middle, nose hairs, wide nostrils, narrow nostrils, particularly uneven-shaped nostrils, starts above between or below the eyes, rounded, pointy, bulbous, ‘roman’ ‘pug’ ‘hawk’ etc.)

Mouth (wide, small, thick or narrow lips, teeth always showing from short upper lip, corners turned up or down, etc.)

Teeth (white, yellow, capped, even, gaps, average, snaglled, pronounced canines, prone to cavities, etc.)

Chin & Jawbone (short, long, pointy, rounded, narrow, ‘weak,’ curving out, hard & pronounced, wide & square, chin crease or dimple etc.)

Neck (skinny, thick, long, short, pronounced adam’s apple, hunched at the nape, pronounced collar bones, curved or angled forward, sraight as a board, etc.)

Cheeks & overall Facial Shape (round, gaunt, high cheeks, heart shaped, oval, rectangular, dimples, puffy, soft & childlike, broad, narrow, long, short, wrinkles, laughlines when they smile, etc.)

Profile (is the forehead on the same or different planes from the chin, do the lips stick out noticably, does the lower lip and the chin create a notable crecent, do they look notably different in profile than face on? Prettier? Plainer? nose more pronounced that in front view, one side of face noticably different than the other? )

Perceived as good looking, average, or not?

Thinks self to be good looking, average, or not?

Most used facial expressions

Are they percieved primarily as: Solumn, Smug, Excited, Dreamy, Sullen, Friendly, Harsh, Loud, Fussy, Aloof, Brash, etc.

Body
Height - and how it compares to others of their race

Cultural expectations regarding their height

Body Type: (triangle, upside-down triangle, hourglass, circle, oval, rectangular, short body, long body, high or low waisted, short or long legs and arms, lanky, sturdy, pudgy, soft, lean & wirey, aluring, athletic, barrel chested, flat chested or well endowed, arm fat distributed near shoulder or near elbow, smooth curves, lumpy curves, angular, boney, proportionate or not proportionate, flat across or round etc.)

Any Extra Apendages (wings, tails, fins, third arms, siamese twins)

Weight - and how does this compare to average?

Posture Standing (upright, slouching, slightly angled forward, slightly angled back, hunched back, shoulders curling in, shoulders back, head looking more toward grouwn, head held more erect, tense, serene, bored, exaggerated, more open, more closed, weight on one hip or another, arms cossed, hands in pockets, arms behind back, arms in random positions, etc.)

Posture Sitting (open legs, lolling, indian style, cross legged, cossed ankles, legs stretched out, legs perpendicular to the floor, toes folded back, soles on the ground, legs together, legs bent to one side, sits on feet, leans back, leans to the side, back straight up, supports head with hands, hands in pockets, hands in lap, arms spread and hands resting wherever, elbows out hands slightly raised meeting in front of their chest or face)

Posture Sleeping (on back relatively straight, on back spready out legs open arms willy nilly, on side relatively straight or stretched out, on back with legs bent up, on side curled up in a ball, half on side half on back, half on side half on stomach bottom arm and leg ourstretched, top arm and leg bent, on stomache face planted in pillow arms around pillow, on stomach sprawling, on stomach straight)

Gait & Stride (bouncy, lilting, determined, limping, long, rapid, gracefull, shuffling, heal first, toe first, silent, pounding, walks straight or tends to meander side to side or turn circles, etc.)

Tends to sit whenever possible, or likes to stand a lot.

Feet (lage, small, size shoe, square toes, pointy toes, stiff, flexible, bare, odd toes, toes turned inwards, toes angled outwards, only one foot angled, flat feet, calouses, etc.)

Hands (dry, moist, strong, soft, limp, cold, warm, firm, broad, slender, gracefull, double jointed, all fingers intact? boney, calloused, short or long nails, short finger segments? short or long over-the-skin portion of the nail, large or small hands)

Legs (skinny, shapely, knobbly knees, thick, long, short, etc.)

Do they feel self-concious about any of their features?

Do they suffer teasing, ridicule, or the wrong expectations because of any of their features?

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