#Character Help

[luna-azzurra]

Questions Your Character Is Too Afraid to Ask

(But desperately needs the answer to) Because these are the thoughts they won’t say out loud, but they shape everything they do.

If I stopped trying, would anyone notice?

Do they actually like me, or do I just make their life easier?

Am I hard to love?

What would they say about me if I left the room?

Would they stay if they saw the real me?

What if I’m only good at pretending to be good?

Was it actually love, or just obligation?

What happens if I fail again? What’s left of me then?

How long until they get tired of me?

What if I deserve the things I’m afraid of?

Am I healing or just hiding better?

Why do I feel more myself when I’m alone?

Do I want to be forgiven or just forget?

What if I never become the person they believe I am?

Am I still angry, or just numb?

Why can’t I let go of them, even after everything?

If they hurt me, and I stayed, did I hurt myself more?

Am I building a future, or just distracting myself from the past?

Is this what I want, or just what I’ve been told to want?

What if I was never meant to survive this, but I did anyway? Now what?

[thewritingumbrellas]

I always struggled with charatcer outlines or sheets because there were always stupid questions like “what’s their favorite color” or “what’s their favorite memory.” Stuff that would never come up...

My script teacher said you only ever needed to know a handful of things:

What they want. What they need. What’s stopping them. And what they learn.

[heywriters]

Details That Convey Intimacy

Developing fictional relationships that feel authentic takes more than dialogue and grand gestures. Every detail below can be used to show platonic, familial, agape, or romantic love depending on context.

cooking a meal for someone, bringing them food, or spontaneously sharing a snack

sharing body heat/warming someone with outerwear like jackets and scarves

fanning them with something if overheated

getting a cold/hot drink for them

offering to carry something, whether it's heavy or just a jacket, to lighten someone's load or free up their hands

more below the click!

changing the subject of a group conversation that will be personally discomforting to someone in the group

making sure to include someone in a group conversation, especially if it's a topic they have special knowledge of

waiting for someone to catch up when the rest of the group has walked ahead

remembering preferences/allergies ahead of time when preparing/ordering food

planning trips, whether in a pair or as a group, that provide something positive for every individual to enjoy

procuring personal healthcare items like sunscreen, moisturizer, lip balm, pain relievers, or a snack and keeping them on hand for that friend who frequently needs them

making room for someone in a crowded vehicle or on public transit

making room for someone under an awning or in another limited space to help them avoid bad weather

warning or wordlessly covering for someone with a wardrobe/cosmetic malfunction

remembering a small luxury someone mentioned they enjoy, and getting it for them the next time it's convenient

running an errand for someone to make their day easier ('importance of errand : depth of relationship' ratio should be explored)

escorting someone to safety in a sudden unsettling event

escorting someone who is drunk, sick, infirm, injured, or emotionally compromised

asking if light, noise, or other sensory factors are bothering someone and taking steps to make them more comfortable

getting gag gifts for someone to show you reciprocate their sense of humor or quirky self-expression (not everyone does this, not everyone appreciates it, and some people predominantly express love through humor and gag gifts; works well with some characters more than others)

holding someone's hand or arm as reassurance, especially when they are afraid*

using their body to block someone from wind, rain, or heat

picking up a dropped item, or carrying a train or other dragging garment for someone else

returning a recognizable possession to someone who may have lost it

This is an inexhaustible list as humans have many ways of showing love for each other. If you are writing spec fic with non-human characters, you can play with variations on these by remembering three core values the "lover" has to consider:

physical comfort of others

emotional comfort of others

social reputation of others

I'd add "sensory comfort" though I think it's tied to physical and emotional comfort.

Please do not try and force any of these into the mold of the misogyny-based "Love Language" trend. Human emotions and expressions of love are diverse and endless.

*While hand holding can be construed as romantic, in reality it varies. Some cultures do not see this as romantic, and some individuals only mean it as a sign of support or compassion. Same goes for long embraces and kissing, both can be done platonically and of course naturally between close family members or friends.

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[incandescent-creativity]

Writing Characters that Slowly Descend Into Madness

Okay y'all this is one of my absolute favorite tropes / character arcs / whatever you want to call it. I’ve written at least two characters that end up twisted and deranged… While it’s fun to do, it can be a little difficult to nail down, so I thought I’d share some tips! 

From Avatar the Last Airbender’s Azula to Gollum, characters often think that they can handle the Ultimate Power™ when they really can’t. These corrupted characters and their character arcs can be tricky to write, so here’s some pointers! 

The character to be corrupted should have a one track mind. Your character needs to have a goal in mind, one that (at least in their eyes) requires the Ultimate Power™. This goal can be as simple as world domination, or as complex as “I need to get revenge on this specific person in this specific manner, or else I won’t be satisfied.” It’s up to you, but you need to make sure that your character’s every action revolves around this central goal.

Or, if your character has two motivations, like reconciling themselves to their family while simultaneously saving the world, make sure they can only do one of them! This will cause lots of conflict and it will be great..

Get used to writing internal conflict. In one of my novels, the main character has the power to clean the world’s water supplies, but her friends disapprove for…complicated reasons. She has something of a mental breakdown, wondering if she should be doing what she is. Internal conflict is a great way to show your character being pulled in two different directions; after all, tearing our characters apart is the name of the game. 

Make sure your character thinks that they are using their Ultimate Power for good. Even if they’re not. Especially if they’re not. When you can follow a villain’s logic and understand why they are doing the horrific things they are, they become that much creepier.

The Ultimate Power must be so attractive that your character can’t help but use it. The only way your character can be corrupted by power is if they use this power. Therefore, they must use it often. Whether this be a superpower, power that comes from the crown on their head, or dark magic, make sure your reader gets plentiful helpings of seeing the character use it.

Don’t be afraid to take it slow. Characters descend into madness, they don’t plummet into it. Let your character spiral slowly downwards, let them saunter casually into their twisted ways of thinking.

If they can’t be redeemed, they should probably die. Characters that have gone power mad really only have two options: redemption or death. Sometimes your character can pull out of their downward spiral and recognize their mistakes. This may lead to them siding with the very people they had been against, like Magneto teaming up with Prof X to fight a Bigger Baddie. Or they could just admit their mistakes and go on their way, like Mystique occasionally does.

But if you can’t find a way to redeem your character (or don’t want to), then you should probably consider killing them off. Characters mad with Ultimate Power™ are usually unsustainable, and will usually self destruct at some point.

A character who descends into their madness and power-craziness and has a descent that is really well written can be super engaging. They are, at least, my personal favorite to write and read about. Have fun, and happy writing!

If there’s a writing thing you want to see me post about or you just wanna say hi, go ahead! I’d love to hear from you.

