98 Character Questions

If you're an author or an actor, then you must know the importance of getting to know your character(s).
Character research and development is the aspect of writing and acting that I think I love the most - it's like creating a whole new person; and you get to decide everything about them! However, this is sometimes hard to do, so I've created a list of 98 things that can define your character(s), whether to write or play. I've used this list so many times myself, and it's really helped. (Plus, I think it's kinda fun!)

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

1. Birth Name

2. Current Full Name

3. Gender

4. Age

5. Birthday

6. Zodiac

7. Nationality

8. Class As Child

9. Class As Adult

10. Hometown

11. Current Residence

12. Occupation

13. Income

14. Name Origin/Meaning 

15.Nickname(s)

16.Title(s)

17. Element

18. Personality Type 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

19. Height

20. Weight

21. Eye Colour

22. Hair Colour

23. Hair Length

24. Hair Style (Casual)

25. Hair Style (Formal)

26. Skin Colour

27. Face Shape

28. Distinguishing Features (Scars/Piercings/Tattoos/etc)

29. Clothing Style

30. Makeup (Casual)

31. Makeup (Formal)

32. Typical Outfit

33. Accessories

34. Health/Disabilities


INTERPERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

35. Mother

Relationship 

36. Father

Relationship

37. Sibling(s)
Relationship

38. Pet(s)

39. Best Friend
Relationship

40. Friends

41. Acquaintances

42. Enemies

43. Loyalties

44. Groups And Rankings

45. Spouse/Partner
Relationship

46. Grandparents 

Relationship

47. Other Relatives

48. Love Interests


EDUCATION/WORK

49. Place(s) Of Education

50. Graduating Year(s)

51. Intelligence Level

52. Known Languages

53. Savvies

54. Ineptities

55. Average Grade

56. Degree(s)

57. Study Habits

58. Occupation(s) And Rank(s)

59. Character Zoom #1

60. Character Zoom #2

61. Character Zoom #3
(Character Zooms are when you take your character and zoom in on an interesting/complex relationship they have with another character, so you can go into more detail. I find that doing 3 is the perfect amount, but of course you can do more/less/none.)


EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

62. Virtues

63. Vices

64. Short-Term Objective(s)

65. Long-Term Objective(s)

66. Priorities

67. Motivation(s)

68. Accomplishments

69. Failures

70. Self-Confidence

71. Traumas

72. Most Valued Possession

73. Introvert/Extrovert

74. Emotional/Logical

75. Optimist/Pessimist

76. Religion


COMBAT FEATURES

77. Strengths

78. Weaknesses


VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS

79. Accent

80. Laughter

81. Pitch Of Voice

82. Volume Of Voice


STORY FEATURES

83. Archetype

84. First Appearance 

85. Key Scenes

86. Defining Moment

87. Personal Development

88. Social Development

89. Physical Development
(The Development questions mean from the beginning of the story to the end of it; how have they grown/changed?)

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

90. Favourite Colour

91. Favourite Country

92. Favourite Place

93. Hobbies


BIOGRAPHY (This is where it gets real deep. Spare no details!)

94. Infancy (Age 1-3)

95. Childhood (Age 4-10)

96. Adolescence (Age 11-18)

97. Adulthood (Age 19-54)

98. Seniority (Age 55+)

The Versatile Blogger Award

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Today's post is a little out of the ordinary: The Versatile Blogger Award. I was tagged by the lovely Anna (who actually got me into blogging!) so go and check out her version of this post! The idea is to give your readers 7 facts about yourself, so here goes!


1) Bring on fact number 1: I love to write! As in, physically write (pen and paper). For college and to save time, I usually type, however there's something about the glide of a pen forming the curves and harsh lines of letters that really gets me. Because of time constraints and practicality, the only time I actually write write is in my journal, in my Bible, or occasionally when writing poetry. When was the last time you old-school wrote? Is it a regular occurrence for you? I'm going to try and make it one for me.

