The Secret Lives of Characters

Readers turn to fiction in order to enter the inner lives of characters. Getting to know your characters’ secrets can help you make your stories more vivid and compelling. Try answering as many of the questions below as you can.

Secrets

1. If you snooped in your character’s room, what would you find?
2. What superstition or urban myth does the character sometimes suspect might be true?
3. In which of the character’s habitual settings does he or she feel least at home?
4. What part of your character’s body is he or she most uneasy about?
5. What do your character’s friends secretly dislike about him or her?
6. What does your character often think but not say aloud?
7. Your character has done something recently but doesn’t know why. What was it?
8. What is your character’s most profound regret?

Lies, Dreams, and Desires

9. Your character has told or has been tempted to tell a lie recently. What was it?
10. What recurring dream or daydream does your character have?
11. If your character could have three wishes granted, what would they be?
12. What three objects would the character grab if the house were on fire?
13. What’s your character’s favorite item of clothing?
14. What does your character believe in so strongly that it affects his or her actions?

Memories

15. What is your character’s earliest memory?
16. What does or did your character’s mother always warn him or her about?
17. What was the character’s favorite subject in school? Least favorite?
18. What past job did the character lose or leave?
19. What has the character read recently that he or she finds hard to forget?
20. What recent email or letter did the character send or receive?
21. What mistake has the character made recently? Whose trust has he or she betrayed?
22. What was the most important event in the character’s life before your story starts?

Answering some or all of these questions should help you generate material you can use to make your stories more interesting and memorable.