[intomusings]

ೀ ﹒﹒  aesthetic masterlist : dirtbag !

waving your middle finger to the police

no trespassing signs

a worn leather jacket

rapidly bouncing your leg, trying to sit still

cigarette smoke in a dimly lit room

fighting outside your hometown bar

blistered digits, calloused fingertips

the faint smell of weed following you wherever you go

a black eye, but you should see the other guy

all shots, no chaser

rattling of a pill bottle

tattoos that have lost their meaning

writing obscene messages in a bathroom stall

white knuckled fists that were clenched a bit too long

a mugshot that's been passed around town

never taking no for an answer

swing first, apologize later

the feeling of danger riding your motorcycle

jumping off a roof because you were dared to

smashed camera lenses

having your fathers instinct to survive

' fuck it , whats the worse that could happen '

hating authority figures

bruised knuckles and a shattered mirror

[zwritesstuff]

What to do when your characters stop acting how they should

We’ve all been there. You’re breezing through a draft and all of a sudden a character does something or says something that they really shouldn’t, or maybe they’ve taken on an entirely new personality from when you were writing them yesterday.

Whatever the case, it’s frustrating as hell. So, how are we, the writers, supposed to handle this?

The first thing you need to do is stop writing and take a hard look at what happened. I know that this is often difficult for us to hear and come to terms with, but our characters really don’t just do whatever they feel like - we’ve crafted them and built a story around them (or built them for a story), which means that we are 100% fully in control of them. When your character does something unexpected that’s still in character, then that means that you’ve built them up to a place where writing them is subconscious (yay!). However, when your character does something unexpected that’s entirely ooc, that means that you took a misstep somewhere. But that’s okay! These things are perfectly fixable.

Scenario 1: A side character has a sudden and complete personality switch in a scene (ex. your MC’s love interest suddenly went from being indifferent and full of snark to being incredibly tender and sympathetic to your weeping MC). 

What happened: Probably one of two things (though maybe both). You either gave the scene to the wrong character, or you haven’t built up the Love Interest enough to allow for this sudden soft side. 

How to fix it, part 1: Rewrite - just a little. If you gave the scene to the wrong character, it’s easy to switch out. Maybe that fits in the same spot, or maybe it doesn’t. If MC is alone with character A when they start crying, but they really need to be alone with character B (who will comfort them and still be in character), then the crying scene should move places in the draft and be replaced with some different form of dialogue between MC and character A. Or, maybe (no one wants to hear this, sorry), you need to cut the scene entirely. MC is allowed to cry by themself, or maybe MC doesn’t need to cry on-page at all. Cutting the scene is always an option, though no one likes to kill their darlings. 

How to fix it, part 2: Rewrite - a bit more. If this is going to be a groundbreaking moment™ between MC and Love Interest, but Love Interest showing this kind of softness seems uncharacteristic and out of place, then you’ve missed some character building within the draft itself. Maybe this scene makes sense in your head - you know that Love Interest has a soft side, but clearly the draft is looking at you like “no???? Love Interest is rude™” or you wouldn’t be having an issue. So to solve this problem, you’re going to have to add in instances of foreshadowing prior to the scene. Maybe Love Interest has a younger sibling and MC sees them being nice to them. Whatever you decide on, just make it so that an average reader will be able to see this coming (also imo for this exact situation, don’t let Love Interest immediately be tender to MC. it’ll feel more natural to the reader if Love Interest doesn’t want to be vulnerable right away but slowly softens as MC keeps crying).

Scenario 2: You change an aspect of the plot (at any point in the drafting process) and your character (or multiple characters) change dramatically (ex. you decide that instead of MC meeting character A at the beginning of act 1, MC should meet character A at the end of act 1 and now MC’s personality has taken a downswing).

What happened: You were relying too much on character A to guide your MC’s personality (a.k.a. MC isn’t developed enough to stand alone). 

How to fix it: Back to the drawing board (sort of). If your MC’s personality changes dramatically every time you move something around in the plot or their backstory, then you need to stop writing and aim your diligence at your MC. Basically, they just need to be fleshed out more. No more “their favorite color is green and they like rock music and they had their first kiss when they were 16.” That’s too surface, especially for an MC. If their personality isn’t pinned down for you yet, it’s time to start thinking about their backstory - and I mean all of it. When they were 4 and fell off their bike and scraped their knee, did they get back up or did they get scared and refuse to try again? Go through their life, bit by bit, thinking of anything that could shape their personality. If it helps to create a timeline, do so. If it helps to write it all out, do so. Anything to get you more centered on them. Once you have a good grasp of their backstory, their personality should be evident through how they responded to circumstances throughout their life. The takeaway here is: if moving things in your story affect your characters more than your plot, you have a character problem, not a plot problem.

Scenario 3: You’ve finished a couple drafts and you’re ready to go for a full rewrite, but your characters (who have spent an entire novel developing and persevering through the trials you’ve thrown at them), now want to start the book as developed as they ended (ex. MC who learned how to perfectly control their magic by the end of the book can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that they can’t use their magic very well at the beginning). 

What happened: You didn’t wait long enough before you started the rewrite.

How to fix it: Stop writing! Go read a book, or a whole series. Start writing a different wip. Take up a different hobby to fill the space this wip has created. Just don’t write!!! At this point, you should not be going back through for a rewrite until you’ve pretty much forgotten about your wip. Wait until the characters are a little further back in your mind - until you don’t remember every twist and turn you put in your story. Just don’t start your rewrite until you’ve forgotten how your characters behaved when it ended.

What does this boil down to, then? Ultimately, you are in charge of your characters. You need to have a grasp on their personality and progression to be able to mitigate any changes you need to make to your wip. Your characters really, honestly don’t have a mind of their own, so when they start acting up, it’s time for you to put down the pen (metaphorically or not) and start problem solving. It’s always fixable.

[prodigal-explorer]

how to write children's personalities

(this is part of my series, how to write children in fanfiction! feel free to check it out if you want more info like this!)

this is the main aspect of writing children that i see people mess up so often, especially in the fandoms i'm in (sanders sides and undertale). children are not adorable little noodles with no brains and no concept besides being cute and silly and crying. children are beings that are just as complex as adults, and they deserve personalities to match. this will make them way more interesting to read about! let's get started!

since there are so many aspects to personality to talk about and i don't want to sit here typing for ten years, we're going to do this guide a little differently. i'm going to divide these issues into archetypes, write a short description, and then make a list of do's and don't's for each one!

archetype one: the cute little baby

okay. babies are cute. we all know this, and i'm not saying it's a bad thing to make your babies cute. a lot of people love reading about moments with adorable little babies. but here are some ways to step this kind of thing up, and some things to avoid if you want to improve upon writing this archetype.

do's:

give the child character another archetype besides this one. though "cute" is the foundation for a lot of child characters, it's not a personality. and if a character is vital to your story, then it needs a personality. that's just a rule. you will read more about other archetypes further along in this post!

make the moments symbolic. though it doesn't seem like it from an outsider's perspective, basically everything a baby does is for a reason, and every action a baby makes can say something about their personality. if you want this baby's personality to be energetic and curious, have them crawl around and explore things, and laugh a lot, and babble. if you want this baby to be more sullen and shy, have them cry quietly instead of wailing, or have them squirm when being held by new people.