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2) Mentioning the Bible previously, this leads on nicely to fact number 2: I am a Christian. I've mentioned it before on here but I still haven't done The Big Christian Post :P. The change in belief is something that's happened relatively recently and quickly to me; I felt a change happening for a long time, but I admitted to myself what was actually happening in maybe summer of this year? Was raised in what I'd describe as an atheist family with strong emphasis on science, so choosing what to believe for myself was (and is) a huge deal for me. Honestly, I couldn't be happier that this change has happened inside me. That being said, I still have a long way to go before I'm totally comfortable in my faith. This journey is being helped massively by my family (who are so much less judgemental than I thought they'd be), my friends (ditto), and the other Christians I know (in particular Isaac and Zulobia, who 100% will not be reading this but still). If you ever have any questions about religion, please please please contact me! I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have (or to pass them on to someone more qualified to answer!), or to pray for you or a loved one.

3) The topic of Christianity sets up this fact: My inspiration in life is Rachel Joy Scott. Again, I haven't done The Big Rachel Post, but I'll try and sum it up here. She was born in 1981 and lived a short life that was filled to the brim with spirituality and compassion. She lived not only for God, but for others. She always put her own needs last, which inspires me to do the same. My aim is to be as full of compassion and righteousness as she was. Her relationship with Jesus was so unique and powerful that 11 months prior to her death, she predicted it. Unfortunately, she was shot and killed in the Columbine High School massacre of 1999, leaving only her memory, journals, and Rachel's Challenge as a legacy.

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4) To get off the topic of religion: I currently have a weird obsession with the piano. I cant play it, never have and probably never will, but there's something about it that I cant get enough of. In fact, right now I'm listening to Beethoven's "Moonlight" by Valentina Lisitsa (who is one of THE MOST talented pianists out there, in my opinion). I have no urge to play the piano myself, but for some unknown reason I am soothed and yet riled up by it's delicate passion. I'm also kind of getting into violin at the moment (again listening, not playing), but the piano is really special to me right now. My favourite pieces are probably Beethoven's "Moonlight", as mentioned before, Karl Jenkins' "Palladio" by Mark Klett, and the incredibly moving "Elegy for the Victims of the Tsunami" by Nobuyuki Tsujii.

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5) Staying on the subject of music: This is the first Christmas in 6 years in which I did not perform at my school's Christmas concert. It feels weird, I don't like it. I went to see this year's concert (which was so fabulous btw, congrats if you're reading this Mr Lawrenson/Veale) and I couldn't help but feel such a sense of longing to be back on stage. Unfortunately, because of the subjects I chose to do at college I am unable to perform at any point in my college years, which is kind of a bummer. Still, the concert was lovely and festive and filled with talent, but I still couldn't help wishing that I was a part of it again!

6) Onto number 6: I LOVE to travel, and my favourite ever place to go is South Africa. I first visited in the Summer of 2012, and I was lucky enough to go back to the beautiful country this Summer. I have a passion for wildlife, so a safari holiday is perfect for me, and there's something so special about seeing wild animals where they're supposed to be, as opposed to in a cage. We had a couple of close encounters with elephants, most prevalently at 3am when I was alone in an unlocked cabin with 3 huge elephants eating from the thatched roof. But still, the thrill and adrenaline made the fear worth it's while. I would relish the chance to go back, should I ever be lucky enough.

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7) And finally, number 7: I adore A Very Potter Musical (and Sequel) by Starkid. Like really, really adore it. Not a day goes by where I don't quote it somehow, be that in song or speech, and I happen to be lucky enough that a few of my friends also love it, so they understand my quotes! The humour, the talent, the Potterness! It honestly warms my heart and never fails to cheer me up. Many a free have I spent at college watching a re-watching both AVPM and AVPS (Joe Walker marry me please), and I can't think of a single more productive way of spending a few dozen frees.

I hope you enjoyed 7 facts about me, and maybe learned something! For the award I tag Minerva (mainly because of the super cool name!). I look forward to reading your post! :)