In a new post, Mary Carroll Moore offers a different angle on the tried and true questionnaire method for creating and understanding your characters. “People move stories, illustrate theories and ideas, and rumble in the background of all great literature, no matter the genre,” she writes. “It’s up to you, the writer, to get them. Especially if you are writing someone that bewilders you with their secrets, it’s worth the time to see what else you might learn.”
Moore suggests the following questions:
Basic questions…
1. What’s your height, weight, eye color, hair color?
2. What do you like or dislike about your looks?
3. How old are you really?
4. How do you feel about your age?
5. What three things are in your refrigerator?
6. What sort of work do you do?
7. What’s your favorite possession?
Then ask…
1. What’s a secret you’ve never told anyone?
2. What do you most regret?
3. What book stayed with you long after you finished it?
4. What’s forgotten under your bed?
5. What do you do regularly even though you hate it?
6. Who have you learned the most from?