make the actions of the baby's guardians affect the mannerisms of the baby. babies act differently depending on how the people taking care of them act and react. for instance, if the baby's guardians are very busy people, then maybe have the baby cry very loudly whenever they want something, since they know that it's the only way to get the attention of their guardians. stuff like that can add depth to a character and to a general story.

don't's:

decide that the baby is cute and call it a day. sweet little babies are cool and all, but they get very boring to read about after a while. this can barely even be considered an archetype because of how bland it is when it's by itself.

keep this archetype around for too long. as babies turn into toddlers and then children, they don't act even remotely the same way. it's strange and off-putting to read about a seven year old acting like a two-year old, unless it's a very clear character choice that is a result of explicit actions and events.

make the baby know that it's cute. realistically, children don't understand the concept of cuteness until they're around toddler age. if then, you want to make the kid be like "i get what i want when i'm cute, so i'll act cute!", then sure, that's hilarious. but when they're two months old, they're not batting their eyelashes because that's their personality. they're batting their eyelashes because they got something in their eye. the main thing that makes a baby cute is that they don't know they're cute. they're just figuring out how to do ordinary things.

make everything a cute moment. while babies are awesome, raising them isn't always sunshine and rainbows. make the baby do something wildly chaotic, because babies do wildly chaotic things all the time. not only does this make things more realistic, but it makes things very interesting!

archetype two: the shy kid

as a former shy kid, i know good and well that these types of children exist, and they are very real and valid. however, there are certain ways i've seen them written that are just terrible because once again, this archetype cannot be considered a full personality on its own. let's get into the do's and don't's.

do's:

make their shyness a deliberate choice. kids aren't usually naturally shy. kids are usually more curious than cautious. is there a reason why the kid is shy? there doesn't have to be a reason why the kid is shy, but there could be a reason why the child is NOT outgoing/curious. try and give something like this some deliberate cause, instead of just making them shy so they can seem more precious and infantilized.

make their shyness manifest in diverse ways. not all shy kids cling to their guardian's leg and sit alone during recess. there are different ways to be shy. you can be aggressively shy, or fearfully shy, or shy due to general unwillingness to change.

make their shyness have realistic consequences. someone who's shy is probably not going to have many friends, if any. not all shy kids magically meet an extrovert who adopts them. someone who's shy probably has underdeveloped social skills, which can lead to them being less emotionally intelligent down the line. this makes the shy kid archetype a lot more three-dimensional than just a wet noodle of fear.

don't's:

infantilize shyness or treat it like it makes the kid some sweet, precious angel. not only is this very uncomfortable for shy people to read, but it's generally unrealistic. shyness doesn't affect how good or bad somebody is - it's a neutral trait.

use shyness as a tool to make characters seem younger. shyness does not indicate age. fear manifests in many different ways, and shyness is not the only way.

rely on cliches. not all shy people have the same journey, and the idea that a shy person becoming more outgoing is the "goal" is not only a bit offensive, but it's very cliche. shyness is not always an obstacle to be overcome.

archetype three: the happy-go-lucky kid

oftentimes, the reason why children characters are written into stories in the first place is to give a little bit of lightheartedness and innocence. to add a unique voice among all the cranky, stingy, burdened adults. but you have to be careful when writing this archetype. i personally really dislike this archetype as a whole, but i'm going to put personal feelings towards it aside because honestly, there's no valid reason to dislike it besides opinion.

do's:

give the kid a trademark. maybe this kid makes a lot of little jokes, or maybe they always see the best in a situation. give the kid one thing that makes them happy-go-lucky instead of just giving them everything because nobody is endlessly happy all the time in every way.

go deeper. while happiness is very often genuine, sometimes, it's a mask that hides something else. this can be an interesting way to sort of spice up your happy-go-lucky kid character. maybe the kid is hiding a big secret behind all those jokes.

don't's:

make the character always happy. while children tend to have simpler thoughts, they don't have simpler minds. this child needs to have thoughts, real, genuine thoughts that aren't just happy things.

see happy-go-lucky as a trait that is exclusive to children. comparing happiness to childhood and viewing them as the only places where the other can exist is just wrong, and it's kind of depressing. maybe give happy-go-lucky kid a happy-go-lucky adult to exchange jokes with!

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those are the archetypes that i see a lot. but now, i'm going to suggest a few child character archetypes that i LOVE that i don't see enough in fics! feel free to use any of these that you like. alter them, combine them! these are, in my opinion, some of the most fun child character personalities!

the spoiled brat: "i want this, and that, and that, and- why aren't you giving it to me?? if you don't give me what i want, i'll tell on you!". spoiled brats are so fun to read and write about, especially when they have absolutely no reason to be spoiled given the current situation (think riches to rags). they've got everything, humor, angst, and best of all, lots of pockets for personality. think about why the child is spoiled. were they enabled by their guardians? did they grow up rich, with access to everything they wanted? think about whether you want the child to stay spoiled. does something change? do they learn how to improve their materialistic and selfish tendencies? there are so many opportunities to play with the personality of this child!

the know-it-all kid: while i do see a lot of know-it-all kids in media, oftentimes, they don't actually have personality besides bossiness and intelligence. i love know-it-all kids who have depth to them. kids who are constantly spouting information because of their sheer love to learn. kids who have one specific thing that they know everything about, so they never stop talking about it. kids who tell people what to do and act like they know best because they don't have a lot of control over anything at home, so they grasp at whatever control they can find elsewhere. i think this archetype could open up a lot of ideas for personality further down the line. it also has a lot of variety with humor and angst, and general depth.

the serious child: this is an archetype that i cannot get enough of. i love a child that doesn't think they're an adult, per se, and still enjoys kid things, but just has such a calm and regal air about them that isn't learned. it's just natural. think of the kid that doesn't really get excited about things conventionally, but you can tell they're happy by their faint smile. the kid that seems to live in slow motion, and doesn't mind this fact at all. the kid that sits alone at recess just because other kids scare the birds away, and they want to see how a bird acts when it doesn't think its being watched. i love kids who have poignant thoughts, because their thoughts are so creative and different from adult thoughts.

the adult-ified child: now this is another archetype i can't get enough of, but it's for a different reason. this child, on the other hand, does think that they're an adult for one reason or another. maybe their guardians forced them to grow up too quickly. maybe they just wanted to grow up quickly by themselves. but this child has thoughts that are too big for their little bodies. they explore things that aren't meant to be explored when their brains are still so small. they do everything too quickly, they stumble through life as if a clock is ticking somewhere. to me, they're just haunting to read about. it feels wrong and dangerous to just watch them do things that hurt them because they don't know any better, but they're on a page. nobody can stop them. it's just so tragic, i'm obsessed.

the prodigal child: this archetype isn't really as deep or detailed as the others, but i do appreciate it. this archetype is for a child who knew who they wanted to be from an early age. a child who wanders into a ballet class and finds out they're better than the ten year olds by the time they're five. this archetype often pairs really well with the know-it-all kid or the adult-ified child because usually, children don't experience what it's like to be the best at something until they're a lot older. this is just a really cool archetype when you aren't quite sure what to do with that main character's little sister.

the chaotic child: this archetype is so much fun to read and write, to be honest. this is a child that just does as they please, whether it's out of curiosity or for pure enjoyment. think of the crazy stories that your guardians have about you or your siblings being absolutely insane. scribbling in a book and then demanding that the library publish their version. trying to ride the dog like a horse. cutting up clothes in an attempt to be a fashion designer. this one is just plain fun!

