INTERACTIVE CHARACTER WEB STORYWRITING FREE

These are extremely important to establish the character’s motivation. One way or another, your character will act within the story’s confinements, so we need to have some ideas about the character’s state. The story might change the character, or it might not. But now, we need to put him into the context of the story. Story Context Questionsīy now, we are starting to have a pretty decent idea of who the character is. But don’t give every single character a scar or birthmark because that just looks weird. A handful of them for your main characters are okay, especially if they are linked to something relevant. Be wary of too many physical details and too many idiosyncrasies. For instance, the concept of “weekend” might not exist in your world, so adapt the questions to your needs. Of course, you can add or edit the questions to match better with your world. If Dan could change one thing about himself, what would it be?.Which words or phrases does Dan overuse?.Which living person does he most admire?.What does Dan most value in his friends?.What trait does Dan most deplore in others?.What trait does Dan most deplore about himself?.What is Dan’s most treasured possession?.What does Dan think was his greatest achievement to date?.What is Dan’s idea of perfect happiness?.What does Dan throw easily, and what is he holding on to? When Dan thinks of his childhood kitchen, what smell does he remember? Why?.Physical Idiosyncrasies / Noticeable body language.Verbal Idiosyncrasies / Speaking mannerism.What does Dan like to wear on various occasions?.If Dan could have a superpower, what would it be?.Has he been in love? Had a broken heart?.What is Dan’s biggest fear? Who has he told this to? Who would he never tell this to?.Are there any distinguishing facial features?.Please make sure to fill in the gender, name, and nickname first (even if they’re temporary) because the worksheet automatically uses those to create pertinent questions in the questionnaire. To make this more grounded in reality, I will use the example of a character called Dan. The more you answer, the better the character will be shaped. Let your character grow through your answers.Īsk these questions in order, and don’t hesitate to give long-winded answers. Remember that to some extent, you are the puppet master, yes. This is a great moment to bond with your character. You have to become your character and give honest answers.

To answer them, you, the writer, must put yourself in the shoes of your character. This means that some of the items you decide here won’t stay static on paper as a “just because.” Character Development – Questionnaire So, maybe one of the favorite foods, let’s say hummus, is something that your character would eat at their grandparents’ house and is forever linked to a sentiment of peace and calmness. Some of the items here might be later utilized in the story to ground your character. We are still not getting too deep into their personality we are hovering at the surface of their day-to-day life. Next, we start to tap into the character’s life. I just work on it until I start to hear different from my own, or the other characters.” James Scott Bell In-depth Details

INTERACTIVE CHARACTER WEB STORYWRITING FREE

“The thing I do at the beginning is a “voice journal,” a free form doc that is the character speaking to me. And besides, creating characters is one of my favorite activities in the pre-writing period.īelow, I’m breaking down the different dimensions tracked by my sheet, as well as the more advanced tools you can use to shape your character’s personality or allow it to come alive. But, I thought it would be good to write a separate post on using that particular worksheet from the tool as I believe it’s that important. In my Master Novel Outlining and Tracking tool, I have included a character development worksheet, and you can use it freely. There are many ways to create characters, and most tutorials involve some chart where you write down various things about your character and keep building on them. That will allow you to understand why the characters behave a certain way and drive the plot naturally, riding on the character’s strengths and exploiting their weaknesses. Your readers will only ever know about 10% of what you know. Whether you use a specific character development framework, such as the hero’s journey, as an author, you must know your characters intimately. After all, stories are exciting events happening to interesting characters, so the better work you do at creating strong, compelling characters, the better they will carry the story forward for you. In my opinion, character development is one of the most entertaining parts of story creation.

Interactive character web storywriting