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now, there are so many more archetypes out there, but those are just my spotlights and recommendations! i hope after reading this, you feel more equipt to write child characters that have real, engaging, interesting personalities!

[ofmymuses]

░ ✩ ❝ * UNDER THE CUT YOU WILL FIND 57 71 LABELS !! ❞

i got asked by a lovely anon to do a masterlist of character labels – and so that’s just what i’m going to do today !! they will be sorted out by: personality, hobbies, lifestyle and misc. ( there’s a small description of each label ) PLEASE LIKE/REBLOG IF THIS IS HELPFUL

UPDATED: 02/06/17

P E R S O N A L I T Y - W I S E:

THE HALCYON – someone who is loving and care-free. they see the brighter side of things. their optimism can often lead to them being childish

THE SACCHARINE – someone who is overly sweet. whether you love or hate them, they will always respond positively and in a polite manner

THE SOILED DOVE – someone who is sympathetic and full of hope. however, they can also be lost

THE FRAGILE BUTTERFLY – someone who is sensitive. don’t do anything that will yell at or scare this lil angel because they will break down

THE HELPING HAND – someone who wants nothing more than to help people. and, most of the time, want nothing in return

THE CRESTFALLEN – someone who is depressed and is often disappointed

THE MAMABEAR / PAPAWOLF – doesn’t necessarily have to be an actual parent but acts parent-like to their friends ( basically the mom/dad friend™ )

THE HEEL – someone who is FULL of hatred. not only towards others, but (sometimes) towards themselves as well; for little-to-no reason

THE FALLEN ANGEL – someone who was once a cheerful little lovebug is now damaged and have become reckless and rude

THE TEMPEST – someone who knows the exact WRONG thing to say or do and does them just to cause a rise in people….so an asshole

THE BLABBERMOUTH – someone who never shuts up about anything ,, can be gossip or just general talking

THE MANNEQUIN – someone who is physically attractive and fashionable. something seems fake about them; they tend to be cold  and distant

THE CUDDLE BUG – LOVES, LLLOVES cuddles and physical contact. it doesn’t even need to be sexual tbh. they’ll find any excuse to touch you ( i.e hold your hand, hug you ). they just love it

THE TACITURN – someone who is shy and tends to be very quiet, especially around those they don’t know very well

THE DIRTBAG – someone who loves to cause a rise in people and break rules

THE CRIMSON – someone who gets easily upset (mad) and aggressive

THE CATALYST – someone who is independent

THE LOTHARIO – typically a man – someone who is seductive and often irresponsible in relationships

THE VIXEN – typically a woman – someone who is alluring and manipulative ; uses their good looks to get what they want

THE FILLE FATALE – femme fatale in the making, someone who is still learning how to get away with things by using their charm and good looks

H O B B Y - W I S E:

THE ASTROPHILE – someone who loves watching the stars, learning about astrology and just adores the topic of our galaxy

THE BEACH BUM – someone who LLLLOVES the beach and sunny days. typically a surfer

THE BIBLIOPHILE – a person who has an collection of books to show off. looking for them? they’re most likely off, alone, reading their favourite book

THE EYES AND EARS – also known as the gossiper – nothing goes around without them hearing it. they’re a hoe for passing on juicy gossip

THE CITY MOUSE – someone who lives for being out in the city. there isn’t a bar/club/park they haven’t been too ; they enjoy the hustle-n-bustle of the city life

THE COUNTRY MOUSE – someone who loves being in the country. they like that there isn’t a lot going on around them and can never seem to understand why anyone would ever like feeling rushed ( aka in the city )

THE SONGBIRD – someone who enjoys singing and/or music. they most likely have a very impressive collection of CD’s and records laying around their house

THE STUDIOUS – also know as the nerd ( awwww, yeS ) – they love to study and are very intelligent people. tbh, don’t even try to fight with them about that math problem ‘cause binch, they’re

THE GOOFBALL – someone who loves to crack jokes but knows when the line should not be crossed. they’re usually lovable and fun to be around

THE PHOTOGRAPHER – want some nice pictures but don’t want to pay silly prices?? go to them. they LOVE to take pictures of just about everything and anything. they carry a camera around with them everywhere they go

THE ARTISAN – someone who is an art hoe. they enjoy painting, drawing, etc. if it’s a form of art, they’re all for it

THE AESTHETE – someone who appreciates not only art but the beauty of it as well. they tend to look aesthetic af

THE FOODIE – isn’t someone overweight, someone who loves food. they love to eat and honestly, it isn’t a bad thing

THE BELLWETHER – loves setting trends and trying new/risky things with their style

THE THESPIAN – a drama queen ; can also be an actor or actress

THE ANIMAL LOVER – loves all things animals. from house pets to exotic animals, they love every one of them

L I F E S T Y L E - W I S E:

THE FITNESS GURU – someone who loves fitness. they often go for early-morning runs. can do yoga as well

THE NEAT SHEET – ( typically the neat fre*k but i don’t like that word tbh ) someone who enjoys organizing things and their house is probably spotless… ,, bicht you can see your reflection in their flOOR I BET

THE CLEAN SLATE – someone who may have had a difficult past which they want to forget. they’re starting a new life in hopes of stopping and, eventually, forgetting the pain of their past

THE ECDYSIAST – also known as the stripper – someone who is a striptease performer

THE NOMAD – someone who can’t stay in one place for too long; similar to the traveler but doesn’t travel for their own amusement.. they go because they have to

THE TRAVELER – someone who wants to see the world. it doesn’t matter where or how long it takes to get there, they’re GONE - don’t be surprised if you text them one morning and they’re like “oh yeah btw, i’m in france :)”

THE BAR HOPPER – ALCOHOL TW !!!! – someone who has a drinking problem

THE CRITIC – someone who feels the need to critic … every…thing … can sometimes go overboard but can also be very helpful with their art friends

THE TRUST FUND BABY – someone whose family is wealthy ; typically a teenager who gets their parents’ funds

THE DADDY’S GIRL – much like a trust fund baby except they use their father’s money. they typically use the fact that they’re ‘ daddy’s little angel ’ to get whatever they desire. you’ll often hear them say “buuut daaaadddyy….. :(”

THE OPULENT – again, much like a trust fund baby / daddy’s girl, the opulent showers in luxury. they wake up on their private yachts and drink fancy-shancy champagne

THE ACTIVIST – someone who fights for change and doesn’t/won’t give up easily

M I S C: ( just other random ones )

THE HELLION – someone who wants to raise hell, can be a hot-head

THE RUNAWAY – on the run from someone or something, doesn’t usually stay in a single place for long

THE SHEEP – someone who follows others

THE ORPHIC – someone who is beyond ordinary,, they’re like from a fantasy book or something ; tend to be very mysterious

THE TALISMAN – a person who is astonishingly charming and often know certain things before anyone else does

THE ANTISOCIAL – says it as it is, someone who dislikes the company of most people ( there’s those few people that don’t drain them emotionally) and someone who isn’t sociable

UPDATED ON: 02/06/17.

H O B B Y - W I S E:

THE AQUAPHILE – someone who will do anything to be near water. they love any body of water ( lakes, oceans, etc )

THE PACK RAT – someone who obsessively hoards something to the point where it’s probably unhealthy ( this can result in their appearance looking rough and unkempt )

THE ADDICT – someone who is addicted to one thing or another

THE HARDCORE GAMER – someone who executive plays video games

THE DILETTANTE – an amateur artist; has room for development

PERSONALITY- W I S E:

THE DYNAMO –a zestful person who likely has a big personality. they chase their ambitions with full potential of being successful

THE FACADE – someone who obviously ( or not-so obviously ) hides behind a mask

THE QUIXOTIC –  a romantic person who is also idealistic but can be foolish and impractical

THE ISOLATO – someone who is isolate from society; physically or metaphorically 

LIFESTYLE- W I S E:

THE HOYDEN – a tomboy. typically a girl; they are often bold and carefree

THE ECCLESIASTIC – someone who is religious

THE BENEFACTOR – basically a sugar daddy

THE CELEBRITY – typically someone who is famous or has a high and public profile

THE AMARANTH – someone - typically a woman - who is very difficult to forget

[sawyersscribbles]

Some Unique ___ or ___’s to Build Your OCs

Dog earing or remembering the page by memory?

Take all the medicine during a cold or wait it out?

Picking at nail beds or biting at lips?

A fancy drink during a meal or plain water?

Pro or anti “Never Gonna Give You Up”?

Eat the garnishes on meals or leave them alone?

Decorate the computer/notebook cover or leave it clean?

Keeping old tests or immediately burning them from memory?

Does every dare or does none?

Knows how to make a paper airplane or knows how to write in calligraphy?

Uses many expensive pens or just one pencil they found on the floor?

Reads fortunes from fortune cookies or discards them?

Knocks on wood or not?

Jeep-driver or Mustang-driver?

Pro or anti mustard?

Understands binary code or understands pig latin?

Rocks at charades or rocks at Chutes and Ladders?

Can solve a rubik’s cube or not?

Celebrates random barely-known holidays (i.e. Drive Your Corvette to Work Day -- my birthday!) or barely remembers own birthday?

Uses colored paper to write notes or uses skin?

Can’t drink milk or can’t drink seltzer?

Reads Creepypasta for fun or can’t even watch Casper the Friendly Ghost?

Mends own clothes or wears them ripped?

Very defensive about MBTI type or refuter of personality tests?

Cried during Infinity War or cried during Titanic?

Military or standard time?

Cares deeply about color of curtains or cares about how spiced a dish is?

Spells every word right or never spells a single word correctly?

Fist bump or finger guns?

Beanies or fedoras?

Strong opinions about birds or strong opinions about fish?

Drinks Lipton tea or doesn’t settle for anything less than British looseleaf?

Loud typer or quiet typer?

Fails because of not studying or fails despite studying?

Uses a piggy bank or uses a real bank?

Keeper of many elaborate socks or often goes barefoot?

Cereal then milk or milk then cereal?

Breaks out in song or busts out fun facts?

I hope these were fun, and I hope these have helped with your character journeys :)

[hostilebi]

list of positive character traits

A: ambitious, amiable, animated, attractive, analytical, accomplished, artful, animated, altruistic, appealing, agreeable, amusing, affable, active, adventurous, affectionate, animated, attentive, aspiring, appreciative, approachable, articulate, artistic, assertive, authoritative, adaptability, alert, autonomy

B: brave, buoyant, bubbly, bright-eyed, benevolent, benign, bountiful, brilliant, bewitching, bright, balanced approach

C: confident, conserver, courageous, convivial, content, calm, considerate, communicator, consistent, cheerful, childlike, carefree, charming, complimentary, congenial, captivating, charismatic, clean, creative, cerebral, clever, complex, caring, compassionate, concerned, charitable, chivalrous, courteous, civil, cultured, chic, captivating, charismatic, comical, cordial, candid, capable, conscientious, cooperative, curious, chaste, composed, competent, careful

D: defender of weak/innocent, disciplined, doer, doesn’t dwell on negative, disarming, diplomatic, discriminating, deep, daring, delightful, decent, decisive, dependable, determined, diligent, discreet, dutiful, devoted, delicate, dignified, direct, dedicated, driven

E: easygoing, even-tempered, energetic, expressive, empathetic, elegant, enchanting, enthralling, enjoyable, entertaining, eager, efficient, eloquent, encouraging, enthusiastic, excited, expert, exuberant, expansive, educated, exotic

F: forgiving, fashionable, friendly, funny, fun-loving, flattering, far-sighted, feeling, fearless, fascinating, fair, faithful, frank, faith in life/self/others, flexible, focused, frugal, feisty, flamboyant, fresh

G: generous, giver, good-humored, gracious, gentlemanly, gregarious, gentle, gallant, genteel, graceful, good, genial, giving, glamorous, grateful, gregarious, goodwill

H: high self-esteem, humble, happy, honest, high energy, heroic, helpful, humane, humorous, hilarious, hardy, honest, hopeful, hospitable, hard-working, holy, honorable,  harmonious

I: idealist, inspiring, insightful, inquisitive, inventive, independent, innocent, interesting, imaginative, immaculate, impartial, industrious, intelligent, interested, involved, impeccable, informed, intellectual, intuitive, insatiable thirst for knowledge

J: jolly, jaunty, jovial, just, joyful

K: kind, kind-hearted, knowledgeable

L: listener, leader, long-fused, live-for-today, light-hearted, laughs easily, ladylike, logical, laid-back, loving, lovely, likeable, lively, logical, loyal, lucky

M: motivated, mature, mediator, modest, mild, meticulous, mysterious, merciful, mannered, motivating

N: neat, noble, nimble, nice, nonchalant, nostalgic, nurturing, nuanced

O: open-minded, organized, optimist, outgoing, original, obliging, observant, optimistic, orderly, original, objective

P: pliable, praises others, practical, productive, passionate, peaceful, profound, principled, polite, personable, perceptive, patient, powerful, philanthropic, polished, poised, pleasing to the eye, pleasant, pleasing, persevering, persistent, picky, popular, positive, precise, punctual, perceptive, persuasive, pert, pious, private, productive, pride in doing a good job, proper, purpose-driven

Q: quiet, quick, quirky, quick study

R: risk-taker, rational, relaxed, romantic, refined, respectful, refreshing, rational, reliable, relieved, religious, respectful, responsible, responsive, realistic, religious, resilient, romantic, resourceful

S: secure, supportive, sense of humor, straightforward, sensitive, shrewd, savvy, spontaneous, sympathetic, selfless, suave, sophisticated, stylish, skillful, sharp, sociable, safe, satisfied, saucy, secure, sedate, self-reliant, sincere, smart, studious, sweet, self-directed, serious, systematic, saintly, sensual, sentimental, serene, simple, straight-laced, subtle, supportive, self-aware, self-directed, socially conscious, spiritual, sober, striving, surprising, steady, spunky

T: trusting, thinks of others, tolerant, talented, tactful, thoughtful, thick-skinned, tasteful, tenacious, thankful, trustworthy, takes responsibility, telepathic, thrifty, tough, thorough, teamwork, thick skinned, temperance

U: uplifting, unaffected by peer pressure, unaggressive, unselfish, urbane, useful, unpretentious, unassuming, unconventional, uninhibited, un-intimidated, upstanding, use of common sense, uninhibited

V: vivacious, versatile, virile, valiant, virtuous, visionary, venturesome, vigilant

W: warm, well-wisher, well-bred, well-groomed, well-read, wise, wonderful, witty, whimsical, willingness, work-oriented, wholesome, well-informed, willing to learn new things

X:

Y: youthful

Z: zany

[x]

[alphabetaus]

Hey I was wondering how you would build suspense in a story? And how do you like to use imagery to add to your story and make it paint a better picture?

How To: Build Suspense

I’ll just answer the first half of this ask for today, and I’ll probably come back to the second half of your question later. :)

Building suspense is a key component to any work of fiction, without suspense the antagonist would appear to be useless to the reader as there is no sense of immediate threat. Be open to the idea of the fate of your protagonist (and possibly your antagonist) hanging in the balance, only for one-minute detail which had been forgotten about at a much earlier stage in the novel to suddenly tip the scales and cause all chaos to break loose. 

Here are some elements that you can use in your writing 

Cross the Line

Be Open to Multiple Endings

Hiding Information and Mastering the Betrayal

Raising the Stakes

1. Cross the Line

By this point, you must be pretty sure about who your villain is and how your villain behaves around your protagonist. As the writer, you must know every convoluted detail and reasoning behind your antagonist’s actions (I am exaggerating - you basically just need to know how your antagonist works as a human being). If you want to learn more about how to develop your antagonist, click here. 

Crossing the line basically means when your villain pushes its moral alignment to the limit, where they get so desperate and frustrated with the protagonist that they force themselves to do the morally unthinkable. Something so bad that it deeply resonates with your reader, the protagonist, and if you are writing a redemption arc for your villain, themselves. 

There are multiple ways that your antagonist could ‘cross the line’. I know I keep using that phrase but I think that’s the best way to describe this moment in gradually increasing suspense. For example, it really depends on what your villain’s personal beliefs are. This could be anything ranging from the fact that your villain is against intentionally killing civilians/bystanders (although this doesn’t have to link back to their personal beliefs instead they could have a fear of blood, that way it makes your villain’s limits looks more egotistical and less sympathetic to your reader). Additionally, your villain could refuse using certain weaponry.

So, by ‘crossing the line’ this would include betraying deep personal beliefs  - something that before this seemed impossible to the reader. This is why it’s fundamentally important that you use this situation towards the end of your novel, perhaps in the lead-up to the climax. This tells your reader that your antagonist isn’t afraid of crossing their boundaries, and makes the reader worry for their characters as they know that the characters’ are at the antagonist’s mercy. Thus, adding to the gradually increasing suspense that would result in your novel-ending showdown at the end of the novel. 

However, be sure to only break your antagonist’s limits a maximum of two and, if you’re really stretching, three times. Because, at the end of the day, whilst it may be important to challenge your characters’ beliefs - don’t go too far so as to make your readers feel as though your characters are unrealistic and truly untruthful to their nature. Make sure your readers believe that this really is the only option for your characters, whether that be the antagonist or the protagonist betraying their fundamental moral judgement. In summary: keep it balanced.

2. Be Open to Multiple Endings

As a writer, you don’t always need to tell your reader everything. At least, not obviously. The key to increasing suspense is from allowing your readers to not know how this story could end. The best way to do this is to think of possible alternatives to your antagonist’s plan/your protagonist’s solution and foreshadow that any one of these situations could occur. 

For example, if your protagonist were to be in search of a special ancient tool that would result in the ultimate saving of their planet. However, there could also be the potential that this tool could result in its destruction and actually make matters worse. Or, this could be the revelation that one of the protagonist’s most trusted friends turns out to have some connection to the antagonist which would inevitably lead to either the antagonist or protagonist downfall. How you do that is completely up to you - but the point is, always allow there to be more than one outcome to a storyline. 

The best way to do this is to make up a list of all the possible outcomes of a major event in the storyline that splinters off into subplots or something that defines the end of the story. Briefly outline what you would put in each scenario and then go over what the advantages and disadvantage would be of this scenario. If you don’t what to weigh up the pros and cons, you could read it aloud to yourself in its entirety and see what sits better with you. Personally, I have a gut instinct about this kind of thing when I’m considering endings or major events - but, if you don’t trust your instinct, go for the classic pros and cons list. 

Just remember - when in doubt, try killing someone off. That may sound like the most horrible thing in the world but trust me, try and write a course of events that would result in the death of a key character. Just make sure to build up to it first so your readers don’t want to grab you by the throat because of an unjustified death. This swiftly moves on to my next point. 

3. Hiding Information and Mastering the Betrayal

Additionally, to completely satisfy your reader with this surprise when you unveil these details, you would need to subtly add in hints throughout the novel. If you’re unsure how to do this, there’s no need to overthink it. The only rule is don’t make it too obvious, that would just spoil the ending for the reader too soon. 

Let’s go through some examples. To simply summarise this sort of situation, Character A overhears Character B speaking on the phone in a serious tone. Character A casually asks what’s going on and Character B, unbeknownst to the reader, lies to Character A.

Example #1:

“Who you talking to?” Character A’s voice suddenly appeared over Character B’s shoulder, Character B suddenly turned around and hurriedly spat a goodbye to the person on the other end of the phone. 

“Uh…” Character B hesitated, “Just-just no-one. Nothing interesting, nothing you’d be interested in anyway.” 

Character B laughed awkwardly and loudly in an attempt to fill the dead air between them, Character A stopped stirring their tea for a moment before kissing their teeth; a clear indication that they didn’t believe a word that just came out of Character B’s mouth. Character A nodded slowly and turned to leave, Character B watched and as if on instinct Character B began speaking again, determined to leave this situation without looking guilty. 

“It was just a short chat anyway - nothing important. You know, nothing important compared to what we’re doing,” They laughed again, Character A’s facial expression remained stoic. “You know, saving the world and all that.”

“Okay,” Character A finally said, “Just letting you know that there’s a meeting in the conference room in 10. That was all I wanted to ask.”

Now, as always, my examples are exaggerated. But I hope it’s obvious in this example that I was trying to show that this sort of “subtle” hinting is not effective if you wished to do a shocking reveal. This example tells a lot to the reader simply through body language and Character B’s internal monologue that they are clearly guilty and arousing immediate suspicion from Character A -despite the fact that Character B had not necessarily been confronted by Character A, however, Character B continued to declare their innocence even though it wasn’t prompted. Additionally, I’ve made it evident that by Character B stressing how not important the situation is, it’s clearly contrasted by the number of times they’ve repeated it and stressed it indicating to the reader that it actually may be important. Notice the contrast between this example and the following example.

Example #2:

“Who you talking to?” Character A’s voice suddenly appeared over Character B’s shoulder, Character B turned their head slightly and caught Character A’s eye. Character B smiled and then issued an apology to the person on their phone, saying that they’ll talk to them later.

“Take care, alright, bye.” Character B said, turning towards Character A. 

Character A raised their eyebrows, clearly indicating the good-natured curiosity and intrigue that was rooted inside their personality. 

“So?” Character A asked, trailing off deliberately for Character B to finish the sentence.

“Oh, it’s just the usual family business. Sandra…” They paused for a split second too long, “Well, you know what she’s like. Always worrying over one thing or the other. They send their love, by the way.”

“Aw, that’s nice.” Character A, reflected as they continued to stir their tea as they leaned against the kitchen counter. The sound of the spoon clinking against the sides of the mugs was the only thing that filled the room before Character A spoke again.

“Anyway. Conference room. Meeting in 10,” They said casually, “Going over the gameplan once more before tomorrow.

I hope in this example that it’s more obvious as to how to mask lies in your writing. Whilst this still isn’t extravagantly obvious, or too ridiculously secretive, it allows your readers to insinuate from this situation potential clues so as to hint at Character B’s betrayal. It establishes a sense of comradery between Character A and Character B. Along with the fact that it contrasts the prior example where Character B was giving unprompted information and in this example where Character B is simply giving information when asked for it - the pause between describing the nature of the phone call could indicate a possible lie within Character B. However, it is disguised cleverly - you do need to remember that if your character has been recruited as a double-agent or a traitor by the antagonist, they would probably need to be pretty good at lying or they wouldn’t have been approached by the antagonist. 

Again, keep a close eye when describing body language that could give it away to your readers and spoil the ending. 

4. Raising the Stakes

Don’t be afraid to throw some dilemmas into your critical climax in your novel. This doesn’t have to be anything too extravagant, it could just be the case of breaking their moral philosophy ethics or by introducing the aspects of a time constraint. 

For example, your antagonist could force your protagonist to save three people on the edge of the cliff who are all tied to a burning piece of rope to the cliff edge (morbid, I know, but just go with it for now). Of course, the protagonist only has time to save a maximum of two people, thus introducing a personal conundrum that could have devastating effects on your protagonist’s personalities/traits/mental health etc. in the future. This allows includes the effects on their relationships with the three characters, how would you feel if you had been chosen to be saved at the expense of someone else’s life? Make it even more complicated, the protagonist has to save one person from a couple. Whoever the protagonist chooses will be forced to live with the fact that they were chosen to live over their significant other - but why? Why does it have to be them? They would have to deal with the grief and the turmoil for the rest of their lives, maybe they would think that they didn’t deserve to live and that their significant other should be alive instead. Maybe one half of the couple insistently told them to save the other, whilst the other half did the exact opposite - it would cause the protagonist to be unable to make the right decision.

Additionally, continuing on from that horribly exaggerated scenario, it can result in a lose-lose situation. The hero could end up saving neither of them. Remember, the hero doesn’t always have to win in the end. 

Multi-tasking is also vital. The more high-priority things that the protagonist has to do, the more stretched out they will be. So, be prepared for your villain to have a few tricks up their sleeve. The stressed hero will have to come to the decision they can’t be in the same place at once, and that you could explore the fact that if they did attempt to do everything, it would just result in more disastrous results than if they hadn’t done anything. 

I hope this helps, Anon! I had a lot of fun writing this post. I do apologise if some of this is incoherent, it’s nearly 12AM while I’m writing this very sentence!

Happy Writing!

- Jess 

If you liked this/found it helpful, give it a reblog to let me know!

–> Check out my last writing advice post!

→ Remember to send in your own requests for writing advice!

→ Read some of my other writing tips!

→ Follow me on wattpad: @parallelginger

→ Follow my personal writeblr: @numberedneptune  

[luna-azzurra]

10 Traits That Make a Character Secretly Dangerous

❥ Disarming Humor. They’re the life of the party. Everyone’s laughing. No one’s noticing how much they aren’tsaying.

❥ Laser-Sharp Observation. They see everything. Who’s nervous. Who’s lying. Who would be easiest to break. And they don’t miss.

❥ Unsettling Calm. Even in chaos, they stay still. Smiling. Thinking. Calculating.

❥ Weaponized Empathy. They know how to make people trust them. Because they know exactly what people want to hear.

❥ Compartmentalization. They can do something brutal, then eat lunch like nothing happened.

❥ Controlling Niceness. The kind of kindness that’s sharp-edged. You feel guilty for not loving them.

❥ Mirroring Behavior. They become whatever the person in front of them needs. It's not flattery. It’s survival—or manipulation.

❥ Selective Vulnerability. They know how to spill just enough pain to make you drop your guard.

❥ History of “Bad Luck”. Ex-friends, ex-lovers, ex-colleagues… they all left under “unfortunate” circumstances. But the pattern says otherwise.

❥ Unshakeable Confidence in Their Morality. They don’t think they’re the villain. That makes them scarier.

[thewritingumbrellas]

Fun ways to develop characters:

Pinterest boards for their outfits or stuff they’ll like.

Take buzzfeed quizzes as the character.

Make a list of conspiracy theories they do or do not believe in and why.

Make memes based off their backstory.

[mionewrites]

I was originally going to post a master post of writing resources, but I realized that a lot of my resources are solely for character creation. So, instead, here is a master post of the many resources I use when creating and building a character. Enjoy! 

Names and Naming

The Character Name Generator Fantasy Name Generators  Victorian Era Names Victorian Era Surnames Behind the Name (Name meaning and history) Behind the Surname (surname version of above) Middle Name Generator 

Appearance

Describing Hair Latest Hairstyles w/ Pictures Over 400 Words to Describe Hair Men’s Haircuts and Styles Describing Skin Color Facial Shapes The 7 Basic Facial Shapes Describing Eyes (color, shape, etc.) More about eye color Masterlist of Physical Descriptions

Personality/Characteristics/Etc...

350 Character Traits List of Character Traits Physiognomy and Personality Hobbies and Skills 500 Character Quirks 123 Ideas for Character Flaws List of Virtues List of Vices Phobia List 9 Fundamental Fears How to find your characters motivation  7 Tips for Clear Motive Character Goal Generator 36 Core Values for Characters Character Alignment Explained

Character Background

Over 300 Character Jobs More Jobs for Characters Family Tree Maker Writing Parents for your Characters How environment affects your character Nail your characters backstory 5 Background Tips Creating Religious Characters List of Different Religions

Other Resources

Describing Body Language How to write characters who are smarter than you 55 Words to Describe Voice

Questionnaires

Character Profiles (simple questionnaires) Painful Character Building Questions Family/Parental Questions The Ultimate Character Questionnaire (over 150 questions) The No Effort Character Sheet (print it out and fold) Thorough Character Sheet (really long but so good) Another Long Character Sheet

[agronzky]

⠀⠀⠀𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 & 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐏. ♡

under the cut you'll find a list of 56 diverse outings and trips to use in starters or replies withing plots. this can be used to bring new cenarious to plots, starters and rps, helping to differ threads and put characters in new experiences.

Walking in nature

A bicycle ride

Visit to an art museum

Historical city tour

Boat trip on the river/lake

Mountain trail hike

Visit to a botanical garden

Picnic in the park

Bird watching

Gastronomic tour of the city

Hot air balloon ride

Cave exploration

Visit to a zoo or aquarium

Shopping itinerary in local stores

Winery tour

Panoramic train ride

Visit to historical sites

Trip to a neighboring city

Kayak/canoe trip

Tour of movie locations

Drive-in cinea

Walk on a beach

Visit local fairs and markets

Photo expedition

Horseback riding

Visit to an astronomical observatory

Urban art trail tour

Excursion to a theme park

Traditional cooking class

Helicopter ride

Camping trip

Visit to a cultural festival

Tour of haunted places

Surf lesson or other water sport

Motorcycle ride

Exploring historical ruins

Regional dance class

Treasure hunt tour

Tour of panoramic viewpoints

Rollerblading or skateboarding

Day at an amusement park

Visit to a nature reserve

Quad bike ride

Participation in a local marathon

Wildlife watching

Zip line ride

Tour of architectural monuments

Participation in a spiritual retreat

Sailing boat trip

Motorcycle ride

Visit to a contemporary art exhibition

[memememaybe]

✨  *  ―  𝙀𝙓𝙏𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝘽𝙄𝙊𝙂𝙍𝘼𝙋𝙃𝙔 / 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙎 𝙏𝙀𝙈𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙏𝙀 !

The Character Development Template is a comprehensive tool for creating detailed and well-rounded character profiles, ideal for writers, roleplayers, or anyone exploring character creation. It covers essential details like identity, personality traits, relationships, and background while diving deeper into habits, quirks, and beliefs. Additional sections include alternate universes, scenario-based questions, and a variety of fun, introspective prompts to uncover hidden aspects of your character. The template also provides space to list inspirations from media, historical figures, and quotes, making it a versatile resource for building dynamic, multidimensional characters.

I. BASIC INFORMATION

Full Name:

Nickname(s):

Pronunciation:

Reason/Meaning of Name:

Preferred Name(s):

Titles:

Date of Birth: (Month, Year)

Place of Birth:

Age: (e.g., 20s, 30s)

Zodiac Sign:

Gender Identity:

Pronouns:

Sexual Orientation:

Romantic Orientation:

Species:

Ethnicity:

Nationality:

Living Arrangements:

Occupation:

Primary Source of Income:

Secondary Source of Income:

Education Level:

Religion:

Political Affiliation:

Social Class:

Dialogue Style:

II. PERSONALITY

Positive Traits:

Neutral Traits:

Negative Traits:

Primary Vice:

Primary Virtue:

Greatest Fear:

Greatest Desire:

Motivations:

Core Values:

Sense of Humor:

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Quirks:

Pet Peeves:

Life Philosophy:

Jung Type:

MBTI Personality:

Enneagram Type:

Temperament:

Moral Alignment:

Hogwarts House:

III. RELATIONSHIPS

Mother:

Father:

Siblings:

Children:

Significant Other(s):

Best Friend(s):

Rival(s):

Enemies:

Pets:

Other Important Relationships:

IV. BACKGROUND

CHILDHOOD

Place of Birth:

Hometown:

Socioeconomic Status:

Parents' Occupations:

Type of Childhood:

TEENAGE YEARS

Key Relationships:

Education Level:

Significant Events:

ADULTHOOD

Current Residence:

Notable Life Events:

V. HABITS & QUIRKS

Daily Routine:

Nervous Tics:

Unhealthy Habits:

Peculiarities:

VI. ALTERNATE VERSES/THEMES

Verse 1 (Description):

Verse 2 (Description):

Verse 3 (Description):

VII. ADDITIONAL CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE

PERSONAL INSIGHTS

What would they say is their biggest flaw?

What is actually their biggest flaw?

What is their biggest blind spot?

What is their guilty pleasure?

How do they act out when stressed?

What makes them envious?

What is one thing they wouldn’t want someone to know about them?

What is their biggest nightmare?

What was their worst subject in school?

What makes them feel insecure?

What are two things that make them uncomfortable in conversation?

SCENARIO QUESTIONS

What would they do if they knew they couldn’t fail?

Name three things they are grateful for.

When was the last time they did something for the first time?

What is something they wish they could redo from the past?

Describe a memory that makes them feel proud.

What’s in their bag/pockets?

Are they proud of who they are? Name an achievement they value.

What do they notice first about someone?

Do they value creativity or practicality more?

Describe a time they did something despite being scared.

What is their favorite gift they’ve received?

How old do they feel on the inside, and why?

Do they feel they’ve missed opportunities they regret? Describe one.

VIII. BELIEFS & OPINIONS

What is their idea of perfect happiness?

What is their greatest fear?

Which trait do they most deplore in themselves?

Which trait do they most deplore in others?

Which living person do they most admire?

What is their greatest extravagance?

What is their current state of mind?

What do they consider the most overrated virtue?

On what occasion do they lie?

Which living person do they most despise?

When and where were they happiest?

Which talent would they most like to have?

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

What do they consider their greatest achievement?

Where would they most like to live?

What is their most treasured possession?

What do they regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Who is their hero of fiction?

Who are their heroes in real life?

What do they most value in their friends?

What is their motto?

IX. MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS

What is their favorite word?

What is their least favorite word?

What sound or noise do they love?

What sound or noise do they hate?

What is their favorite curse word?

If they were reincarnated as a plant or animal, what would it be?

If Heaven exists, what would they like to hear God say when they arrive?

What profession would they most like to attempt?

What profession would they not like to do?

X. INSPIRATION

TV Character(s):

Movie Character(s):

Book Character(s):

Song(s):

Historical Figures:

Quotes/Poetry:

Other Media Inspirations: