creative writing prompts character development

47 Character Development Prompts To Flesh Out Your Book Characters

What kind of person is your main character? 

Maybe you’ve started to hear their voice in your head, but they just haven’t been very talkative. 

What can you do to make your character reveal their full self, quirks and all? 

The best way to get to know the people you’ve created is to use character development writing prompts.

We’ve created a list of 47 to put each of your key characters to the test.

Choose your own adventures for them. And see what your characters reveal about themselves. 

Actions speak louder than words. But you’ll need both. 

Key Benefits of Character Development Exercises

Identity or personality prompts, relationship prompts, reaction prompts, ethics and morality prompts, backstory prompts.

The more writing prompts you use in the development of your characters, the more of the following benefits you’ll enjoy:

• Deeper awareness of the process of creating complex and believable characters
• Experience writing from the character’s point of view (voice journal entries)
• Experience writing dialogue (or taking dictation for the voices in your head)
• Greater ease in making each character stand out as unique and three-dimensional.
• Well-drawn, interesting characters , which help in the creation of unique plots. 

The more you know about these people in your story, the more real they become to you. 

Related: 16 Best Self-Publishing Companies For Your Writing Business

Then comes the challenge of helping your reader see them through dialogue and essential details.

The more character development prompts you use, though, the more experience you’ll have doing exactly that. 

47 Character Development Prompts 

Try any of the character scenarios below to see what each of your key characters is made of. Put them in situations that reveal their character and what they believe about themselves — as well as what they think of other characters in your story. 

We’ve divided these into groups to make it easier for you to focus on the areas that are the foggiest right now. Dive in and choose a prompt for today’s freewriting exercise . 

1. If your character has a superpower , what is it and how did they discover it? Is it something they’re proud of or would they like to exchange it for someone else’s?

2. What is your character’s biggest flaw ? Write about how they came to terms with it (if they have) or how they react when someone calls them out for it. 

3. Write a scene exposing your character’s fatal flaw and include another character from your story. Write from either character’s point of view. 

4. Write a scene revealing a mental health challenge for your character. Another character recognizes that challenge and offers help. 

5. Your character is trying to decide what to eat on a Friday night alone at their place. Write a voice journal entry about their thought process, what they eat, and why. 

6. Have three of your characters play “ Truth or Dare .” What do they learn about each other? And what character is more likely to choose “Dare” over “Truth”?

7. If your character has decided romantic or sexual love is not for them, write about what led them to identify as asexual or aromantic . How have others reacted? 

8. Has your character discovered an attraction they’ve been taught they shouldn’t have? Write about how has that affected their beliefs and sense of identity?

9. Does your character identify with the gender assigned to them at birth? If not, write about how they came to identify as a trans person and who supported them. 

10. Write a scene where your character reveals their sexual orientation or gender identity to someone who doesn’t respond well to the news. 

11. Have your character take the 16Personalities test to identify their Myers-Briggs type. Write a voice journal entry about their reaction to the results. 

12. Get your character alone with a parental figure that shaped their response to authority. Is your character generally obedient or more likely to question or rebel?

13. Get your character alone with someone they’re attracted to , whether they’ve acknowledged that attraction or not. Let them find out the attraction isn’t mutual. 

14. Get your character alone with someone who hurt them and who now needs their help. Write a scene or dialogue exchange hinting at the hurt caused by the other.

15. Write a scene where your character cooks a meal for someone else in your story. Show how it turns out and what they talk about while they eat (or drink). 

16. Write a scene where one of your character’s siblings comes to visit them. What do they talk about? What have they been through together? 

17. Get your character talking about their first love , who it was and whether the attraction was mutual. Was it an epic love or just a crush? How did it end?

18. Does your character have a mentor , coach,  or guide? Write a scene where they clash with this mentor or take issue with advice or directions they’ve been given. 

19. Has your character ever lost a friend ? Write a scene leading up to that loss and then show how your character reacts. 

20. Write a scene that shows what kind of friend your character is when someone they care about is going through a bad break-up. 

21. How does your character get along with kids ? Write a scene where someone talks to your character about whether they want kids of their own and why or why not.

22. Write a scene describing an encounter between your character and someone who has an unrequited crush on them — and who writes poetry. 

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23. Write a scene where someone teases your character and then ridicules them for acting “ triggered .” What goes through your character’s head and what do they say?

24. Write a scene showing how your character would respond to a bully — e.g., a belligerent customer harassing an employee or a parent verbally abusing a child. 

25. Write a scene showing how your character would react upon learning that the attraction between them and another character is mutual. 

26. Write a scene showing how your character would respond to the death or serious injury of someone they cared about. What would they reveal about themselves?

27. Write about the moment your character learns what it will cost to get the thing they want most. How do they react? What do they say and do?

28. How would your character react to someone telling them, “ You’re not like other women/men ”? Write a scene or dialogue exchange showing their reaction. 

29. Think of a strong reaction you’ve had that surprised or confused others. Write a scene where one of your characters has a similar reaction to something. 

30. Write a scene where your character reacts to a religious symbol from their past. What does religion mean to them, now, and what do they believe about God?

31. How would your character react if they met their clone — who happens to be both successful and (apparently) evil? Write a scene describing the encounter. 

32. Does your character meet someone who helps them make a better decision about something? Write a scene or dialogue for a pivotal moment involving both. 

33. Does your character meet someone who manipulates them into doing something harmful? What do they do, and how does it affect them and other characters? 

34. What choice would your character make if presented with the trolley problem ? Write a voice journal entry explaining their decision. 

35. Does your character have a redemption arc ? Write a scene where you reveal your character’s turning point or an experience that changes them for the better. 

36. What could push your character over the edge ? Write a scene where this happens? What does your character do or say as a result? What do they lose?

37. Write a scene where your character meets a panhandler asking for money. Do they give the man anything? Use details and dialogue to reveal why or why not. 

38. Your character’s boss has offered them a significant promotion if they can get another employee to quit. Write about your character’s thought process. 

39. Your character has an unpleasant encounter with their rich boss, who leaves their loaded wallet behind. Write a scene showing what your character does and why.

40. Write about a traumatic experience in this character’s life and how it continues to affect them. Whom did it involve, and how have those relationships changed? 

41. Is your character’s world heteronormative ? Write about how your character and others respond to non-hetero romantic relationships. 

42. How has your character dealt with grief in the past? Write a scene where someone confronts them on this or encourages them to talk about it. 

43. Your character isn’t convinced they’re a good person . Write a scene or conversation that explains why. Do they remember ever thinking they were good?

44. Does your character have a secret about their past? Write a scene where this secret comes out. How do they and the other characters react? 

45. Have your character’s beliefs changed significantly since adolescence? Write a voice journal entry about those beliefs and why they changed. 

46. As a child, your character wandered away from their parents, who didn’t notice their absence until a stranger brought them back. Write about what happened. 

47. Write about a mistake your character made that he still hasn’t forgiven himself for. Use a voice journal entry to explain why. 

How will you use these character development prompts?

Now that you have 47 character development writing prompts , which one are you most eager to start with? Which one has already started the movie projector in your head? 

Once you know each character to their core, you can do as Terry Pratchett suggests: “Wind them up, put them down, and simply write down what they do, say, and think.” 

You’ll be doing that for these prompts . But they’ll also help you do it better. 

Meanwhile, you’ll also get better at creating characters your readers will fall in love with and write fanfiction for. 

Get your ship names ready, just in case.

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50 Character Development Writing Prompts

Last updated on January 5th, 2023

If you’re looking for some inspiration for your next creative writing project, why not try using some character development writing prompts? By coming up with creative and unique ways to develop your characters, you can ensure that your story will be more interesting and engaging for your readers.

From developing a character’s back story to exploring their motivations, these prompts should help you and your readers get to know your characters better and create characters that are more three-dimensional. By giving your characters prompts that help you understand them on a deeper level, you’ll be able to write them more authentically.

Plus, they can help you to break out of any writing ruts you may find yourself in and find inspiration. So if you’re ready to get started, here are some prompts to help you get inside your character’s heads. And if you are lucky, they might even surprise you!

What are writing prompts?

A writing prompt is a topic or question that is used to generate ideas for writing. As a writing exercise, character prompts specifically are used to generate ideas for writing about characters, and can be used for any type of writing, including fiction, non-fiction, and even poetry.

How do you use writing prompts?

There are many different ways to use character prompts. One way is to choose a prompt that focuses on a specific aspect of a character, such as their appearance, personality, or history. This can help to narrow down the ideas that are generated and can make the writing process easier.

Another way is to choose one that is open-ended and allows for a variety of ideas to be generated. This can be a great way to get the creative juices flowing, and can often lead to some very interesting and unique characters. 

Whatever method you choose to use, they can be a great way to jump-start your writing and can help to create some truly fascinating and original characters.

Also, they may or may not lead to writing an actual scene that will be included in your story but will still give you more history of your character from which to draw.

Types of Character Writing Prompts

Things and objects.

When you are developing a character, you want to make sure that they are well-rounded and believable. One way to do this is to have them interact with their environment. What kind of things are in their environment? How do they react to them? Do they have any kind of connection to them? What does the object’s sentimental value say about the character who holds it dear? What kind of memories and associations does it bring up for them? All of these things can help to develop your character and make them more believable to your readers.

• A character is cleaning out their attic and finds a dusty old box. Inside are things that belonged to a person they used to be close to, but haven’t thought about in years. What objects are in the box, and what do they mean to the character?
• A character is going through a difficult time and finds solace in a particular object. What is the object, and why does it bring them comfort?
• A character inherits a piece of jewelry from a relative they never knew. What does the jewelry look like, and what does it mean to the character?
• A character finds a lost wallet on the street. What is the wallet’s owner like, based on the things inside it?
• A character is going through a tough break-up and decides to get rid of all of the things that remind them of their ex. What are some of the things they get rid of (or keep!), and why?
• A character is moving to a new city and has to downsize their belongings. What are some of the things they keep, and what do they mean to the character?
• A character is going through a difficult time and starts collecting random things as a way to cope and regain a sense of control. What kinds of things do they collect, and why?
• A character is going through their family’s things after a loved one dies and finds an old photograph. Who is in the photograph, and what does it mean to the character?
• A character is cleaning out their closet and finds a box of things they used to love as a child. What are some of the things in the box, and what memories do they bring back for the character?
• How does a character’s relationship to a thing or object change throughout the story? How does that reflect the character’s evolution and growth?

Personality

When developing a character, it can be helpful to explore their personality to get a better sense of who they are and how they might react in different situations. This can be done by considering their values, beliefs, and motivations, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. 

• Your character is faced with a difficult choice and the consequences of that choice. How do they address it, or not? What did they learn?
• What’s your character’s biggest secret? What would happen if it was revealed?
• Your character tries out a new hobby and discovers they have a hidden talent for it. What is it? How does the hobby or that knowledge impact them?
• Your character encounters someone who challenges their beliefs or worldview. What is it, and does either character change?
• Write a scene in which your character tries out a new personality trait and it backfires hilariously.
• Write a scene in which your character’s personality is the perfect match for a situation, and they make the most of it.
• Write a scene in which your character has to restrain their personality for the sake of a professional setting.
• Write a scene in which your character’s personality gets them into trouble but they manage to talk their way out of it.
• Write a scene where your character has to fake a personality different from their own.
•  Your character has a revelation about themselves that leads to a radical change in their personality.

Character Interactions

One way to develop a character in your writing is to explore interactions with other characters or creatures in the story. This can help you to understand how your character thinks and feels, and can also give your reader insight into how other characters may react to your character. Additionally, exploring interactions between characters can help to create conflict and tension in your story, which can make it more interesting to read.

• Have your character find a lost pet. What does this reveal about your character’s compassion for creatures?
• Have your character overhear a conversation between two other characters. What does this reveal about your character’s relationships with others?
• Have your character wake up in a room full of people they don’t know. What does this reveal about your character’s social anxiety or lack thereof?
• What does your character do when they first meet someone new? Are they outgoing or shy? Do they make a good first impression?
•  How does your character act when they’re around someone they’re attracted to? Do they get tongue-tied or do they flirt shamelessly?
• In what ways does your character open up to others, and in what ways do they hold back? What do they reveal about themselves, and what do they keep hidden?
• What would happen if the character had to spend an entire day with someone they absolutely despised?
• Your character is at a party and gets into a heated argument with another person. What caused the argument, and how does your character react?
• Your character is at a museum and strikes up a conversation with the person next to them. What do they talk about?
• Your character is stuck in an elevator with someone they don’t know. How do they pass the time? What do they learn about the other person?

Places and Locations

Developing a character in your writing can be informed by exploring places and locations in the story in several ways. First, they can provide physical details about the character such as how they dress, and what kind of environment they are comfortable in. Second, they can also provide information about the character’s past, such as where they grew up or what kind of experiences they have had. Finally, places and locations can help develop the character’s goals and motivations, as well as create obstacles and challenges for them to overcome. By exploring all of these aspects of a character, you can create a well-rounded and believable character that will resonate with your readers.

• Develop a character who has a deep love for a certain place, whether it be a city, nature, or even an imaginary world. What is it about this place that draws them in?
• Your character is haunted by a specific location. This can be a place from their past that they can’t forget, or a place they’ve never been to but feel a deep connection to.
• Your character discovers a hidden room in their home that they never knew existed. What’s inside?
• Your character gets lost in a place they have never been before. How do they manage the situation and find their way back?
• Your character has to move to a new location and doesn’t want to leave their old home. How do they adjust to the new place?
• How did your character come to live where they do? Why do they stay?
• Your character visits a place that was significant to them in their past. What memories did it bring up? How did they feel?
• Your character stumbles upon a place that is the complete opposite of what they expected. What was it like? How did they react?
• Your character realizes they are homesick. For where? What do they do?
• What was the last place your character visited that left them feeling inspired? How long has that been?

Another way to develop a character is to explore their senses, or the senses of those around them to add another layer of depth to the story. For example, if a character is trying to figure out what another person is feeling, they might pay close attention to that person’s body language and facial expressions. Or, if a character is trying to remember a past event, they might focus on the smells and sounds associated with that event.

• Write a scene where your character is trying a new food for the first time and describe their reaction using all five senses.
• Describe the first time your character ever saw snow. How old were they? Was it in-person, in photos, or on TV?
• Your character’s child is learning an instrument. What does it sound like, and how do they feel?
• What is your character’s sense memory of a parent’s perfume or cologne? What feelings or memories does it trigger in them?
• Your character wakes up to the sound of someone else in the room. What is their first reaction and what does this say about the character’s paranoia or trust issues?
• The character bites their tongue and tastes blood in their mouth. Where in their past does this take them emotionally?
• The character smells something burning. What is their response, and what does it trigger in them?
• What does your character’s handwriting look like?
• How does your character respond to hearing their voice?
• Your character receives an electrical shock. What is the first word or sound they make?

I hope these help your characters take you somewhere unexpected, and you can learn about them along the way. What motivates them? What do they fear? What are their deepest desires? By exploring different aspects of your character’s personality, history and motivations, you can create well-rounded, believable, and compelling characters that your readers will love (or love to hate).

Still need even more inspiration? AI writing assistants have the ability to brainstorm with you, potentially providing endless prompts! Check out our Directory of AI Writing Tools and find one that fits your needs and budget… some even have free plans!

Contributing Writer

Molly Rittenhouse

Molly has a passion for writing and helping others improve their writing skills. She is a strong advocate for clear and concise writing, and she enjoys helping others find their voice and improve their writing. When she’s not busy writing, Molly enjoys spending time with her family and friends, exploring new places, and reading good books.

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100 Character-Driven Writing Prompts

March 19, 2024 by Richard 1 Comment

100 Character-Driven Writing Prompts: Character-driven stories are the heart and soul of great literature, captivating readers by delving deep into the minds, emotions, and motivations of the protagonists. These stories focus on the inner lives of characters, exploring their struggles, growth, and relationships as they navigate the challenges and triumphs of their journeys. By placing characters at the forefront, writers can create narratives that resonate with readers on a profound level, fostering empathy, understanding, and self-reflection.

Crafting compelling character-driven stories requires a keen understanding of human nature and the ability to create multi-dimensional, relatable characters. Writing prompts that focus on character development can be invaluable tools for writers seeking to hone their skills and explore new creative avenues. These prompts encourage writers to delve into the psyches of their characters, unearthing their fears, desires, and secrets, and bringing them to life on the page.

The following list of 100 character-driven writing prompts is designed to inspire writers of all levels, from novice to experienced. These prompts span a wide range of genres, from science fiction and fantasy to contemporary fiction and mystery, ensuring that there is something to spark the imagination of every writer. Each prompt presents a unique scenario or character archetype, inviting writers to explore the depths of human experience and craft stories that will resonate with readers long after the final page is turned.

By embracing the power of character-driven storytelling, writers can create works that not only entertain but also enlighten, challenge, and transform readers. These 100 writing prompts serve as a springboard for creativity, encouraging writers to push the boundaries of their imagination and craft stories that celebrate the complexities and beauty of the human experience. So, whether you’re a seasoned author or a budding writer, dive into these prompts and let your characters guide you on an unforgettable journey of self-discovery and storytelling magic.

• A retired spy is pulled back into the world of espionage for one last mission.
• A time traveler falls in love with someone from the past.
• A child discovers they have magical powers and must keep them hidden.
• A therapist begins to suspect their patient is a dangerous criminal.
• A robot learns to feel human emotions and questions its purpose.
• A ghost watches over their living family members, unable to communicate with them.
• A world-renowned surgeon loses the ability to operate and must find a new purpose.
• A politician leads a double life as a vigilante by night.
• A woman wakes up with no memory of her past and must piece together her identity.
• A chef inherits a mysterious cookbook with recipes that have strange effects on people.
• A homeless man discovers he has the ability to see the future.
• A successful businesswoman is forced to confront her humble beginnings.
• A soldier returns home from war and struggles to readjust to civilian life.
• An alien disguised as a human falls in love with an earthling.
• A parent’s worst fear comes true when their child goes missing.
• A writer’s characters come to life and demand a different ending to their story.
• A hitman falls in love with his target and must choose between love and duty.
• A scientist accidentally clones themselves and must deal with the consequences.
• A time traveler tries to change a historical event but makes things worse.
• A doctor discovers a cure for a deadly disease but realizes it has terrible side effects.
• A politician’s scandalous past catches up with them as they run for office.
• A famous actor is haunted by a ghost who claims to be their biggest fan.
• A detective falls in love with the main suspect in a murder investigation.
• A therapist becomes too emotionally invested in a patient’s problems.
• A con artist falls for their mark and must choose between love and money.
• A journalist uncovers a government conspiracy and becomes a target.
• A child befriends an AI and must keep it a secret from their parents.
• A time traveler meets their future self and learns a shocking truth.
• A spy falls in love with a fellow agent from a rival country.
• A doctor discovers they have a terminal illness and must come to terms with their mortality.
• A famous musician loses their hearing and must find a new way to create music.
• A chef opens a restaurant that only serves food from their childhood.
• A ghost helps a living person solve their own murder.
• A therapist is stalked by a former patient seeking revenge.
• A politician is blackmailed by a hacker who threatens to expose their secrets.
• A scientist creates a device that allows them to communicate with animals.
• A soldier is captured by the enemy and must rely on their training to survive.
• An alien falls in love with a human and must choose between their home planet and Earth.
• A parent’s child is switched at birth, and they must decide whether to keep the child they raised.
• A writer’s fictional world becomes real, and they must navigate it to find their way back.
• A hitman is hired to assassinate a public figure but begins to question the morality of their profession.
• A detective is framed for a crime they didn’t commit and must clear their name.
• A therapist is haunted by a patient who died by suicide.
• A con artist falls for a mark who is also a con artist, and they must outsmart each other.
• A journalist is embedded with a group of rebels fighting against a corrupt government.
• A child discovers a portal to another world in their backyard.
• A time traveler accidentally changes the course of history and must fix their mistake.
• A spy is betrayed by their own agency and must go on the run to survive.
• A doctor discovers a way to bring people back from the dead, but at a terrible cost.
• A famous actor is forced to confront their own mortality when diagnosed with a terminal illness.
• A musician’s songs start coming true, and they must find a way to stop it.
• A chef is kidnapped and forced to cook for a dangerous criminal organization.
• A ghost falls in love with a living person and must find a way to communicate with them.
• A therapist discovers their patient is a serial killer and must decide whether to turn them in.
• A politician is elected president and discovers a secret that could destroy the world.
• A scientist creates a machine that can read people’s thoughts and struggles with the ethical implications.
• A soldier is sent on a secret mission behind enemy lines and must rely on their wits to survive.
• An alien comes to Earth to study humans and falls in love with one of their subjects.
• A parent discovers their child has superpowers and must keep them safe from those who would exploit them.
• A writer’s characters come to life and take over their life, forcing them to live out their own story.
• A hitman is hired to kill a child and struggles with the moral implications of their job.
• A detective investigating a murder begins to suspect that the victim is still alive.
• A therapist becomes obsessed with a patient and begins to lose grip on reality.
• A con artist is conned by their own mentor and must find a way to get revenge.
• A journalist uncovers a secret society that controls the world from the shadows.
• A child befriends a monster living in their closet and must keep it a secret from their family.
• A time traveler falls in love with someone from the future and must choose between staying or going back.
• A spy must go undercover as their own twin to infiltrate a criminal organization.
• A doctor discovers a way to make people immortal but realizes the consequences too late.
• A famous actor is stalked by an obsessive fan who will stop at nothing to get close to them.
• A musician is cursed by a witch and must find a way to break the spell before it’s too late.
• A chef opens a restaurant that serves magical dishes, but the magic comes with a price.
• A ghost is tasked with helping a living person fulfill their destiny before they can move on to the afterlife.
• A therapist begins to suspect that their patient is possessed by a demon.
• A politician makes a deal with a powerful entity to win the election, but the entity has its own agenda.
• A scientist accidentally creates a black hole and must find a way to stop it from destroying the world.
• A soldier is sent to a war-torn country to rescue a group of civilians, but things don’t go as planned.
• An alien crash-lands on Earth and must blend in with humans to survive.
• A parent’s deepest fear comes true when their child is kidnapped by a supernatural entity.
• A writer’s fictional world begins to bleed into reality, and they must find a way to stop it.
• A hitman is hired to kill a wealthy businessman but discovers that the businessman is their long-lost father.
• A detective is brought in to investigate a series of bizarre murders that seem to defy explanation.
• A therapist’s patient claims to be from the future and warns of an impending apocalypse.
• A con artist falls for their mark and must choose between their love and their freedom.
• A journalist stumbles upon a conspiracy that goes all the way to the top of the government.
• A child discovers a magical amulet that grants wishes, but the wishes come with unintended consequences.
• A time traveler is tasked with preventing a major historical event from happening.
• A spy must go undercover as a member of the royal family to prevent an assassination attempt.
• A doctor discovers a way to communicate with the dead, but the dead have their own agenda.
• A famous actor is forced to confront their own ego when they are cast in a role that requires them to play a less attractive version of themselves.
• A musician is given a powerful instrument that can control people’s emotions, but it comes with a terrible price.
• A chef is tasked with creating a dish that can bring peace to warring nations, but the ingredients are nearly impossible to find.
• A ghost is given a second chance at life but must live in someone else’s body.
• A therapist begins to suspect that their patient is a werewolf and must find a way to help them control their transformations.
• A politician discovers that they are the chosen one destined to save the world from a great evil.
• A scientist creates a machine that can bring fictional characters to life, but the characters have minds of their own.
• A soldier is sent on a mission to infiltrate a group of rebels, but begins to sympathize with their cause.
• An alien falls in love with a human and must choose between their loyalty to their own species or their love for the human.
• A parent discovers that their child has been replaced by a changeling and must find a way to get their real child back.
• A writer is transported into the world of their own book and must find a way to change the ending to save the characters they love.

In conclusion, character-driven stories have the power to illuminate the human condition, fostering a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. By placing characters at the heart of the narrative, writers can create stories that resonate on a profound level, touching readers’ lives and leaving a lasting impact. These 100 writing prompts serve as a catalyst for creativity, encouraging writers to explore the limitless possibilities of character-driven storytelling.

Crafting compelling characters is both an art and a skill, requiring writers to delve into the complexities of human nature and bring their creations to life on the page. Through the use of vivid description, authentic dialogue, and psychological depth, writers can create characters that feel as real as the people we encounter in our daily lives. By investing time and effort into character development, writers can elevate their stories from mere entertainment to works of art that inspire, challenge, and transform.

As you embark on your writing journey, remember that character-driven stories have the power to bridge the gap between writer and reader, creating a shared experience that transcends the boundaries of the page. By crafting characters that readers can relate to, empathize with, and root for, you have the opportunity to create stories that will be cherished for generations to come.

So, whether you’re a seasoned author or a novice writer, embrace the power of character-driven storytelling and let these writing prompts be your guide. Dive deep into the hearts and minds of your characters, and let their stories unfold with authenticity, vulnerability, and truth. Through your words, you have the ability to shape the world, one character at a time.

In the end, remember that writing is a journey of self-discovery and growth. As you explore the depths of your characters, you may just find yourself reflected in their struggles, triumphs, and transformations. Embrace the power of character-driven storytelling, and let your creativity flow freely. The world is waiting for the stories only you can tell.

If you enjoyed these writing prompts, we have many more on our site .

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About Richard

Richard Everywriter (pen name) has worked for literary magazines and literary websites for the last 25 years. He holds degrees in Writing, Journalism, Technology and Education. Richard has headed many writing workshops and courses, and he has taught writing and literature for the last 20 years.  

In writing and publishing he has worked with independent, small, medium and large publishers for years connecting publishers to authors. He has also worked as a journalist and editor in both magazine, newspaper and trade publications as well as in the medical publishing industry.   Follow him on Twitter, and check out our Submissions page .

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101 Creative Character Arc Prompts

Need some inspirational help in finding a new and exciting way to develop characters? Thankfully, character arcs aren't as difficult to develop as you might think. You just need a place to start.

A loser becomes a winner. A king becomes a pauper. The skeptic becomes a believer. Often, the best arcs start with a simple question or compelling traits that become the antithesis of the conflict your character is facing.

With that in mind, here are 101 character prompts that writers can test out on their characters — and their story concepts— to find compelling character arcs that can be explored within their stories.

Read More: Acceptance, Revelation, Contentment: Exploring Your Character's Inner Arc

101 Character Arc Prompts

1. What is your character's biggest fear?

2. What is your character's biggest regret?

3. What haunts your character when they stare off into nothing?

4. What, if anything, would your character kill for?

5. What is the most traumatic event from their childhood?

6. What is their most dangerous vice?

7. What is the one obstacle between where they are and what they want most in life?

8. Is your character religious?

9. Is your character anti-religion?

10. Who does your character love?

11. Who is their biggest influence?

12. Who in their lives is a bad influence?

13. What does your character see when they look at themselves in a mirror?

14. Why is the character in their ordinary world  at the beginning of the story?

15. Why is your character the one dealing with the main conflict of the story?

16. How does the main conflict most conflict with the main character?

17. Is your character rich or poor?

18. Are they an optimist or pessimist?

19. Does your character have a handicap?

20. Do they have mental health issues?

Joker (2019)

21. What triggers their mental health issues?

22. Who did they hurt in their past?

23. Who hurt them in their past?

24. What does your character strive for most in their life?

25. What makes them laugh?

26. What makes them cry?

27. What makes them lose their temper?

28. What is the most selfish thing your character has done?

29. What is the most unselfish thing they've done for someone else?

30. Does your character have a lot of friends? If not, why not?

31. What is your character's favorite holiday? Why?

32. What is their least favorite holiday? Why?

33. What is your character's biggest flaw?

34. What is their biggest weakness?

35. What causes anxiety in your character?

36. What triggers them? Why?

37. Who is your character's biggest enemy?

38. Who is your character's best friend? Why?

39. Does your character believe in love at first sight?

40. Have they been in love at all?

The Woman King (2022)

41. What are their turn-ons?

42. What are their turn-offs?

43. What gender are your characters?

44. What race is your character?

45. What is your character's sexual orientation?

46. What is the greatest thing your character has done in their lives?

47. Who are their heroes in life? Why?

48. What types of people does your character look down on?

49. Who do they look up to and respect? Why?

50. Who are their mentors ?

51. Why would your character refuse a call to adventure ?

52. What tragedy most affected their life?

53. What tragedy could they have prevented, but failed to?

54. Who does your character need to make amends to?

55. What are they most grateful for in their lives? Why?

56. What causes them shame?

57. What would give them more confidence in life?

58. What would make them believe in God or a higher power?

59. What would make them not believe?

60. Do they work well with others? Why or why not?

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

61. Is your character a leader?

62. Is your character a follower? Why?

63. What is the biggest grudge your character is holding onto?

64. Does your character lie?

65. What do they lie about? Why?

66. Is your character a coward? Why?

67. Is your character heroic?

68. What's an ailment they are still trying to recover from?

69. What's an injury they haven't healed from?

70. What caused the injury?

71. What are your character's negative habits?

72. What is their favorite movie? Why?

73. What is their favorite book? Why?

74. Does your character belong to a particular organization?

75. What is their innate identity?

76. What new things would rock their world most? Why?

77. Does your character have a family? If not, why are they alone?

78. What is your character most stubborn about?

79. What taboos have they broken within their community? Do they regret it?

80. Does your character trust people?

Toy Story 4 (2019)

81. Is your character trustworthy?

82. Is your character tough?

83. If so, what caused them to be so tough?

84. What would finally "break" your character?

85. Who would your character give their life for most?

86. Is your character loyal?

87. What is your character's greatest bias or prejudice?

88. What is your character's worst nightmare?

89. What is their biggest dream?

90. What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to your character?

91. What is your character's favorite place in the world?

92. What location scares them the most?

93. What item does your character treasure most?

94. What is your character's deepest physical scar? How did they get it?

95. Does your character fear authority?

96. Do they fight authority at every turn?

97. If your character could make one wish come true, what would it be?

98. What did your character want to be when they grew up?

99. Why did or didn't it work out that way?

100. What does your character want for their birthday?

101. Who does your character want at their wedding?

WANT MORE IDEAS? TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OTHER  STORY PROMPTS !

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries  Blackout , starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller  Hunter’s  Creed , and many produced and distributed Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter  @KenMovies

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES  SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

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Character Development: Create Characters That Readers Love

by Joe Bunting | 16 comments

Readers love great characters.

Think back to your favorite stories of all time. You might remember the story arc or not. You might remember the best bits of dialogue, or you might not. You might remember the setting descriptions, but let’s be honest, you probably don’t .

But the characters? Original characters? Your favorite characters? You’ll remember them for the rest of your life.

How do you create great characters? The short answer is character development, but what is character development and how can you use it to create characters readers love?

That’s what we’re going to talk about in this article. We'll start by discussing the definition of character development and why writers need to do it. We'll talk about each phase of the character development process, from creating to developing to storytelling with them.

Throughout, we'll look at lots of character development examples. Finally, we'll get you started writing with a character development exercise.

Here's a quick table of contents so you can jump to your favorite tips for character development in the article.

Table of Contents

Character Development Video Guide What Is Character Development? 3 Steps Types of Characters How to Create a Character Sketch 6 Steps to Character Development Through a Story Character Development Test Character Development Writing Exercise

Character Development Video Guide

But first, would you prefer to watch this guide? Here's a video I made for it:

Make sure to like the video and subscribe to our channel for more videos about the writing craft.

Now, ready to get started with this characterization lesson? Let’s do it.

What Is Character Development? The 3 Steps to Well-Developed Characters

Character development is the process of creating and telling a story about a fictional character. It's far more than a personality trait list.

When it comes to compelling characters, there are only three steps:

• Create a character
• Develop the character (making them more sympathetic and/or villainous)
• Then, put them into a story

That's it. Easy right?

Actually no, it's not easy at all. You'll need to make hundreds of decisions to develop characters people can fall in love with. Each of these steps might take you days or months or even  years .

Or they might happen in just a few moments.

J.K. Rowling said Harry Potter began when she had a vision of a young boy with a scar on his forehead board her train.

You might already have an idea for a character or a whole crowd of characters.

Of course, for Rowling it took her another five years to develop Harry Potter and write her first book.

And that's what we're talking about in this article: the process of taking ideas and turning them into living, breathing characters that can drive whole stories.

Let's begin with the first step: creating characters, as well as the different types of characters you might need to create.

Step 1: How to Create Characters for Your Story

Of all the character development steps, this is the one I have the least advice about. That's because characters are  rarely  created, they are discovered .

Before I came up with the idea for my last novel, I had a vision of a curly haired boy on a beach. I didn't know what my story was about by that point, but I knew it had to have him in it.

Just as J.K. Rowling discovered Harry Potter when he boarded her train, so most great characters come from a source that their writers have little control over. 

You might come across inspiration in real life—real people who inspire you, but there are complex characters around you all the time in every movie, book, or story you read. Start noticing and you'll get a strong sense of what might inspire strong characters.

That being said, there are  types  of characters that you might need in your story, and if you know that you need that type, you can sometimes reverse engineer the characters.

Types of Characters

There are two broad categories of characters and many different subtypes:

1. Protagonists

2. Secondary Characters

Most stories only have one or two protagonists, or main characters, which means that most of your characters will be secondary characters. What is a protagonist?

Protagonist definition: The primary character of a story. The character at the center of the plot whose choices drive the story and whose fate determines the story’s outcome.

Protagonists tend to be dynamic characters who have a character arc that changes throughout the story. More on character arcs here .

Protagonists also tend to be point of view characters , meaning the narrator follows their point of view or they are a first-person narrator. (More on point of view here .) These characters carry the narrative, and in a story told in third person limited point of view , they will be the only character whose thoughts and emotions the reader can see.

Warning: Unless you're writing a love story, which frequently has two protagonists in the couple, be careful about having more than one protagonist. There's a reason George R. R. Martin is still  (still!) trying to finish  A Song of Ice and Fire . The more point-of-view characters you have, the more complicated your narrative, and the more problems you face.

There are three types of protagonists:

• The Classic Hero. Think Harry Potter, Jane Eyre, Atticus Finch, or Katniss Everdeen. Classic heros are brave, are selfless, and try to do the right thing.
• The Anti-Hero. Think Severus Snape, Huckleberry Finn, or Han Solo. Anti-heroes are not noble, rarely do the right thing, and might, in ordinary circumstances, be considered the villain.
• The Ordinary Hero. Think Neville Longbottom, Holden Caulfield, and Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse. These characters have an even mix of admirable and less noble qualities, just like most of us.

Which type is your protagonist? Let us know in the comments. Also, read more on the three types of protagonists in this guide .

Secondary characters are the next category, and they contain all the other types of characters, including:

• Villain or Antagonist . Not every story has a villain , but for the ones that do, the villain is the chief source of external conflict.
• Love interest and love rival . In stories with a love plot or subplot , the love interest is the chief love interest for the protagonist and may even be a protagonist themselves. They may be static, meaning they don't change over the course of the story, or dynamic, meaning they do change, but they add to the romantic tension. Similarly, most love stories involve rivals, another love interest who creates a love triangle and increases the romantic tension.
• Foil Character.  A secondary character who acts as a mirror to the protagonist and is often very similar but different in one major way that allows us to better understand the protagonist's personality and choices.
• Mentor . The mentor is a character who steers the protagonist, helps get them out of trouble, and provides chances for reflection. A mainstay of the hero’s journey plot structure , in many types of stories, without a good mentor, the character’s journey will end in tragedy (e.g. think about Hamlet, who had no mentor).
• Sidekick . A sidekick is a character who supports the protagonist. Besides the protagonist and villain, they have the most opportunity for characterization and provide dialogue opportunities and insight into the character’s mindset. Sidekicks appear in all genres, from romance (e.g. Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet ) to adventure (e.g. Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings ) to mystery (e.g. Inspector Beauvoir from the Inspector Gamache series) and more.
• Side Characters . Side characters often have fully developed personalities, long interactions with the protagonist, and perhaps even deep backstories. However, they rarely make decisions or change throughout the story.
• The Chorus . A term from playwriting, these characters may have names and vague descriptions, but they do not have fully developed personalities and are chiefly there to serve as bystanders.
• Suspects . Specific to mysteries and thrillers, suspects have fully developed personalities and they serve as objects of exploration for the investigator. They should all have motives and appear at least somewhat guilty of the crime, if only to serve as red herrings .

These tend to be static characters with a flat character arc, at least within the confines of the story. However, great writers know that all characters have their own arc. Your job as a writer is to choose how much of that arc to show the reader in the story.

For more on each of these character types, check out our guide, 6 Character Types Your Protagonist Needs Around Them .

Step 2: Develop Your Characters by Making them More Sympathetic (and/or Villainous)

Once you have a few characters, your work is not done. Now you have to  develop  them.

To do that, I've created a framework called the Seven Characteristics of Sympathetic Characters.

I learned this from Brandon Sanderson's fantastic characterization lessons as well as Blake Snyder's  Save the Cat and my own research into story structure and characterization.

These characteristics are  reader candy . We  love  characters with these personality traits, and by adding them you can quickly create a bond with your readers.

Think of this list as a checklist. The key is to include at least two or three of these characteristics early in your story, ideally in your protagonist's first scene.

This list also works for your secondary characters, and it can be used to quickly add depth and connection.

For your villains and antagonists, you can use this list in the opposite way, making the audience dislike them or even combining negative traits with sympathetic ones to give us a truly round, dynamic villain.

Here are the characteristics:

7 Characteristics of Sympathetic Characters

Use these seven traits to create believable characters who connect with the audience:

• Takes action. Show your protagonist being proactive. Show them making a hard choice when faced with a dilemma and taking action to get what they want.
• Treated unjustly . Show your character being bullied, persecuted, treated unfairly, or as the victim of injustice. One easy way to do this is to make your character an orphan , a trait shared by Hamilton, Harry Potter, nearly all of Charles Dickens's protagonists, Anne of Green Gables, Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, and many more iconic characters.
• Shows competence . Readers are interested in people who have competence, who show off their skill (even if those skills are unusual).
• Has friends . We’re attracted to people who show that they already have other people who like them. Just having a friend makes us more interested in someone. Show your protagonist is likable by surrounding them with other interesting characters.
• Does a good deed . “Save the cat,” as Blake Snyder says. By helping someone in need, your protagonist establishes themselves as “the good guy,” despite any other negative qualities.
• Has a humanizing quirk . Quirks are memorable things that create an instant visualization of someone, like Harry Potter’s scar on his forehead, Ron Weasley’s bright red hair, or Hermione’s frizzy hair. These can also include distinctive mannerisms, like a speech pattern, unique voice, or habits. Humanizing quirks are especially important for side characters, but a simple quirk can be a shortcut to help us quickly get to know a protagonist.
• Secret vulnerability . Everyone has a secret, whether it’s a phobia like Bruce Wayne’s fear of bats, Superman’s weakness toward kryptonite, or Inspector Gamache’s terror of heights. By letting the reader in on your protagonist’s secret vulnerability, you create a bond that can last the entire story.

Once you've picked two or three of these that fit your character, include them in your early scenes. You can also include these throughout your story to make us fall in love with your character even more.

How to Create a Character Sketch

Once you've picked the traits, you can create a character sketch or character profile. This is where you record details about a character to remember for the writing process or continue to develop them.

I’ll summarize the process below, but for a full guide, you can read about how to create a character sketch using Scrivener , one of our favorite writing tools, here .

You can mix and match elements to create your own character sketch template, but here’s what a character sketch might contain:

• Character name
• Photo (I just find something on Google image search to serve as a likeness)
• Character type (see 8 types below)
• One sentence summary
• One paragraph description (including a physical description , occupation, flaws, good attributes, and mannerisms)
• Goals (what do they want)
• Conflicts (what keeps them from getting what they want)
• Narrative (what do they do in the story)

Remember, the best way to do character development is to throw characters into a story. Don’t sketch characters for their own sake, but to find where they fit into the story.

Character Development Questions: 78 Questions to Ask Your Characters

Another development technique is to interview your characters, imagining them sitting before you, asking them a series of questions, and imagining their response.

You can invent your own questions, but there are also established lists of questions that have been used by writers for decades. Here are three helpful lists that, together, total seventy-eight questions:

The Proust Questionnaire . Used by novelist Marcel Proust when he was just fourteen years old, this questionnaire includes thirty-five questions that writers have used to find out who their characters are.

37 Questions to Ask Your Character . This list of unique and often surprising questions will help you discover many different sides of your character. Here's an example: “What did you eat for breakfast? Did you make it yourself? What time do you eat breakfast? Do you wash the pan after you cook the eggs or do you leave it for the maid to clean? Do you have a maid?” We first published this list by Pamela Hodges in 2016 and since then it's been shared over 6,000 times!

6 Revealing Questions to Get to Know Your Protagonist . This one is especially helpful to get to know your protagonist.

Try one or more of these lists and see if it helps you get to know a new side of your character's personality.

Step 3: Throw Your Character Into Your Story

This is the most important step, and one that many writers take far too long to get to.

Some writers believe they have to know every aspect of each of their characters personality  before  they start writing their book, from their earliest memories to their favorite afternoon snack.

However, this is often a waste of time. Why? Because your job as a writer is to put your character into stressful, high-conflict situations, and in those moments, their favorite afternoon snack is going to be the furthest thing from their mind!

That isn't to say you shouldn't spend some time getting to know your characters. Just recognize that's just the beginning. The real character development begins when you start telling your story.

6 Steps to Character Development Through a Story

Character arc and story arc are usually the same thing. By telling a great story, your character will change and transform.

This arc follows the six elements of plot, which we go into detail in this in our plot structure article , but which we'll summarize here:

1. Exposition. Begin with the character's “normal.”

What does “normal” look like for your protagonist? In about one-half to no more than three scenes, show what normal looks like for your character.

2. Inciting Incident. A problem or opportunity interrupts the character's status quo.

In the inciting incident , something interrupts the character's normal life and forces them to respond.

For example, Harry Potter receives an admissions letter from Hogwarts. A dead body is discovered in three pines, leading to a call to Inspector Gamache. William Wallace's wife is killed by the English. The devil appears to Dr. Faustus offering him a deal.

3. Rising Action/Progressive Complications. Problems and complications increase, causing conflict for the protagonist.

As the story continues, things must get more and more challenging for the protagonist. Maybe they're getting better, maybe they're getting worse, but they're definitely getting more complicated.

Here it's useful to remember the century-old writing advice:

In the first act, put your character up a tree. In the second act, throw rocks at them. In the final act, bring them down.

This is the rock throwing part.

But as you increase the internal conflict and external conflict, your character will develop right before your eyes. You may discover new aspects to their personality you had no idea about as you watch how they handle adversity.

4. Dilemma. Give your character an impossible choice.

The purpose of the rising action is to put your protagonist into an impossible choice, a dilemma where they have two equally difficult choices.

I find this moment in Frozen to be a useful example for this (spoiler alert if you somehow haven't seen Frozen !):

Princess Anna is moments away from freezing solid. The only thing that can save her, she thinks, is true love's kiss from Kristoff, who is racing toward her. However, at the same moment, she sees Prince Hans about to kill her sister. What does she do?

• Option A: Save herself, continuing toward Kristoff but allowing Elsa to die
• Option B: Save her sister, choosing to stop Hans but sacrificing herself in the process

An impossible choice. But it's dilemmas like this that are the engines of great stories and great characters.

5. Climax. The protagonist makes their choice and high conflict and action follows.

The protagonist chooses and the result of their choice leads to the moment of highest action and conflict in the story. Remember, conflict in fiction directly impacts your character development.

This choice is so essential because it truly tests and reveals their character. Don't skip it!

6. Denouement. The protagonist's new normal is established.

What does the character's new normal look like after going through the conflict and drama of the story?

This is a moment, usually just one scene, where we get to enjoy and bond with the character for a final time before the story ends.

Character Development Test: What Makes a Good Character?

On my podcast, Character Test , my cohost and I have found that there are four criteria that you can use to evaluate a character, to test and see whether a character is good or not.

Here, I’m not talking about whether they are morally good, but whether they are interesting, relatable, entertaining, and worth following. In other words, this is about figuring out will readers love them.

Also, this is what makes a good character. If you want to know how to make a good character, scroll down to the Character Development Steps section.

1. Good Characters Have Goals

Good stories are about characters who want something, and they experience challenges to get what they want.

Desire is central to good stories, good characters, and to the human condition itself. Good characters have deeply held desires and are willing to make sacrifices to achieve those desires.

That being said, those desires don’t have to start out as anything big .

As Kurt Vonnegut said, “Make your characters want something right away even if it's only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaninglessness of modern life still have to drink water from time to time.”

2. Good Characters Face Challenges to Their Goals

As nice as it would be for your character to get everything they wanted without having to do any work, it would make for a very boring story! This is part of the conflict we discussed above.

I like what best-selling author Kristina McMorris told me : “I only give my characters a happy ending if they’ve worked really hard for it.” Kristina’s novel Sold on a Monday was on the New York Times Best Sellers list for twenty straight weeks, so she knows what she’s talking about!

3. Good Characters Make Decisions

Good characters take control of their own fate. They take action. They make choices, and they suffer the good or bad consequences of those choices.

Bad characters let life happen to them . Bad characters allow others to make choices for them. They never take action in their own lives, and it’s their lack of decision-making ability that makes them boring.

4. Good Characters Are Empathizable

I made this word up, but I think it’s going to stick!

Editorial note from Alice: Stop trying to make “empathizable” happen, Joe. It's not going to happen.

You can empathize with good characters. Even if they are villains (especially if they’re villains), you can understand where they’re coming from, and maybe even relate.

Good characters, in other words, are human.

Bad characters are so foreign or perfect or evil that you can’t relate to where they’re coming from.

Bonus: Good Characters Change . . . Sometimes

Many will argue with this, but not all good characters change. In fact, you can tell a great story where the protagonist doesn’t change.

Take James Bond. In a few novels and films he changes (e.g. Casino Royale ) but in most, James stays the same stoic, cocky person he started out as. And the novels are still great!

Or Inspector Gamache, my favorite detective from the series by Louise Penny. Inspector Gamache starts out as the perfect gentleman, thoughtful leader, and unerring investigator and ends each novel the same way. There are a few individual books where he goes through deep inner turmoil, but even then he re-emerges the same amazing person, just a little bit stronger and surer in his ways.

There are many great stories where the character changes . It’s especially a hallmark of the hero’s journey (which is itself a form of character development). But it’s not always a requirement of a good character.

Character Development Writing Exercise

Now that you know everything about developing characters, let's put your new knowledge to practice! Use the creative writing exercise below to practice bringing your characters to life!

And if you're to create a character sketch for your novel, check out our guide on how to create a character sketch with Scrivener .

Good luck and happy writing!

What is your favorite characterization tip above? Are there any I missed? Let me know in the comments .

Let’s put your character development to use with this creative writing prompt :

• Choose one of the character types above and spend five minutes sketching out their character using the character sketch template above (Character Name, type, one-sentence summary, goals, conflicts).
• After your five minutes are up, write about your new character as they go through a scene using the character development steps in a story: desire, conflict, dilemma, choice, and change. Write for ten minutes .

When your time is up, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop . And if you post, be sure to give feedback to at least three other writers.

I'm looking forward to meeting your characters!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

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WSJ Bestselling author, founder of The Write Practice, and book coach with 14+ years experience. Joe Bunting specializes in working with Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, How To, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, and Self Help books. Sound like a good fit for you?

16 Comments

I write & file pieces about my characters (main & major secondary) & for the main ones, may return to them several times. There are lots of folks in my novels, good guys & bad, so at some point I also write a for-file piece on which other characters are their ‘shadows’…even antagonists have feared antagonists. The first files help me bring them to life in my head, so I can monitor their behavior. The shadow file is important to off-main-plot resolutions. In truth, I seldom go back to my original files…having written them is usually enough. I’m on the last 40-50ppg of a novel draft right now…so there are over a dozen people living (& interacting) in my head. It’s around this point in the process that I begin muttering to myself that my next book is going to be 500 very short personal essays!

Good one, Emily. I’m going to review my work-in-progress with these notes in mind. Thank you. I have one guiding principle, and that is — what will cause my protagonist to utterly fall apart. Because that’s where my stories have to go. Whatever will bring my character to a radical change of heart. All those things you mention are key to that happening. Cheers. ~ PJ

The four Questions: Diana Daughter of Darkness

My character Diana, is from the kingdom of Firefall and is it’s princess. All Diana wants is to find her father and get justice for her mother’s untimely death. But she finds herself haunted by her destiny more and more as she tries to achieve those goals. Diana’s relationship with her father is the most outstanding in the book but her relationship with her handmaiden and the two boys she grew up with are also very important to her. Diana’s biggest fear is failure. She doesn’t want to fail her father or her Kingdom. The power inside of her grows every day but she fears that it will soon take over her and leave nothing but destruction in it’s wake. This is perhaps what scares her the most…herself.

Some good tips. My character questionnaire is at least 100 questions long and I often take characters to lunch—or let them take me to lunch.

But I like your four tips for character development. They get to the heart of things quickly and provide an excellent framework for more complex development if that’s what a writer wants to do.

I’d like to add one suggestion.

A character’s worldview plays a major role in the way he or she responds to life in general and to individual incidents. A person who believes life is the result of time plus matter plus chance generally behaves differently than someone who believes they were created for a purpose.

All five factors–your four and my addition–contribute to the development of person’s personality and behavior.

Thanks again for the excellent tips. I’ve been away for several weeks polishing my own novel. This was a wonderful way to get back into the routine.

Great tips, Emily!

I’ve found that writing side stories about my characters helps me to explore who my characters are. I’ll make up a scenario, drop a character in the middle of it, and then give them free reign. This practice helps me flesh out how they make decisions and how they interact with the other characters in my story. Plus, it’s just fun to do!

Awesome article.

The article was extremely helpful it gave me ideas of how to strengthen my short story.

My character is about a teenage girl that has strong family values due to her upbringing in a strict home where her mother is the head of the household, suddenly her mother dies she fills empty and alone, as all of her siblings are grown they have there own children. She start’s to explore the world and gets caught up in it.

Excellent tips, especially number 3. People often understand themselves through their relationships with others. How they’re greeted, how they’re treated, how others understand their humour, their moods, their needs and wants. To understand a person’s key relationships, and what they’re willing to do for the people they love (as you say), means understanding what makes them tick.

I also liked the point you made in Q4. Our fears sometimes reveal our true nature, in that they are a direct consequence of our values. In your example, Katniss fears being forced to kill others, because she values life and humanity. Our values sets us apart.

Great tips, thanks for sharing Emily. I think what a person wears says a lot about his/her personality. So that’s where I often like to start:

On the door stood a mid-aged woman in a black coat reaching down to her knees, a red scarf around her neck and a winter cap that covered most of her luscious brown hair. She had a book in her hand that she kept between her palms. Every now and then she would flip it open, read a few lines before closing it again and stare back at the meadow beyond her porch. It seemed as though she was deep in thought, and I afraid of interrupting stood still waiting for her to look back and notice my presence.

Nice post! Number 2 is the most important, but # 3 is the one I need to spend more time on. I never really even considered that with character development, and now I’m kicking myself because it’s such an important aspect of creating a “real” person in your character.

Thanks for the tips, Emily. I believe #2 is the most critical one since it will somewhat define who your character is. I’d like to share another article on character development that I hope could be of help to others. Here’s the link: https://www.chatebooks.com/blog-Character-Development-that-Entices-Readers

Awesome 🙂 Finally something that helps developing characters other than long ass questionnaires, interviews or worksheets that became too tedious to do.

Thanks for this article, Emily! I never thought with only 4 questions I’d be able to come up with a set of believable characters. I’ve always had a long line of questions just to have a concrete description of what and how my characters would look and sound like. I’d like to share an article I found on character development. Hope this could help as well: https://www.chatebooks.com/blog-Character-Development-that-Entices-Readers

My character is a teen-aged girl brought up by a young, single mother who has had to work very hard to take care of her child. The girl doesn’t want to make things harder on her mother and tends to smile a lot and pretend everything is just fine, even when it’s not. Her relationship with her mother and the lack of one with her father shapes many of her views from romantic relationships to political ideology. Her greatest fear is to not end up as someone her mother can be proud of raising. Another quirk is her fear of sharing her feelings with others.

For starters, Joe, I find you tremendously empathizable and vow to fully support you should you take action to replace your foil character, Alice, with someone equipped with a bit more imagination and a lot more humor.

Jokes aside. This article is a gem. I am not a writer, definitely not a great storyteller and do not come with an endless supply of creativity, however, I take great joy in writing, especially when inspired. I have found that when I share my “pieces,” that something tends to draw people into my creation (much to their and my surprise!).

So, as of, oh, about three hours ago, I made the decision to give it a more serious try and actually write something more substantial and less silly than Local Google Guide reviews. But to be any good at most anything, research is a must! I have about thirty tabs open, ready to be inhaled, masticated, repeated, digested and possibly incorporated in my book of writing “recipes.” Roughly ten of those tabs are direct links from your articles and I am starting to wonder if I’ll be able to find a good stopping point or if I’ll just lose myself in the world of creating worlds.

Not to worry! I do come equipped with a stubbornness factor and, if anything, your guidance has served to exponentially “peak” my interest. Many thanks! And please do something about that editor. 🙂

Warm regards, Joana (Jo)

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Character-Driven Fiction Writing Prompts

by Melissa Donovan | Apr 23, 2024 | Fiction Writing Prompts | 13 comments

Creative writing prompts for creating characters.

Most authors agree that fiction is primarily driven by characters. Authors will often talk about characters who take over the story, who have their own separate and independent consciousnesses. Outlines and plans for plot go out the window as characters insist on moving the story in a direction of their own design.

Because characters are central to most stories and because their primary function is to explore the human condition, it’s essential for characters to be believable. In other words, characters may not be real, but they most certainly should feel real.

It’s not easy to write believable and realistic characters. People (and therefore characters) are highly complex and layered, full of contradictions and flaws. Because writing imposes space-time limitations, we can never craft a character that is as complicated as a real person, but we can certainly try.

Today’s creative writing prompts encourage you to explore the characters in your writing. By working outside of your project on a series of exercises that force you to explore and engage with your characters, you will get to know them better. You’ll also get to use techniques for creating characters that have depth and dimension.

Character Writing Prompts

These character writing prompts are grouped into categories. You can mix and match the prompts according to which ones are most appealing to you, or choose the ones you think will help resolve character problems that you’re struggling with.

Feel free to let these character writing prompts inspire new prompts — in other words, you don’t have to write exactly what the prompt says. One set of prompts deals with character fears and flaws. These might inspire you to write about your character’s strengths and virtues.

Be creative, have fun, and keep writing!

Background and Family

• Unearth your character’s roots. What is the character’s ancestry or cultural background? How does ancestry shape your character? Is the character at odds with family or cultural traditions?
• Write a series of short paragraphical biographies of each of the character’s closest family members: spouse, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, close friends, etc.
• Write a monologue in which your character summarizes his or her life story; be sure to write it in the character’s voice.

Motivations and Goals

• What motivates your character? Money? Love? Truth? Power? Justice?
• What does your character want more than anything else in the world? What are they searching for?
• What other characters or events are interfering with your character’s goals? What obstacles are in the way?

Flaws and Fears

• What is your character’s single greatest fear? Why is your character afraid of this? How did your character acquire their fears?
• What are your character’s flaws and weaknesses?
• How does the character’s fears and flaws prevent them from reaching their goals?
• What does your character look like? Make a list and include the following: hair, eyes, height, weight, build, etc.
• Now choose one aspect of the character’s appearance, a detail (bitten nails, frizzy hair, a scar) and elaborate on it.
• Write a short scene in which your character is looking in the mirror or write a short scene in which another character first sees your character.

Personality

• How does your character feel on the inside? What kind of person is your character and what does the character’s internal landscape look like?
• We don’t always present ourselves to others in a way that accurately reflects how we feel inside. We might be shy or insecure but come across as stuck-up and aloof. How do others perceive your character?
• Write a scene with dialogue that reveals your character’s external and internal personalities. Good settings for this dialogue would be an interview, an appointment with a therapist, or a conversation with a romantic interest or close friend. Write the scene in third-person omniscient so you can get inside your character’s head as well as the other character’s head; this will allow you explore how your character feels and how he or she is perceived.

If you tackle these creative writing prompts, come back and tell us how they worked for you. What did you write? Did you learn anything new about your character or how to write about your character? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

13 Comments

Great ideas! Answering all these questions I really think can make the difference between a round, motivated character and a flat one. Thanks for your ideas 🙂

Thanks, Sarah. Good luck to you!

Yes, I agree with Sarah. I will make use of these suggestions while writing new books as well as in the film scripts I am presently writing.

(Meant to comment yesterday when I stumbled on this!) Great exercises. Helped me to elaborate more on another character I’m beginning to explore for another novel. I’m in the middle of my first novel now! Thanks for this mini-workshop!

Thanks, Tonya! My goal is to come up with exercises and prompts that help writers learn new concepts and techniques, gain experience through practice, solve problems within their own writing projects, and inspire new ideas. I’m thrilled that these prompts helped you solve a particular problem. Your comment totally made my day!

Great suggestions! Dissection or hotseating your character in many different ways is an excellent way of finding out who this person is who’s appeared in your story. I find myself talking through possible conversations as I walk, helping me round out who they are – even if all that information doesn’t end up in the story.

I always imagine character conversations when I’m trying to fall asleep. Sometimes they keep me up all night!

Excellent tips about creating believable characters. I think you did a great job here. The more authors can delve into their character’s background, the better writer they will be and it all gets down to how much the reader likes the book.

In most cases, I think it’s the characters that make stories so compelling. That’s why it’s so important to know your characters well.

This is amazing! Thanks for putting it together! I need writing prompts like this for class. A marketing class at a Polytechnic in Canada, these will be perfect.

Keep up the great work!

You’re welcome! I’m glad you found these helpful.

Thank you Mellissa for this. It is extremely helpful. I am going to relook at the characters I’ve created based on this.

You’re welcome.

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Character Prompts for Your Next Story (by Genre and Role)

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on September 6, 2022

Categories Writing , Creativity , Inspiration , Storytelling

Do you ever get stuck when trying to develop a story idea? If so, character prompts may be just what you need! These creative writing prompts will help you come up with interesting characters and plotlines for your next story. Remember that these are just suggestions – feel free to mix and match them or create your prompts. Use these prompts to jumpstart your creativity and get the ideas flowing! This post starts with a series of general character prompts and then has a series of genre-specific character ideas – so if writing a particular genre, skip straight to the relevant section.

Starter Character Prompts

To kick off, here are some character prompts to inspire your character development. For fun, and originality, try mixing up some of these prompts so that your unique character profiles are a combination of two or more.

• A skeptic is always the last to believe but the first to offer help.
• A woman who can’t help but love bad boys, no matter how many times they break her heart.
• A tax accountant who lives for April because it’s the only time of year when he feels truly alive.
• A child prodigy who skipped several grades but has never been able to find true friends.
• A dog walker knows all the neighborhood gossip because she spends her days eavesdropping on people’s conversations.
• A stay-at-home dad is secretly relieved when his wife returns to work after her maternity leave is up.
• A young woman who has to care for her ailing father and doesn’t know how much longer she can do it.
• An artist who uses his art to deal with his depression.
• A woman who was born into a wealthy family but has always felt like an outsider.
• A man who is haunted by his time as a soldier in Vietnam.
• A robot who becomes sentient and starts to question why humans are so cruel to each other.
• A well-educated woman is forced to drop out of college to support her family.
• A small-town boy who dreams of moving to the city.
• A woman in her late twenties who is struggling to find herself.

Character Writing Prompts by Role and Archetype

Sometimes it helps to think about your characters in terms of their role, or archetype, as a way to narrow down your options. For example, if you need a love interest for your protagonist, you might want to consider an archetype such as the “bad boy” or the “damsel in distress.”

For example, the loner who’s never been good at socializing but suddenly finds himself being drawn to someone. Or the joker who everyone loves but is hiding a broken heart.

Here are some more examples to get you started:

Protagonist: A high school student who has just been diagnosed with cancer and is trying to come to terms with her prognosis.

Antagonist: A vampire who is struggling with his addiction to human blood.

Love Interest: A soldier who has returned home from war and is dealing with PTSD.

Best Friend: A woman trying to break into the competitive fashion modeling world.

Mentor: A middle-aged man facing retirement and unsure of what he will do with the rest of his life.

Sidekick : A teenage boy coping with his parent’s recent death in a car accident.

Rival: A chef who is trying to save her failing restaurant.

Rebel: A man struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality.

Outcast: A woman diagnosed with a terminal illness is trying to make the most of her remaining time.

Villain: An assassin who has been hired to kill the president of a small country.

Hero: A single mother fighting for custody of her daughter against her ex-husband.

Princess: A woman who has been forced into an arranged marriage by her father.

Witch: A woman trying to find a cure for the curse placed on her by an evil queen.

Orphan: A girl abandoned by her parents and raised by wolves in the forest outside of town.

Wizard: An old man trying to find a successor before he dies so that he can pass down his knowledge and powers.

Fantasy Character Prompts

• A creature that has been imprisoned for centuries and is desperate to be free.
• A woman whose tail has transformed into legs must now learn how to walk on land.
• A man who a rival king has hired to steal a magic scepter from the royal palace.
• A gentle giant is misunderstood by everyone in town and constantly ridiculed.
• An elf has been sent on a quest by the king to find a magical flower that can cure any ailment.
• A princess whose kingdom is under attack by an evil sorcerer.
• A young girl dreams of becoming a dragon slayer like her hero, Sir Lancelot.
• A wizard whose apprentice has run away, and he must now go on a journey to find him.
• A warrior who is haunted by visions of their dead comrades during battle.
• A skilled thief who only targets those who have stolen themselves.
• A dragon who has taken on the form of a human and is pretending to be a king.
• A young woman discovers she can control the elements.
• An orphaned street urchin who must save the kingdom from an evil sorcerer.
• A cursed prince who turns into a beast every full moon.
• A skilled archer who is revealed to be a part elf.
• A daring rebel leader fighting against an unjust monarchy.
• A faithful knight is forced to choose between their duty and their heart.
• An assassin whose next target is revealed to be their long-lost sibling..
• A bard whose songs have the power to heal the wounded and sick.
• A ranger tracking a group of bandits through dangerous territory.
• A wizard studying at a prestigious academy.
• A goblin trying to make it in the human world.
• A paladin is sworn to protect a small village from monsters.
• A halfling con artist making their way through the world.
• A necromancer raising an army of undead to take over the kingdom.
• A child taken captive by orcs and raised as one of their own.

Mystery Character Prompts

• Write a character whose profession is a mystery to everyone, including themselves.
• Write a character who is haunted by a mysterious past.
• Write a character who always carries a memento from a loved one they’ve lost.
• Write a character with an intense fear of the dark.
• Write a character who is looking for their long-lost twin brother or sister.
• Write a character who can’t remember anything before the age of 10.
• Write a character whose parents disappeared when they were very young.
• Write a character who was born on Friday the 13th.
• Write a character who has never had (and doesn’t want) a best friend.
• Write a character who refuses to speak and only communicates through written notes.
• Write an amnesia character trying to piece together their previous life through dreams and visions.
• Write a rogue CIA agent on the run from their former employers.
• Write an international jewel thief trying to retire but getting pulled back for one last score.
• Write an assassin who falls in love with one of their targets and can’t bring themself to kill them.
• Write about someone with multiple personality disorder – each persona knowing nothing about the others.
• Write about an individual suffering from prosopagnosia – facial blindness/inability to recall faces even of those known well.
• The victim’s spouse seems genuinely distraught but may be hiding something.
• The victim’s jealous business partner stands to inherit everything they built together.
• The nosy neighbor who saw something suspicious the night of the murder won’t say what it is until they’re paid off.
• The prison inmate with information about the murder that they will only share in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
• The paranoid conspiracy theorist is convinced that the government was behind the murder.

Thriller Character Prompts

• A power-hungry politician who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.
• An idealistic young woman who gets caught up in the politician’s web of lies and manipulation.
• An investigative journalist who is determined to uncover the truth about the politician.
• A former jewel thief who is being blackmailed into stealing one last diamond.
• A professional assassin has been hired to kill the protagonist.
• The daughter of a wealthy politician is being held hostage by the antagonist.
• A street-wise teenager who is caught up in the world of gangs and drugs.
• A retired police detective helps the protagonist solve the case.
• A quirky neighbor who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• A ruthless criminal mastermind who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
• A ruthless killer who does the bidding of the villain.
• A single mother who becomes caught up in the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist.
• A hard-nosed police detective who is investigating a string of murders.
• An ambitious reporter is trying to get the scoop on the story of a lifetime.
• A deranged individual who kidnaps children for ransom.
• A psychopathic killer who enjoys torturing and killing his victims.

Romance Character Prompts

• A librarian who can’t seem to find love.
• A pilot who’s afraid of flying.
• A CEO who’s struggling to connect with people.
• A baker who’s trying to forget her past.
• A barista who’s secretly an undercover agent.
• A nurse who is passionate about her job.
• A teacher who is burnt out and doesn’t know what she wants anymore.
• A stay-at-home mom who feels like she’s missing out on her life.
• A woman who’s trying to move on from a bad breakup.
• A woman who’s afraid of commitment.
• A man who’s been hurt before and doesn’t believe in love anymore.
• A man who’s afraid of intimacy.
• A couple who are total opposites and can’t seem to make things work.
• A couple who have been married for years are trying to spice things up.
• Friends who realize they have feelings for each other.
• Best friends who decide to start a relationship on a whim.
• Two people meet online and fall in love without meeting in person.
• Two people are set up on a blind date, and it’s love at first sight.
• Two people who have been childhood friends suddenly realize they have feelings for each other.
• Two co-workers who can’t stand each other but can’t deny the attraction they feel.
• Strangers who meet on a plane end up sitting next to each other by the time they land.

Science Fiction Character Prompts

• A woman who is chosen to be the first colonist on Mars.
• A man who discovers he is an AI created by the government.
• A woman who can travel through time but only forwards, never backward.
• A man can turn invisible whenever he wants, but the downside is that he can’t turn it off again once he’s started.
• A story about an alien who crashlands on Earth and has to find a way back home.
• A story about two people who are the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust.
• Someone who can read people’s thoughts but only when they’re thinking about him/her specifically.
• Someone can choose when and how they die but not when they’re reborn into another life.
• Aliens have invaded Earth, and the protagonist has to find a way to warn the other humans before it’s too late.
• The protagonist discovers they are the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
• Someone develops the ability to fly, but every time they use their power, it takes them one day closer to death.
• A girl with anti-gravity powers gets kidnapped by a group of people who want to use her for nefarious purposes.
• An engineer is the only one who can save the day when a critical component on the space station fails.
• A young woman is chosen to be the first human to make contact with an alien race.
• An ex-military man is hired as a bodyguard for a wealthy businessman but discovers that his client is a criminal mastermind.
• An alien race is invading the sheriff of a small town on a planet.
• A pilot who crash-lands on a hostile planet must find a way back home.
• A detective in a future city where crime is rampant and technology allows people to commit perfect murders.
• A soldier is sent on a mission to a planet that enemy forces have taken over.
• A bounty hunter is tracking a fugitive across the galaxy.
• A doctor is trying to find a cure for a deadly disease sweeping through the population of a space colony.
• A scientist who has developed a way to travel through time must prevent a disaster from occurring in the future.
• A group of survivors is stranded on an uninhabited planet after their ship is damaged in an attack by pirates.
• A group of people is trapped in a spaceship orbiting around a black hole and slowly being pulled in.
• The captain of a ship that aliens attack must find a way to warn Earth before it’s too late.

25 Character Questions To Help You Develop Deeper Characters

There are a few simple questions you can ask yourself about your characters that will help you develop them more fully. Here are 25 questions to get you started.

• What motivates your character?
• What does your character want?
• What does your character fear?
• What is your character’s greatest strength?
• What is your character’s greatest weakness? What is your character’s biggest flaw?
• Does your character have any secrets? If so, what are they?
• How does your character view the world?
• How does your character view other people?
• What are your character’s core beliefs?
• How did your character develop those beliefs?
• What events in your character’s life have shaped who they are today?
• How does your character react under pressure?
• What makes your character happy? Sad? Angry?
• What are some of your character’s favorite things?
• Does your character have skills or talents that set them apart from others?
• How does your character dress? How do they carry themselves?
• What kind of impression does your character make on others when they first meet them?
• Do people tend to like or dislike your character upon first meeting them? Why do you think that is?
• Does your character have any close friends or family members? Who are they, and what is their relationship to your character like?
• Is there anyone in your character’s life with whom they don’t get along? Why is that the case?
• What would people say about your character if asked to describe them to someone else?
• How does your character treat strangers as opposed to friends and family?
• When was the last time your character experienced a strong emotion?
• What kind of failure has your character suffered in their life? How did they handle that failure?
• What kind of person is your character at the end of the day?

How Do You Make a Fictional Character Not Flat?

Give your character a unique voice.

One of the quickest ways to spot a flat character is if they all sound the same. When different characters in your story have the same voice, it’s hard for readers to tell them apart. Especially in dialogue. To avoid this, ensure that each character has a distinct way of speaking. This could be something as simple as using different slang words or constructions or something more subtle, like varying sentence structure or word choice. Pay attention to how the people around you speak, and try to mimic that in your writing.

Make Them Relatable

No one wants to read about a perfect person. We all have our quirks and baggage, and your characters should be no different. By making your characters relatable, you make them more real and relatable for your readers. Relatable characters also make it easier for readers to understand their motivations and actions. To make your characters relatable, give them flaws and weaknesses that will make them sympathetic and believable to your reader. Sometimes, this can express through body language.

Give Them Depth

What makes a person interesting? Their hobbies? Their passions? Their secrets? All of the above? The same goes for your characters. You need to give them depth beyond their basic description to make them compelling. What do they like to do in their free time? What are their hopes and dreams? What are their fears? Build in character twists.

Write Them as People, Not as Plot Devices

One of the easiest ways to spot a flat character is if they only exist to further the plot without having any agency. For your characters to feel real, they need to be driving the plot forward, not just passively reacting to events as they unfold around them.

Character Archetypes Every Writer Needs to Know

The hero is the main character of the story. The hero often tries to save or make the world a better place. Examples of heroes include Harry Potter, Katniss Everdeen, and Luke Skywalker.

The mentor is a wise and experienced figure who helps the hero on his or her journey. The mentor often provides guidance, wisdom, and support when the hero needs it most. Examples of mentors include Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings , Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter , and Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars .

The Threshold Guardian

A figure who stands in the way of the hero and their goal. The threshold guardian can be either positive or negative; they may be trying to help the hero by testing them or trying to stop them outright. Threshold guardians include Hagrid from Harry Potter , Mufasa from The Lion King , and Darth Vader from Star Wars.

The dark side of the hero’s personality. The shadow is often repressed because it threatens the hero’s ego or is socially unacceptable. However, the shadow always comes out eventually. Examples of shadows include Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter , Gaston from Beauty and the Beast , and Kylo Ren from Star Wars .

The Trickster

A light-hearted character who uses their wit and cunning to help (or hinder) the hero on their journey. The trickster is often chaotic and unpredictable, keeping things interesting for the hero and the reader. Examples of tricksters include the Weasley twins from Harry Potter , Merry and Pippin from The Lord of the Rings , and Han Solo from Star Wars .

The Damsel in Distress

A woman who needs rescuing by the Hero. The damsel in distress often motivates the Hero to take action and pursue their goals. Examples of damsels in distress include Princess Leia from Star Wars , Belle from Beauty and the Beast , and Anna from Frozen .

The Love Interest

A character who develops romantic feelings for the Hero throughout the story. Love interests are often used to develop the Hero’s character arc further or provide motivation for them to pursue their goals. Examples of love interests include Hermione Granger from Harry Potter , Arwen from The Lord of the Rings , and Rey from Star Wars .

101 Character Writing Prompts

Author: Natalie Harris-Spencer Updated: June 8, 2023

In order to sell a book and get it published , you need to create a product, which, for most of us here at Aspiring Author , is a novel. And in order to write the darn thing (while lamenting your career choices), you need to live and breathe your characters. Character writing prompts can be an excellent way to help you get inside your characters’ heads and achieve that elusive narrative voice through speech, dialogue, or internal narration.

Creating real people

Creating convincing characters isn’t easy. Have you ever had that feeling that your characters are slippery, not quite sounding or doing the right things, or, worse, are fake? Have you noticed them steering their own way, diverging from your carefully outlined plot? Characters are the one device that should drive your plot – not the other way around. Follow them down whichever dark paths they choose in order to access the truth. Keep them honest and as grounded in reality as possible.

When it comes to creating 3D characters, Ernest Hemingway said it best: “When writing a novel, a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” And to write real people, you need to ground your people in reality: real circumstances, real settings, and real thoughts and feelings. These character writing prompts have been designed to help you expose the human condition in all its imperfect glory. Humans are multi-layered (ah, the onion), with numerous internal complications, feelings, and flaws. Remember: characters have to change in order for the reader to care about them. They must go on a journey, through which your novel’s plot is the vessel.

101 character writing prompts

Below are 101 character writing prompts that will help you deepen your understanding of your characters and elevate them from caricatures into real people. As you work your way through these character writing prompts, consider writing how your characters think, feel, but also change . Sameness is never interesting to read.

Physical appearance

• Does your character have any moles, birth marks, or beauty spots? Where? Describe them.
• Hair is not character. However, it can show something unexpected or unusual about your character. Write a scene featuring your character’s hair, without relying on the usual tropes (length, color etc.).
• Write what your character thinks they see when they see their reflection.
• Write a scene about your character in costume. What are they wearing, and why? How do they feel about it?
• What does your character’s coughing, sneezing, and hiccoughing sound like?
• What do they look like when they’re sick?
• What’s in your character’s wallet apart from money?
• Switch the gender of your character. How does that change how they think, feel, and move through the world?
• Write about your character getting their ears pierced or getting a tattoo.
• Describe your characters hands and feet.
• Show your character doing a workout. What are they wearing? How do they look before, during and after?
• Draw a sketch of your character’s passport. Does it help you understand who they are and where they come from?

Inner workings

• What is your character’s biggest flaw?
• What is your character’s biggest fear?
• What or who would your character kill for?
• What does your character want more than anything else in the world?
• What is the one thing that is stopping them from getting it?
• Write a therapy session between your character and their therapist.
• Write a scene without dialogue that shows exactly what your character wants – only through their actions.
• Show your character’s reaction to getting a parking ticket.
• Write a scene about a mental health challenge your character has faced.
• Put your character on a diet. How do they feel? What mood are they in?
• Write about your character being insatiable thirsty.
• Write about a time when your character couldn’t stop laughing.
• Using just dialogue, write a scene between your character and someone they’re attracted to.
• Your character is being lectured by someone in a position of authority. How do they react?
• Show your character making a selfish decision and the ramifications it has on their life.
• What is your character’s favorite book , and why? Has it always been the same book, or have their tastes evolved?
• Write a scene where your character can’t remember what happened the night before, and they’re trying to piece it together.
• Imagine your character is a nervous flyer. Document their thoughts during take-off.
• Write a recollection scene about the most frightening time of your character’s life.
• Show your character’s most embarrassing moment, either through recollection, dialogue, or action.
• Write a scene where your character is struggling to show or purposefully concealing their real feelings and emotions.

Family, relationships, and home

• How does your character spend their Christmas holidays, and who with?
• Write a scene with your character attending a family funeral.
• What are your character’s earliest memories? Do they remember their first home, their parents, or something else?
• Your character has a bunch of keys. What do they have as keyrings?
• Write an argument between your character and their mother and/or father.
• Describe a family portrait: who’s in it? Where are they now?
• Write your character’s bedtime ritual.
• Show your character having an argument with a family member at the dinner table. Do they win?
• What does your character’s closet and/or bedside drawer look like? What’s inside? Are they hiding anything they shouldn’t be?
• Write a drunk argument between your character and a family member.
• Imagine your character has a twin. List their similarities and differences, both physical and otherwise.
• Write about your character on graduation day.
• Write about your character going on a blind date.
• Your character is getting married. They choose an unusual wedding cake topper. What is it, and why is it important?
• Does your character want kids now or in the future? Why or why not?
• Write a scene where your character moves to a new town. Are they welcome? Why or why not?
• Write about a home invasion. Show your character’s possessions strewn and/or missing. What’s the first thing they check?
• Your character opens a letter not addressed to them, only to discover a secret about the previous resident. How do they react?
• Write a sex scene without mentioning anatomy (you can do it!).
• Put your character in a country where they don’t speak the language. How do they get by?
• Show your character meeting their first love again for the first time in ten years.

Epistolary character writing prompts

• Write a letter in your character’s handwriting.
• Write a Craigslist ad from the voice of your character.
• Write an Airbnb listing for your character.
• Write your character’s LinkedIn profile.
• Create an online dating profile for your character.
• Write a letter to your character’s younger self.
• Create a tarot card reading for your character.
• Come up with your character’s regular take-out order.
• Write out your character’s family tree, including dates of birth, marriage, and death.
• Write a postcard home from a far-flung destination.
• Write a journal entry from a pivotal day in your character’s life.
• Write a Valentine’s Day card from your character.
• Write your character’s weekly shopping list. Include one item that doesn’t go with the rest.
• Write a text conversation between your character and another person who they are trying to seduce or win over.
• Write two lies and a truth for your character. The lies should be as convincing as the truth.
• Write a scene with your character on the top of a Ferris wheel. What can they see? How do they feel?
• Write a scene with your character in a haunted house.
• Write a scene with your character falling asleep on the deck of a boat.
• Write a scene with your character in a station waiting room. Where are they going and why?
• Write a scene with your character in a hospital bed.
• Your character has just been discovered stealing a midnight snack. How do they respond?
• Write a scene with your character at a baseball game.
• Write a scene with your character at a fireworks display.
• Write a scene where your character is in a cemetery in the snow.
• Your character is going on a camping trip. What do they pack?
• Write a scene showing your character going into a church or place of worship.
• Write a scene at the top of revolving skyscraper restaurant.
• Your character makes a surprising discovery in a hotel room. What is it?
• Your character enters an antiques store. What trinket do they come away with?
• Write a scene where your character gets lost in a vineyard.
• Write a scene with your character on a boardwalk or pier.
• Imagine your character living in another decade. Now write about them – their clothes, their job, their desires.

Nature and animals

• What is your character’s favorite season and why?
• Write about your character ice skating on a frozen pond.
• What does your character see when they look up at the night sky?
• Is your character a cat or a dog person?
• Or do they have an unusual pet? Write about it!
• Write about your character accidentally hitting an animal with their car.
• Write about your character’s experience of dissecting a frog in a science lesson.
• What’s the first animal your character goes to see at the zoo?
• Your character gets stung by a bee. How do they react?
• Write a scene with your character sunbathing on a tropical beach.
• Write a scene with your character skinny dipping in a lake.
• Write a scene with your character watching the sun rise from a mountain top.
• Take your character for a walk in the woods when the light is fading.
• Describe the images, shapes, and patterns your character sees in passing clouds.
• Write a scene where your character is caught in a thunderstorm.

Of course, there are countless more character writing prompts that you can work on. We hope these 101 character writing prompts from Aspiring Author give you just enough to spark your writerly imagination and take your characters to multi-layered, unexpected, and very real places. And trust yourself that your characters can be strange, because the truth is almost always stranger than fiction.

Recommended reading

Here at Aspiring Author , we love recommending bestsellers and fawning over hot new releases. On this real time recommended reading list, you will find a list of top rated books on the publishing industry, craft, and other books to help you elevate your writing career.

Advanced Self-Publishing for Authors: A Guide to Author Success and Platform Growth (Self-Publishing with Dale)

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

Personal History (WOMEN IN HISTORY)

The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th Edition

Josephus Daniels: His Life and Times

About the author.

Natalie Harris-Spencer

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21 Best Plot Twist Books That Will Make You Say Wait…What?

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Home / Book Writing / 17 Character Development Exercises for Writers

17 Character Development Exercises for Writers

Character development exercises are short forms of deliberate practice to improve your writing skills and round out your characters.

They are typically not used in the final novel, but are little extras that help you understand the personalities that you are writing.

Because for some of us, nailing down that perfect character can be hard. And to help with that, we’ve assembled 17 different exercises to improve your characters.

• Why character exercises are important
• A list of 17 different exercises that you can implement today
• Examples and advice to improve your characters

Table of contents

• Why Are Character Development Exercises Important?
• Exercise #1: Write a FULL Description
• Exercise #2: Play Dress Up
• Exercise #3: Write a Description Scene Through the Character’s Eyes
• Exercise #4: Practice Showing Emotion
• Exercise #5: Write a “Slice of Life” Episode
• Exercise #6: Write Other People Gossiping About Your Character
• Exercise #7: Write a Progression Short Story
• Exercise #8: Draw the Character
• Exercise #9: Create a Character Profile
• Exercise #10: Conduct a Character Interview
• Exercise #11: Play the “Why” Game
• Exercise #12: Create a Character Based on Someone You Know
• Exercise #13: Imagine What Happens Before and After the Novel
• Exercise #14: Put Them in Horrible Situations (Muahahahahah)
• Exercise #15: Create a Timeline
• Exercise #16: Do a Little Fan-fiction
• Exercise #17: Use Character Writing Prompts

So why use a character development exercise in the first place?

This may be a valid question, especially for authors like myself, who just want to dive into the writing and let the characters unfold as I write.

But honestly, a little work up front can save you a load of headache afterward.

Running through a handful of these exercises will help you to:

• Understand your character’s emotions
• Give you practice writing in their voice and from their point of view
• Find out what sets them apart from other characters
• Flesh them out to create round and dynamic characters
• Establish the relationship between your characters and the setting, or other characters
• Deliberate practice of the process to create complex and well-written characters

In short, it’s a great way to deliberately practice writing and reduces the need to go back and do extensive revisions on your characters.

That said, this might not be the best thing to do if you’re a pantser and just want to dive in and discover your characters along the way. But it can be a great tool in your author tool belt.

Formatting Has Never Been Easier

Write and format professional books with ease.  Never before has creating formatted books been easier.

So without further ado, here are 17 of our best picks for character development exercises. 

Exercise #1 : Write a FULL Description

When it comes to writing characters, most of us focus on the facial features, things like hair color, eye color, etc.

A great way to begin getting to know your character is to do a full description of them. In a book, we might not do this to the extent you might in a creative writing exercise, which is why it’s good to practice here.

Here are some things to consider: 

• Skin/hair/eye color
• Do they have any warts or moles?
• What is their hair style?
• What is their build?
• Do they have any scars, tattoos, etc.
• What is their general complexion. Is their skin smooth and silky, rough and calloused, or even bruised and battered?
• What default facial expression do they have?
• What does he/she smell like?

Exercise #2 : Play Dress Up

What we choose to wear says a lot about a person. Someone wearing an extravagant French-style outfit from the 18th century will give you a completely different impression than a cut business suit from the 21st century.

The problem is that most authors, when they’re writing about their characters, often forget to add a lot of detail about the clothes they are wearing. It’s easy to see these things in your mind and forget that your readers don’t see what you see. They see what you write.

One way to help overcome this oversight is to continue the exercise above, but focus on clothing.

And don’t just focus on any one type, because your protagonist will most likely use several types of clothing throughout the course of your novel. Here are just some examples:

• Travel clothing
• Clothes for a night on the town
• Clothes for wilderness survival
• Combat wear

Exercise #3 : Write a Description Scene Through the Character’s Eyes

Ideally, every character should experience the same thing differently, depending on their background, their wants and desires, and their tastes.

Additionally, great prose is often written from the perspective of the character making the observation.

For example, let’s say you have two people, one who has grown up in a desert their whole life, where water is scarce, and the other who grew up in a place where water was plentiful. 

Imagine these two people on a hot day, observing a third person splashing water on their face. If you’re writing from the first character’s perspective, you could describe this as “and the man took a handful of water and wasted it on his face.” The second person might describe it this way, “I watched as the man poured the cool liquid and splashed it all over his face. I wish I were him right now.”

Do you see the difference there? In one, the character sees using water in one way as a waste, and for the other, it’s something to be sought after. 

Exercise #4 : Practice Showing Emotion

We’ve all heard the adage to “show, don’t tell,” but what does this really look like for most characters?

This is something that really only comes with practice. Once you’ve done it enough times, you’ll recognize instances where you’re saying things like “he felt hungry,” and can replace them with something like “He winced and put a hand to his stomach as it growled, and he swallowed hard.”

Character emotion is one of these areas where showing rather than telling can really enhance your novel.

Exercise #5 : Write a “Slice of Life” Episode

There are a lot of scenes in a book, and most of them have a purpose. That said, there are many scenes that probably occur in that character’s life, but that we don’t talk about because they’re not important for the story.

However, you as the author should have an idea of what happens in these less important moments.

Some examples of a “slice of life” episode might include:

• Having dinner with family
• Going to the bathroom
• The morning routine
• A conversation with a co-worker
• Late-night conversations with a spouse
• Cooking a meal
• Going on vacation
• Playing with their kids
• Coming home a little too drunk
• Visiting a museum

Exercise #6 : Write Other People Gossiping About Your Character

Very often, we learn more from others about ourselves that we might not have known on our own. Others can provide unique perspectives, and in some cases expose huge biases (on both sides).

For example, a proud character might not realize that he/she is proud, but it’s easy for an outside observer to spot this.

Exercise #7 : Write a Progression Short Story

In real life, people change a lot, and characters should change in stories too (most of the time). 

A great way to show this is to write a short story that examines the character at different parts of her/his life. You can focus on key moments in their life, but you could also just follow exercise #5 and focus on a few more everyday events.

The purpose of this exercise is to show how that person may have changed. Do they view the world differently as a working adult, vs as a teenager? A child? An elderly person?

What about before or after experiencing some kind of trauma?

Exercise #8 : Draw the Character

I’ll be honest, I’m not an artist. But I am a visual person, and getting some solid visuals of the character can be a huge boost in helping me understand them.

If you’re like me and really have no design skills , then finding a few photos is fine.

I’d recommend several photos though, since one might not be enough. You could have some for their face and general appearance, one for their clothes and how they look, etc.

If you know a program like Photoshop, you could even crop these together to get an even better sense of what you character looks like.

This is a great exercise for understanding the feel of a character, which is often harder to put into words.

Exercise #9 : Create a Character Profile

Imagine you work for the FBI, and you have to draft up a dossier about your character. What might that look like?

Fortunately, we’ve done a whole article about this topic, so you should definitely check that out, and also don’t forget to pick up our character profile template, which can easily help you through this process.

If you want a thorough process to identify the character’s appearance, personality, background, and more, this is the way to go. 

The best aspects to focus on are the flaws, motivations, and fears of your character. What prompts them to action? Understanding these things will help you get at the core of your character’s personality traits.

Exercise #10 : Conduct a Character Interview

Imagine you sat in a darkened room, across the table from you is your character. You can ask them anything, they won’t be offended, and they will understand the question.

What do you ask them about?

Writing a character interview is almost like writing yourself into a short story where you get to personally meet your character and ask them questions.

This is huge for helping you understand the character’s voice, but also a good strategy for building solid character backstory and character traits.

To help, we’ve already assembled over 200 character development questions that can aid you in this process.

Exercise #11 : Play the “Why” Game

This goes along with the idea of an interview, but sometimes in order to dig really deep into the motivations of your character, you’ve got to ask why.

Is your character aggressive? Ask them why. 

From there you might find out that his mother shouted at him as a kid, and he saw his parents fight a lot. Ask why.

You might learn that his father had a drinking problem and it meant that his mother took it out on him. Ask why.

From there, it might come out that his father had lost a lot of money in a business deal, leading him to turn to drink.

I hope you get the idea. The more you ask why, the more you’ll dig deeper into your character’s past, and the better you will understand them.

Exercise #12 : Create a Character Based on Someone You Know

This can be a little dangerous, because to be honest, most of the people we know are not that interesting. And we also want to avoid lawsuits for defamation if the comparison is too obvious.

That said, the people we know can be a huge inspiration to pick and choose ideas to incorporate into your characters.

For example, my own father and uncle have a really fun way of talking to each other. They’re always ribbing on each other and calling eachother weird, made-up names. You can tell that they love each other, but it’s an uncommon way of showing it.

This might make a good relationship between two people in a book.

Exercise #13 : Imagine What Happens Before and After the Novel

The writer is mostly concerned with what happens during the plot of her novel. But if written well, a character will feel like they exist long before and long after the pages of the book.

So it’s a good idea to try dreaming up what happens to these characters in that time. 

It can be dramatic, or it can be mundane. Impactful, or ordinary. It doesn’t matter much. All that matters is that you have a past and future in mind for that character (unless you plan to kill them off of course).

And who knows, you might even come up with some good ideas for other books involving those characters.

Exercise #14 : Put Them in Horrible Situations (Muahahahahah)

I’ve heard it said that you should basically put your characters through hell in a story, and never let up.

While this is good advice, it’s not always practical. That said, putting your characters through the meat-grinder is a great way to learn how they react to conflict.

These scenarios don’t have to be trials you will actually use in your novel. These are just different ways to put your character in pain and see how they react (I know I sound like a very unethical scientist, don't @ me).

Here are some possibilities:

• The loss of a loved one
• A diagnosis of cancer
• The loss of a limb
• Getting tortured
• Breaking up with the love of their life
• Losing everything they own
• Being betrayed by a friend

Exercise #15 : Create a Timeline

Sometimes it’s hard to keep every part of a character’s life straight. That’s where a timeline can be helpful.

A timeline is a simple list of events in the character’s life, though they can get more complex and interesting, and you can even put some design skills to work if you want.

But timelines only have to be a simple list of events. They can include events from before their birth to their death, or they can be focused on a specific period of their life.

It will depend on the character and the story you will want to tell.

Exercise #16 : Do a Little Fan-fiction

When we’re writing a story, we might not have a full grasp on it yet, and that’s where writing fan fiction can help.

Imagine your character interacting with characters from a story you already know? Imagine the ultimate crossover between your story and your favorite franchise.

For example, what Hogwarts house would your character belong in? What might it look like when he/she is sorted and interacts with other characters in that house or other characters from the Harry Potter books.

It’s a great way to lean on characters you already know, to help unveil more about the characters you’re trying to discover.

Exercise #17 : Use Character Writing Prompts

There are a bunch of character-related creative writing prompts out there, and many of them can be quite helpful in getting your brain to think outside of the box.

In theory, we could have a list much longer than 17 if we wanted to include more of these prompts, but that would end up being too much.

Instead, I recommend this post , or checking out our list of character questions to give you ideas.

Final Thoughts on Character Development Exercises

If you’ve made it far, first of all, well done.

Second of all, you might be a little overwhelmed, but don’t worry. This list is not meant to be a checklist for everything you should do to expand on your characters.

Instead, this is a handful of ideas that you can take (or leave) and use them to better understand your characters.

As you apply these exercises, I can pretty much guarantee that you will grow as a writer, become more familiar with your characters, and increase your chances of having a great dynamic character in your books.

Let us know how it goes!

Jason Hamilton

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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30 Scene Ideas for Character Development

• Characters , Ideas , NaNoWriMo

If one of your characters feels flat or boring, perhaps it’s because you haven’t given them enough ATTENTION . All relationships, even fictional ones, demand care. Character development comes through spending time with your characters on the page; listening to them talk about things that matter to them , following them as they engage with difficult problems , sharing in their emotions when they fail or succeed .

Think of the character development scenes in this article as though they were dates with your character .

Take your time! Enjoy the details as they unfold.

You may like to develop your character in detail before you begin writing your story, or you may just start writing and see where the story takes you.

Either way, you need narrative opportunities to show the reader what stuff your character is made of, and these scene ideas can fit almost anywhere in your story.

They’re also perfect for NaNoWriMo ! Pick one to write about every day, and mix them up with plot development scenes and world development scenes !

Character development comes through…

• CONFLICT , TESTS & TRIALS – any time the character faces resistance in their world, there is an opportunity to reveal something new about them, or to reinforce an existing trait. The more pressure the character is under, the more you will need to develop them to meet their difficulties.
• REACTION  – meaningful and consistent reactions to the events around them are what create characters. This might take the form of  action , reflection, interaction,  decision-making , or even inaction.
• REFLECTION, SELF-ASSESSMENT – character doesn’t always have to be developed through action. Sometimes solitary reflection and assessment can be a great way to slow down and delve deeper.
• INTERACTION, RELATIONSHIPS  – in many ways, the character is defined through contrast and correlation to the other characters in the story. Relationships apply push and pull forces on the character that cause them to react, make decisions, and re-assess their own identity.
• CHANGE, PROGRESS – one of the main differences between a flat character and a round one is that a round character changes, whereas a flat character stays static. A character’s reaction to change is one of their most defining traits and will often influence their other characteristics.
• DECISIONS, CHOICES  – decisions are where the plot intersects the character’s mind most clearly. The sorts of decisions characters are faced with can be as telling as their later reactions to the path they chose.

Scenes for Character Development

• The character has a heart-to-heart with a Helper.
• The character trains with a Mentor.
• The character completes a mini quest to get past a Threshold Guardian.
• The character questions their relationship to the Antagonist.
• The character receives bad news from a Herald.
• The character realises that they were deceived by a Shapeshifter.
• The character recognises an aspect of themselves in another character.
• The character is forced to wait for someone or something.
• The character is forced to ask for help from a character they dislike.
• The character confesses their deepest fear or secret to another character.
• The character must negotiate with a character or group of characters.
• The character loses or sacrifices  something they value greatly.
• The character sees or hears something they weren’t supposed to.
• The character tries to understand the motivation behind another character’s actions.
• The character tries to evade or escape another character.
• The character is forced to make a difficult decision that will affect others.
• The character is abandoned by someone they love or value.
• The character tries to convince another character to act.
• The character reacts to mental or physical pain.
• The character needs to work together with another character.
• The character is rejected by another character or group of characters.
• The character looks back at how far they’ve come.
• The character undergoes a rite of passage .
• The character becomes responsible for other characters.
• The character learns their true name and origin.
• The character tries to master or conceal their thoughts or  emotions .
• The character faces their own, or another character’s death .
• The character questions a belief that has shaped their personality.
• The character loses all hope that they will succeed.
• The character contemplates their future.

Need more help developing your character?

How to Be the Heroine of Your Own Story is an online course that teaches you how to develop your character on just ONE PAGE.

As you work along with the lessons, you’ll gain a deeper understanding…

A deeper understanding of the process of change …

A deeper understanding of the power of point of view …

A deeper understanding of the role of the narrator …

And a deeper understanding of how they all come together to form the story of your character’s life.

And the story of YOUR LIFE.

Click here to learn more about this unique learning experience.

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50 creative writing prompts to enrich your craft

Creative writing prompts provide a useful way to jog inspiration. Try these creative writing exercises focused on individual elements of storytelling:

• Post author By Jordan
• 13 Comments on 50 creative writing prompts to enrich your craft

Creative writing prompts – find inspiration to:

Create compelling dialogue, craft vivid setting descriptions, create interesting characters, create strong story openings, master tense, craft more effective sentences and phrases, find story ideas.

• Create eventful plots

Craft satisfying story endings

1. a relocation.

Prompt: A character is moving to another city. She visits her favourite public place and sees something that makes her want to stay. Describe this in 500 words, using third person POV (he/she). Then rewrite in first person, using ‘I’.

Why: Rewriting third person scenes (especially emotional ones) in first person helps you find your character’s voice. You’re telling the reader what your character thinks as your character, not an observer. When you rewrite in third person (if you prefer this POV), some of this immediacy will carry over.

Prompt: A character is being chased by a villain or villainous group through an abandoned warehouse. Describe their fear and lucky escape in 500 words or less. Rewrite the piece from the viewpoint of the villain(s).

Why: Rewriting a protagonist’s scenes from the antagonist’s perspective can help you create a more realistic sense of threat, since you will be able to picture the protagonist as well as antagonist’s movements and psychological state clearer.

3. A late arrival

Prompt:  A character arrives late to a party, not knowing that an old significant other is attending too. The relationship didn’t end well. The host introduces them to each other, unaware of their history.

In 500 words or less, write the scene and rewrite it twice, once from each character’s perspective: The late arriver, the ex and the host.

Why: Sometimes a story scene can be effective written from a secondary character’s point of view. Writing as a neutral observer might help you notice details worth including in the scene (such as the main characters’ actions and body language); actions that you wouldn’t think about as much if you were writing from a different viewpoint.

GET YOUR FREE GUIDE TO SCENE STRUCTURE

Read a guide to writing scenes with purpose that move your story forward.

4. A long affair

Prompt: A POV writing exercise courtesy of Writer’s Digest:

A teenage couple is sitting at a restaurant, playfully making up a fake Cosmo love test for each other. What questions do they ask each other? Now, write the same scene, but this time the couple is in their thirties. How would the questions differ? Write the same scene again, but this time the couple has been married for fifteen years. How would their questions be different than the other two tests?

Why: Character development makes your characters feel real. Rewriting scenes from the POV of younger and older versions of your characters will give you a sense of how your characters’ voices and concerns could change over the course of your novel realistically.

5. A change of view

Prompt:  A detective is called to a small hotel to investigate the disappearance of a guest. Describe him searching the guest’s room in 500 words or less. Use first person POV. Then rewrite the scene in the second person (using ‘you’ to describe his actions, as though the reader were the detective).

Why: Although the second person is very uncommon as a point of view, writing a series of actions in second person can help you get into descriptive mode – you’re putting the reader immediately in the viewpoint character’s shoes, making them see and do exactly what your character sees and does.

6. An argument

Prompt:  Two lovers are having an argument in a bar. Character one hates public displays and is trying to calm the situation. Character two doesn’t care at all what other patrons think. Write their exchange in 500 words or less.

Why: Conflict in dialogue makes it lively and the raised stakes draw readers in. The point of this creative writing prompt is to remind you to include individual characters’ differing psychologies and likes and dislikes so that each character’s voice is distinct.A new tag

7. Remove dialogue tags

Prompt 7:  Take several lines of dialogue (either your own or another writer’s work) that use dialogue tags (‘he said’, ‘she said’).

Rewrite the exchange without any dialogue tags, describing each character’s body language (e.g. crossing arms, pacing back and forth, sitting down, standing up) between their spoken lines instead. (E.g. “You said the same thing yesterday.” She crosses her arms, leaning back.)

Why: Dialogue tags can be distracting and repetitive. Body language can show how your characters are speaking and feeling without telling the reader outright, and this brings characters to life.

8. A public figure

Prompt:  A public figure (a celebrity or politician) is giving a long speech when they are interrupted by a member of the audience and heckled. The speaker loses their calm and responds to the heckler in far more informal speech.

Why: We use different ways of talking depending on whom we address. Creating sudden shifts in how a character talks in scenarios such as this helps us remember to vary a character’s expression according to their circumstances.

9. An elevator pitch

Prompt:  Two characters have been stuck in a lift for an hour. They were strangers but they begin opening up, telling each other about their lives while they wait for assistance. Their conversation is awkward at first but by the end it’s as though they’re old friends. Use 500 words or less.

Why: Creating a sense of progression in dialogue shows change and this change and sense of development is a large part of what makes a story interesting.

10. A group project

Prompt: . Four college students have been put in a group to compile a report. Each has a very different work approach. One student loves to research first, another likes to organize people and delegate tasks, one is a lazy slacker and one just agrees with everyone else to avoid conflict. Write their argument about how to complete the project.

Why: It’s important when writing multi-character scenes to give each character a voice that corresponds to their immediate goals as well as personalities. This exercise will help you create multi-character scenes that are complex and rich with dramatic potential.

[Try extra character writing exercises here for further practice.]

11. A lone hiker

Prompt: Imagine your character has gone hiking in a forest on a mountainside. There is nobody else around. Describe what they hear as they pass through different parts – a densely wooded area, a stream, and a high ravine.

Why: Often when we write setting we rely on visual description almost exclusively. Creative writing prompts that help you invoke the other senses will help you create fuller mental imagery for readers.

12. A city changes

Prompt:  Describe the general goings-on in a city over the past 100 years. In the course of your description, describe at least one major landmark that’s changed as well as one memorable event that residents won’t soon forget.

Why: Writing setting well, especially in historical fiction, requires showing place as dynamic rather than static. The process of time changes a place and showing these changes occasionally makes your novel’s locations feel real.

13. A sailor’s impressions

Prompt: Describe a seaside city from the viewpoint of a traveler who is visiting for the first time. Describe the same place again from the viewpoint of a local. Think about the different places in the city each would find interesting, and have each character list three things they love and three things they hate about the city.

Why: Characters’ relations to places affect what they notice about them and where they go, and the same place in your novel can have multiple qualities depending on whose POV is being used. A visiting character might end up eating at awful tourist-bait diners, for example, while a local is more likely to avoid these.

14. A house changes

Prompt: Describe a big, rambling house in the daytime and make it seem comfortable and homely. Rewrite the piece, keeping everything except the adjectives the same. Change the describing words you use so the house feels sinister, eerie or outright terrifying.

Why:  In setting, time of day and place work together to establish mood and atmosphere. This exercise will help you show how places take on different characters according to the conditions under which we experience them.

15. A character’s refuge

Prompt:  Imagine your character has a favourite place they escape to whenever they feel stressed or need quality alone time. It could be somewhere in nature or else an inner city café, music hall or public library. Describe this setting in 500 words including at least three of senses: smell, touch, sound, sight or taste.

Why: Involving the reader’s senses in your settings makes your fictional world easier to imagine. We form memories of places not just through vision but the other senses too. Do this exercise regularly to create memorable locations for your story.

16. A Mary Sue

Prompt: Describe a character who is loved by everyone (if you’ve seen the cult classic show  Twin Peaks , Laura Palmer is a good example). Describe the character and what is so lovely about her in 500 words or less, but end with a secret or flaw that not everyone sees.

Why: Story characters who are perfect are boring. Great characters are light and shade. ‘Good characters’ can have flaws and ‘bad’ characters can have pasts that show the reader a human side. The villain Lord Voldemort in J.K. Rowling’s  Harry Potter  series was once an ordinary boy.

17. A police line-up

Prompt: Imagine a character who witnessed a crime has to identify the perpetrator in a police line-up. Each of the suspects is quite similar looking but there is one vivid aspect of the guilty party that stands out. Describe your character noticing this stand-out feature and realizing who the guilty suspect is in 500 words or less.

Why:  When we describe characters, we often reach for the most obvious physical features such as hairstyle and eye colour. But these are seldom particularly identifying and can read as clichéd. When readers could spot your characters in a police line-up, you’ll know they are vivid. [Someone on Tumblr used forensics software to put together sketches of famous literary characters based on their descriptions: See more here ].

18.A formative experience

Prompt: Imagine a character who has a single, over-arching goal in his or her life (it could be the quest for money or love, status or acceptance, for example). Now describe a single event from your character’s life that strongly influenced their adopting this goal. Describe the event from the character’s viewpoint as a memory, in 500 words  or less.

Why:  Even if you don’t explicitly mention a character’s entire backstory in your novel, knowing details about  why  your character wants and strive for specific things will help you create a three-dimensional cast for your novel.

19. An intriguing voice

Prompt: Go to YouTube. Click on a random video and quickly minimize the window before you see anything. Describe the voice of the first person you hear speaking, in detail. Is there any defining characteristic? Is it low, high, raspy, clear? Do they have a stutter or an odd way of starting, pausing, or ending sentences? Begin with ‘Her/his voice is/was like…’

Why:  Thinking about the differences in how people sound and express themselves will help you write characters whose voices are unique and interesting.

20. A metamorphosis

Prompt:   It’s fun to ask yourself questions such as ‘if my character were an animal/song/building/food item, what would they be?’ Imagine a character in her mid 40’s who’s a schoolteacher. Her class loves her because she’s a bit odd and quirky. Now answer these questions:

If my character were an animal what would she be and why?

If my character were a song, what would it be and why?

Why:  Creative writing prompts that involve asking questions about imaginary people help to create a more concrete idea of them in your mind’s eye. Even if your reader doesn’t know every little thing about your character, you should have a very deep understanding of them yourself so that, if they’re faced with a specific situation, you will already have some intuition as to how they will react.

21. A dramatic incident

Prompt:  Begin an opening sentence with a character having died. For example, Faulkner begins his acclaimed story ‘A Rose for Emily’ thus:

When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old man-servant–a combined gardener and cook–had seen in at least ten years. William Faulkner, ‘A Rose for Emily’. Available online here .

Why:  Dramatic story openings that leave things unanswered pull the reader in. How exactly was Miss Emily a monument? Why is she so intriguing to the town and why had nobody seen the inside of her house? How did she die? Faulkner leaves many questions to answer in the course of the story.

22. A narrator’s regret

Prompt: Begin a story with the words ‘If I’d known then what I know now, I never would have…’ Continue the opening for up to 500 words.

Why:  Conditionals (if, would, could, etc.) create a question in the reader: ‘Then what?’ Beginning a story with a character talking about having grown or acquired new knowledge in some way makes it clear to the reader that there has been momentous change of some kind, and change is what creates story.

23. An uncommon birth

Prompt:  Begin a story ‘I was born…’ Many classic novels that are  bildungsromans  (stories about coming of age) follow this format (e.g.  David Copperfield  by Charles Dickens and  Midnight’s Children  by Salman Rushdie).

Why:  Great characters have history and can remember (and are driven to some extent by) important life events. You don’t have to give your character’s life history from the day they were born. But write a list for each character in your novel about important events in their life, even if we only meet them when they are in their thirties.

24. A strange action

Prompt: Begin a story with a surprising or unusual action. For example, ‘I rushed around the house in terror, turning every tap on full’.

Why:  The mundane and everyday can happen in the course of your novel. But keep the most mundane parts of your book for any part but the beginning. An unusual or inexplicable action as an opening creates curiosity.

25. An encompassing idea

Prompt: Write a first line that encompasses the whole of a story idea. For example, the first line of The Lord of the Rings   written this way could be ‘I had been to Mount Doom and back, and everything in the Shire had changed.’ This great exercise was suggested by Joe Bunting of The Write Practice in his post on writing great first lines .

Why:  Being able to condense your story into a single line is a good skill to have. It’s often best to write the first line of your novel once you have finished your first draft, too, and once you have all the details of plot you’ll be especially able to find an opening that encompasses the central ideas your book covers.

26. A marriage day

Prompt: Imagine a character describing her wedding day. Describe how she and her future spouse walk down the aisle and how she feels about the occasion, all in the present tense and first person plural (‘we’). Then rewrite the passage in the future tense (‘We will’).

Why: Different tenses and moods have interesting effects (e.g. the subjunctive mood is used to describe hypothetical situations – ‘if I had been president, I would have…’). Rewriting an important event in the future tense can show a character’s longing or the castles in the sky they are building. Writing the above scenario this way can be very effective if you will later show how the event did not go to plan at all. It will let you create a contrast between expectation and reality and this element of surprise is a satisfying component of storytelling.

27. A revelation

Prompt:  Your character is a high school student who has just sat his exams.

Describe the exams he has completed in the recent past tense (e.g. ‘Yesterday, I wrote history and my pen ran out of ink in the middle of the French Revolution’).

Now rewrite the piece in the past perfect (past perfect tense shows actions that are complete, e.g. ‘I had walked to the exam venue at 8:00 am.’) End the rewrite with a revelation that came on the last day (for example, the entire class had to re-sit the exam because there was a mix-up with question papers).

Why:  Past perfect tense is useful for creating anticipation, because it shows something happened before something else . The reader says to herself ‘I see that all these actions have been completed, so what are they leading to?’ Mastering past perfect will help you create a more complex sense of time and chronology in your novel.

28. An interview

Prompt: Describe a character waiting nervously outside a venue for a job interview. Describe what they are worried they will be asked and in what ways they feel prepared. Write in recent past tense, ending with ‘the door opened’. After this, rewrite the same scene in the present progressive tense (beginning ‘I am sitting outside….’ and ending ‘the door opens…’)

Why:  It is important to be consistent with tense in a single section of your book or scene, unless transitions between tenses are logical and easy to follow (for example, a character shifting from sharing a memory to describing a present action). Mastering ‘present progressive tense’ (the tense using present participles that shows immediate, current action) will help you create active scenes that unfold in front of the reader.

29. A five-year plan

Prompt: Describe a character making plans for where they will be in life when they reach 30. Make several uses of the future perfect tense that indicates an action that will be complete in the future (e.g. ‘I will have finished studying’).

Why:  Characters, like real people, project themselves into the future, imagining when certain tasks or undertakings will be finished and what their achievements will look like. Future perfect tense shows that the narrator’s current situation has a definite end-point, making it clear that your character is in a state of transition. This helps to create a sense of both shorter time and longer time scales in your novel.

30. An unexpected visitor

Prompt: Begin a story about an unexpected visit with the words ‘I had not been expecting anyone, but…’ Use the past perfect progressive tense (‘I had been [working/walking/thinking/waiting/missing]’) at least two more times in the exercise.

Why:  The past perfect progressive tense is used to describe a continuous action that was completed in the past. It’s useful for writing about interruptions because there is an implied ‘but’ or ‘when something else happened’. For example ‘I had been reclining by the pool with my eyes closed when I heard an unfamiliar voice.’

31. An imperfect copy

Prompt: Open a favorite book to a random page and pick a paragraph. Copy out the paragraph but change every adjective to a synonym. Compare the two versions and note any differences in connotations. For example ‘green’ describes the color, but ‘verdant’ describes the green of lush vegetation or grasslands specifically.

Why:  When you rewrite, finding more descriptive alternatives for words that perhaps aren’t carrying enough weight will make your writing more vivid.

32. A marathon

Prompt:  Write a scene where your main character is running a competitive marathon. Describe her progress and feelings as she nears the finish line. The first time around, use adverbs (e.g. ‘I ran quickly around the bend in the road’), then rewrite using descriptive verbs instead of verb-plus-adverb (e.g. ‘I hurtled/sprinted’, instead of ‘I ran quickly’).

Why:  Adverbs tell the reader how an action is performed, while active verbs show that specific quality of action more imaginatively.

33. A synonymous exchange

Prompt: Write a scene between two characters who are out on a date at a restaurant. They mirror each other’s gestures from time to time in a subconscious display of affinity. For the first pass, use the same words for these gestures (e.g. ‘She smiled at me as she returned from the restroom and I smiled back.’) The second time around, take all the double words (e.g. ‘smiled’ and ‘smiled’) and replace one with a synonym so there is less repetition.

Why:  Sometimes it is hard not repeating the same word in short succession or you do so intentionally for effect. Yet using the same describing words within a short space of time for different objects or actions can feel amateurish and repetitive to readers. Use this exercise to practice creating variation and to expand your repertoire of useful synonyms.

34. A precocious child

Prompt: Write a scene in which your main character is talking with a precocious child who uses big words a lot (such as ‘precocious’, meaning showing certain abilities or interests at a younger age than the norm). Then go through the scene and find the shortest possible alternative for every longer word. An alternative to ‘precocious’ could be ‘clever’.

Why:  Learning to simplify your writing and strip it down to its most basic meanings is important for becoming a good editor. Before you can write great ornate prose, you need to have a good sense of how to write simply and sparingly.

35. A letter

Prompt: Write a scene in the passive voice, where a character receives bad news in a letter and describes being given the letter and reading it. For example, ‘The letter was given to me yesterday.’ Then rewrite the whole scene in the active voice, where the character is in the subject position: ‘I received a letter yesterday.’

Why:  A lot has been written about using active voice rather than passive voice. Passive voice can be used intentionally to create the impression that a character is fairly passive in their life and pushed and pulled by others. Generally, though, active characters are interesting to read about because we have a sense of their actions being purposeful and driven by some or other immediate goal, and that creates stakes that arouse interest.

36. A newsworthy hook

Prompt: Go to Google search and click on ‘news’, then type in a single word. It can be the name of a place, a colour, a job description. Then use the first line of the top result to begin a story and continue for 500 words. For example, for ‘purple’ the current result is ‘Jimi Hendrix would have been perfectly comfortable with the purple haze of uncertainty that surrounds many of the Liberal government’s most pressing agenda items.’ Granted, it would be an odd story, but you could write speculative fiction about Jimi Hendrix returning from the dead to be a guitar-playing political commentator.

Why:  News articles are a great source of story ideas, from the ordinary to the bizarre.

37. A chance find

Prompt:  Open a favourite novel to a random page. Use the first 5-7 words of the first complete sentence to begin writing a story. For example, from Haruki Murakami’s  The Wind-up Bird Chronicle:  ‘I was going to beat him…’

Why:  Other writers’ books are filled with great turns of phrase. A single image or action can spark your imagination and start off an interesting story.

38. An autocomplete

Prompt: Go to Google search and start typing in a phrase beginning ‘What if’. Look in the auto-complete suggestions that pop up (for ‘what if everyone was’ a suggestion is ‘what if everyone was vegan’). Write a story opening up to 500 words long that explores this idea in greater detail.

Why:  Many great stories and novels branch out from a simple premise. For example, C.S. Lewis’ great fantasy novel  The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe  starts from the question ‘what if there were another world where animals could talk and we could reach it through secret portals?’

39. A blind stroke of luck

Prompt: Open a dictionary to a random page five times, close your eyes and land your finger on a random word. Write each of the five down and try to combine them into a story idea. For example, for ‘alternative’, ‘full’, ‘discovery’, ‘critic’ and ‘original’, you could come up with ‘A critic obsessed with Kafka makes a discovery – a drawer full of alternative original drafts of stories that seem to give a cryptic message.’

Why:  Using random techniques can jog your creativity and help you find curious combinations of subject matter you’d never normally dream of writing about.

40. A song to start it all

Prompt: Take a playlist on a music streaming service or your own device and select shuffle.

Press play and use the words of the title as either the opening of a story or to create the main idea. For example, the words ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ (the title of a song by the band Joy Division) could be words a character thinks in a story about an unhappy love affair.

Why:  Songs are great sources of writing inspiration because they are often ambiguous and allow us to fill in the gaps using our own imaginations.

Create eventful plots

41. a great win.

Prompt: Write a scene in which a person wins the lottery. Describe their excitement and the lead-up to claiming their ticket, and the moment that they find out that they got the date of the draw wrong and didn’t win anything after all.

Why:  The ‘reversal of fortune’ is a common ingredient of tragedy and drama. Practice writing about reversals of fortune to improve at creating the rising and falling action of dramatic moments in your stories’ plots.

42. A prophecy

Prompt: Write a scene in which a prophet comes to a village and shares a premonition that throws the townspeople into turmoil. Describe how a main character decides to set about resolving the situation.

Why:  The catalyst for your story, the inciting event that sets it in motion, needs to create tension (whether between characters or within one character) that begs resolution. This exercise will help you practice creating action-centered story beginnings.

43. A betrayal

Prompt:  Write a scene in which two old friends have a fight that threatens to dissolve their friendship for good. It could be a fight over a clash of values or a personal betrayal. Towards the end, show that there is a glimmer of hope that they will reconcile.

Why:  Conflict (whether internal or between characters) is the lifeblood of great plots. If everything is easy and straightforward for your characters, the stakes are low and the reader invests less emotionally.

44. An adoption

Prompt: A woman has been searching for her birth mother for years because there are important questions she needs to ask her. She’s finally found the right address and has made contact, and the woman has invited her over. Start with ‘She rings the bell’ and describe their interaction for about 500 words.

Why:  Climactic plot moments are opportunities to create suspense and resolution. Isolating and practicing writing moments of plot revelation will help you handle moments of truth creatively and assuredly.

45. A new piece of evidence

Prompt: A detective has been on the hunt for a notorious killer for years. He’s finally tracked him down to a hideout and the detective manages to cuff and arrest him. But while combing through the killer’s hideout, the detective makes a shocking discovery that opens a whole new chapter. Write an ending for this story that also suggests the beginning of a new plot line.

Why:  Writing a book series is challenging, and knowing how to create new arcs even as you resolve major ones helps to keep readers invested in seeing what your protagonist will face next.

46. A late pardon

Prompt: A man imprisoned wrongly for a crime is released after 20 years. He’s lost touch with his family. Describe his surprise homecoming in 500 words or less.

Why:  Dramatic stories that carry a lot of emotional weight need to be resolved satisfyingly. If your protagonist has suffered immensely, the ultimate deliverance should read as comparatively immense. This exercise will help you find dramatic story endings for dramatic beginnings.

47. A better ending

Prompt: Take a novel that had an ending you found unsatisfying. Rewrite the ending and change elements so that you’re happy with the outcome.

Why:  Sometimes writers make choices that upset us. We finish thinking ‘there was so much promise, and then they went and did  that ‘. So practice writing endings that satisfy your expectations of a book so that you are best equipped to satisfy your readers’ own.

48. An educated guess

Prompt: Read the first paragraph of a short story or novel, then close the book and write a final paragraph.

Why:  Many story openings give a clear sense of what the general themes and preoccupations of the book are. It’s important that the opening and closing of your book resonate with each other, so practice writing these two parts together as an exercise.

49. A top-rated finale

Prompt: Take a favorite television series or movie. Make up your own ending based on what you can remember of the plot line and characters.

Why:  Using TV shows and movies as inspiration is effective because screenwriters are especially well-versed in strong beginnings and openings. Practicing an exercise like this will help you think like a screenwriter in how you craft compelling story endings.

50. A blank slate

Prompt: Create your own prompt for writing a story ending and post it in the comments below

Why:  Coming up with prompts is a valuable creative exercise in itself.

Find daily writing prompts with exercises to practice literary devices and craft.

Try easy, step-by-step prompts that will help you outline your novel and support to see you through the challenging first draft.

Related Posts:

• Daily writing prompts: 365 ways to practice craft
• Character archetypes: How to enrich your novel's cast
• Creating your own budget MFA in Creative Writing
• Tags writing exercises , writing inspiration , writing prompts

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

13 replies on “50 creative writing prompts to enrich your craft”

This is an amazing list! I love the fact that you listed a “why” after each exercise, it really helps to focus the mind. I’ve included a link to this post in my latest blog post on https://elisabethannewritesthings.wordpress.com/ I hope you don’t mind! If you do, let me know and I will take it down, but I thought it would be great to share it with other people.

Thanks, Elisabeth. Not at all, I’m glad you liked it and grateful for the mention. B.

[…] you are struggling to come up with ideas to write about daily, these great writing prompts will inspire you and maybe take your writing in a new […]

Writing prompts has a great significance. It helps the readers come to know the goal of writing the article.A single word, a single line even a picture can be the writing prompts.So, we should be more creative to write a writing prompts.It must be clear, concise and focused.Nowadays, many paper writing service, online writing schools help us to learn writing prompts. Here you have shared fifty real life example of writing prompts. These examples must help us to write a great prompt. Thank you for sharing.

Hi Cody, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for reading!

I wrote a short story based on the first one, and I didn’t follow it exactly but I am really happy with it. I plan on having my friends edit it. I love the why it helps me understand what the point of it is besides just typing words. Thankyou

It’s a pleasure, Emilie. I’m glad you found it inspiring. Good luck with your story!

There are some amazing ideas here! So glad I found this list, you’ve really got me thinking! Thank you 🙂

I loved the prompts as well as the structure of your post! It certainly gave me some food for thought…I was wondering if there’s some way to get feedback on what I write using these prompts, though…is that possible?

Thank you Ananya, I’m glad you enjoyed this article!

You can share pieces for feedback from peers in our members-only writing groups. You can sign up here: https://www.nownovel.com/users/sign_up

Fantastic. Thank you.

It’s a pleasure, Tinka, thank you for reading!

[…] Look no further than http://www.nownovel.com/blog/50-creative-writing-prompts/ […]

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Last updated on Mar 08, 2024

Character Development: How to Create Fan-Favorite Characters in 5 Steps

About the author.

Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.

About Dario Villirilli

Editor-in-Chief of the Reedsy blog, Dario is a graduate of Mälardalen University. As a freelance writer, he has written for many esteemed outlets aimed at writers. A traveler at heart, he can be found roaming the world and working from his laptop.

In fiction, character development is the process of writing a character who feels as complex and real as a person. This means sketching the character’s inner world 一 their wants and needs, strengths and weaknesses 一 as well as their outer appearance and behavior. It also means showing how the character  changes throughout the story — their arc.

In this article, we will guide you through a step-by-step process to create multi-faceted characters that readers will care to read about. You can also download our free character development template to start crafting your own protagonist. 

How to develop a fictional character:

1. Give the characters wants and needs

2. identify their strengths and flaws, 3. sketch out their antagonists, 4. develop their look and behavior, 5. research their trade and culture.

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Development Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

First, it’s important to point out that your main character will be inextricably linked to your book's plot. As author Tom Bromley teaches in  his course on writing novels , “the protagonist should shape the plot, and the plot should shape the protagonist.”  

In this regard, the most important character building blocks are their Wants and Needs. As Bromley explains, a Want is what the character thinks will make them happy, a goal they are motivated to pursue, that propels them on an inner and outer journey. 

A character’s Need, on the other hand, is something deeper, more fundamental. It’s a truth they must learn about themselves or the world around them. Most of the time, a character’s internal story arc sees them realizing that their Want was fuelled by a lie they told themselves — and coming to understand a new truth (their Need) that is the secret to unlocking their success:

• A character might want to be famous, but what they need is to be heard. 
• They might want to get married, but what they need is love.

For an example, think of Joy in Pixar’s Inside Out : 

• Want : Joy wants to ensure that Riley is always happy and only experiences positive emotions. This is because she believes that emotions like sadness and anger are harmful and unnecessary.
• Need : Joy needs to realize that all emotions have their place and are important for Riley’s psychological development and a healthy emotional life. 

Or take Jay Gatsby (who actually doesn’t learn what he needs , and has a negative arc): 

• Want : Gatsby wants to be reunited with Daisy, his long-lost love. He believes that by attaining wealth and status, he can win her back.
• Need : Gatsby must learn that happiness cannot be bought and that living in the past or for another's affection is self-destructive.

Now it’s your turn..

📝 Exercise:

• What does your character think they want?
• What do they actually need in order to feel fulfilled?

Mapping your character’s wants and needs 一 two key components of their character arc 一 will help you figure out what psychological space they’re in at the beginning of the story and in what direction they should move as the plot progresses. But to figure out whether they’ll have a smooth ride or not and what type of obstacles they might encounter, we have to know their strengths and weaknesses.

FREE COURSE

How to Develop Characters

In 10 days, learn to develop complex characters readers will love.

Much of the intrigue in your story will stem from how your character responds to the external and internal conflicts they face in the pursuit of their Goal. Every type of character — from superheroes to lovelorn accountants — will need both strengths to draw upon and flaws that threaten to drag them down.

If in The Lord of The Rings Frodo walked up to Mount Doom unbothered, dropped the ring in the lava, and made it back in time for a second breakfast, he’d be a dull protagonist. It’s the obstacles he faces — Sauron’s army of orcs and the ring’s power over his spirit, to name a couple — that force him to make decisions and evolve as a character.

The iconic characters we know and love tend to have a nuanced mix of positive and negative traits. Consider Woody from Toy Story : he's a charismatic figure and a natural leader among the toys, known for his loyalty to Andy. However, he can be vain and petty, so the arrival of Buzz Lightyear causes him to feel jealous and insecure. 

While Woody’s charisma is admirable, it's his flaws that make him relatable. We may not all relate to being the leader of the pack, but we all know the fear of being overshadowed and replaced, as well as feeling jealous and insecure. 

So many of the challenges Woody faces are meant to test his strengths and flaws, from his face on the wall and bed cover being replaced with Buzz’s, to the other toys questioning his leadership and morals when he kicks him out of the window. Ultimately, he has to overcome his jealousy, cooperate with Buzz, and learn that they can both have a place in Andy's heart.

Some other common examples of character strengths are courage, intelligence, resilience, integrity, perseverance, and creativity, whereas character flaws are qualities like bitterness, arrogance, greed, selfishness, deceitfulness, and pessimism. You can find more examples of interesting flaws in this post .  

• What are your character’s best qualities?
• What are some of their negative traits?

Pick a mix of both to give your readers something to root for. Your character should be plausibly able to overcome the challenges the plot throws at them, whether that’s destroying the ring or saving the wizarding world. At the same time, there should be a real risk that your character will fail — whether they fall prey to the ring’s power at the very edge of Mt. Doom, or die in a burst of green light from the Dark Lord’s wand. 

This brings us to another key piece of character development, which is sketching out your hero’s main antagonist. 

What is your character's archetype?

Take our 1-minute quiz to find out.

An important point to make is that you can’t create a character in a vacuum. You need to define them in relation to other people and the world they inhabit. As John Truby writes in The Anatomy of Story , “[to] create great characters, think of all your characters as part of a web in which each helps define the others. To put it another way, a character is often defined by who he is not.” 

Of particular importance, according to Truby, is your primary antagonist. “The relationship between the hero and the opponent is the single most important relationship in the story. In working out the struggle between these two characters, the larger issues and themes of the story unfold.”

It bears noting that the main antagonist doesn’t have to be another character (or even have evil intent). As we explain in our post on types of conflict, your hero might be up against nature, technology, society at large, or other forces that keep them from achieving what they want. Regardless of the form your story’s opposing force will take, Truby reminds us that it’s crucial to develop their morals or logic in parallel to your hero’s. 

“The main opponent is the one person in the world best able to attack the great weakness of the hero. And he should attack it relentlessly. The necessary opponent either forces the hero to overcome his weakness or destroys him. Put another way, the necessary opponent makes it possible for the hero to grow.” 

Think of Voldemort: an orphan and a brilliant wizard, he deeply understands Harry. He also knows his main weakness 一 the death of his parents 一 because he’s responsible for it. And he keeps putting his finger in the wound: from (indirectly) killing Sirius Black and other people he loves, to pervading his mind with fear, to literally trying to kill him. Ultimately, it’s his evil competence that forces Harry to grow into the wise and selfless man he needs to become. 

• Who is your hero’s antagonist? 
• What is their background? What are their motivations?
• How do they relentlessly attack the hero?

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And other secondary characters

While the antagonist is the most important other character in the story, you can also craft your hero by sketching out secondary characters 一 other enemies or allies who contrasts with the hero in order to highlight some qualities of their personality. 

In Tarantino’s Django Unchained for example, both Django and Stephen display high intelligence and adaptability in dealing with enslavement. But their paths couldn’t be further from each other. Django uses his wit and skills to free himself and others, while Stephen embraces racism and even participates in its practices in order to gain protection and comfort for himself. The juxtaposition between Django's quest for freedom and justice and Stephen's acquiescence to the status quo of slavery sharpens Django's resolve and moral stance. 

For another quick example, think of Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird : despite him remaining  relatively unchanged , his steadfast belief in justice allows Scout to evolve from an innocent child into a girl with a strong sense of right and wrong.

As Truby explains, each secondary character can make the hero confront the central moral problem of the story, either by providing support and new perspectives or throwing obstacles at them trying to tear him down. 

• Who are the allies your hero will need on their path to achieve their goal?
• Which other enemies (or false enemies) can force them to grow?

Alright, after mapping the inner life of our main characters, it’s now time to look outwards.. 

Yes, the internal goals and motivations are the "heart" of a character. But that doesn't mean that their external characteristics should just be an afterthought. Sure, the fact that your protagonist has blonde hair may not impact the plot — but it might color how other characters respond to them. So, early in your character development, put a bit of time into sketching out your protagonist's physical features.

• Appearance : What do they look like? Does their look play a role in the story?
• Voice: What do they sound like? Does their voice match their look?

Remember that people’s looks don’t always match who they are inside. Some of the most compelling characters are baby-faced killers and brutes with a heart of gold. So try and play around with interesting contradictions.

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

Physical traits don’t end with eye color and voice type. To make your brown-eyed alto stand out from similar characters in the literary canon, you’ll want to round out that physical profile with some distinctive behavior quirks . 

After all, a character’s physicality takes so much more than describing their static body in isolation. It’s about how they move through space — and about how they interact with everything around them, from objects to other characters. By focusing on their mannerisms, you take a step towards showing instead of telling: big, bold movements imply confidence so you don’t have to spell it out, whereas frantically moving or fidgeting suggests a nervous nature.

To achieve this, you’ll want to reflect on how your character consciously and subconsciously responds to the world around them.

• Communication style : How do they engage in dialogue? How does the way they communicate shape their relationships? Does their speech have any idiosyncrasies or quirks ?
• Gait : How do they make their way around their environment, and how does this impact how they’re treated?
• Tics and tells : What do they do when they’re nervous, uncertain of how to proceed, or telling lies?

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Some character mannerisms will be situationally dependent and can serve as a shorthand for describing a character’s emotional state. For example, Nynaeve from the Wheel of Time series tugs on her braid when she's agitated, and Bond villain Le Chiffre bleeds from his eye when under intense pressure.

Other mannerisms, however, are part of a character’s default state — as essential to our view of them as their coloring. Just think of Draco Malfoy’s permanent sneer: it’s as much a part of him as his pale blond hair.

To make your character truly memorable, you’ll want to consider adding both these types of mannerisms to their behavioral repertoire. Anger shouldn’t look the same on everyone: someone might flare up like an inferno, going red in the face, while others turn icily polite, smiling insincerely. 

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When it comes to character development, imagination will only take you so far. Unless you’re intimately familiar with your protagonist’s world, you’ll need to work to get the details right. 

If your hero is a NASA astronaut or a veteran of the Vietnam war, there are readily available resources that will let you find out what their life might be like. You might uncover small details that are key to bringing them to life — perhaps some slang they used back in the seventies, or some unusual morning routine astronauts go through. 

The research doesn’t stop at your character’s main trade, but it can include everything else about their culture 一 their ethnicity, social class, political and spiritual views, education, interests, and language. 

Say you’re writing a British character when you’ve never set foot outside of Florida, you’ll want to do a bit of research when scripting his dialogue. Perhaps you could search “croydon slang” on YouTube or watch a British-made TV show set in the character’s hometown to collect some helpful examples of speech . 

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By now, you will have chiseled away at the blank marble and uncovered enough about your character to have a good sense of them. You can now work on the fine details — those subtle psychological touches — by putting them through these eight character development exercises or by getting character feedback from groups such as CharacterHub . 

If you’re not sure how your characters might be received by people from different backgrounds consider engaging the services of a sensitivity reader. Think of them as research assistants, committed to making your character development as authentic and nuanced as possible. 

Be patient with yourself. Character development is hard. It will take a little time (and a lot of refining) before you’ll create a protagonist as complex and real as a person, but when you do — you’ll know it and your readers will thank you for it. With a fully developed character by your side, your story will almost start writing itself.

2 responses

Diane says:

07/06/2018 – 09:01

Indeed Indeed Indeed. Brilliant article. Everything is simple and difficult in the same time. But with this tips it is easier to create your full tutoriage character.

16/04/2020 – 19:50

clearly the writers of star wars episodes 7, 8, and 9 never read this article.

Comments are currently closed.

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Psychological Writing Prompts: Unleashing Creativity and Self-Discovery

A mirror, a pen, and a blank page—these unassuming tools hold the key to unraveling the mysteries of the mind and unleashing a torrent of creativity. In the realm of self-discovery and artistic expression, psychological writing prompts serve as powerful catalysts, igniting the spark of imagination and illuminating the hidden corners of our psyche. These prompts are more than mere writing exercises; they’re gateways to understanding ourselves and the world around us in profound and unexpected ways.

But what exactly are psychological writing prompts? Picture them as thought-provoking questions or scenarios designed to delve into the depths of your mind, emotions, and experiences. They’re like keys that unlock doors you didn’t even know existed within your consciousness. These prompts can range from simple questions about your day to complex scenarios that challenge your beliefs and perceptions.

The benefits of using psychological prompts for writing are as vast as the human experience itself. They can help you break through writer’s block, explore your emotions, gain clarity on personal issues, and even tap into wells of creativity you never knew you possessed. It’s like having a psychological self-portrait painted with words, unveiling the depths of your inner landscape with each stroke of the pen.

These prompts don’t just enhance creativity; they’re also powerful tools for self-awareness. By engaging with them regularly, you might find yourself uncovering patterns in your thoughts and behaviors, gaining insights into your relationships, and even discovering new aspects of your personality. It’s a journey of self-exploration that can be both exhilarating and enlightening.

Types of Psychological Writing Prompts

Now, let’s dive into the various types of psychological writing prompts that can serve as your compass on this journey of self-discovery and creativity.

Emotion-based prompts are like mirrors reflecting our inner emotional landscape. They might ask you to describe a time when you felt overwhelmed with joy, or to explore the nuances of a complex emotion like nostalgia. These prompts can be particularly powerful for developing emotional intelligence and understanding the subtleties of our feelings.

Memory and experience prompts, on the other hand, are time machines that transport us back to significant moments in our lives. They might ask you to revisit your childhood home or recall a pivotal decision that shaped your life’s trajectory. These prompts can help us process past experiences and gain new perspectives on our personal history.

Personality exploration prompts are like excavation tools, digging deep into the bedrock of who we are. They might challenge you to describe yourself from the perspective of a close friend or to imagine how you’d react in a hypothetical scenario. These exercises can reveal fascinating insights about our character and help us understand our unique quirks and traits.

Relationship and social interaction prompts focus on the intricate web of connections that shape our lives. They might ask you to write a letter to someone you’ve lost touch with or explore the dynamics of a challenging relationship. These prompts can be particularly helpful for those looking to improve their interpersonal skills or gain clarity on their social world.

Dream and subconscious prompts are like diving into the deep end of our psyche. They might ask you to describe a recurring dream or to imagine a conversation with your subconscious mind. These prompts can tap into hidden fears, desires, and creative wellsprings that we might not access in our waking life.

Using Psychological Writing Prompts for Personal Growth

The beauty of psychological writing prompts lies in their potential for fostering personal growth and self-improvement. They’re not just writing exercises; they’re tools for transformation.

Self-reflection and introspection are at the heart of this process. By regularly engaging with these prompts, you create a space for honest self-examination. It’s like holding up a mirror to your inner self and really taking the time to look closely at what you see. This practice can lead to profound insights and a deeper understanding of your motivations, fears, and aspirations.

As you continue this practice, you might start identifying patterns and behaviors that you weren’t previously aware of. Perhaps you notice that you tend to procrastinate when faced with certain types of tasks, or that you have a habit of downplaying your achievements. Recognizing these patterns is the first step towards making positive changes in your life.

Developing emotional intelligence is another significant benefit of working with psychological writing prompts. By regularly exploring and expressing your emotions through writing, you can become more adept at recognizing and managing your feelings. This skill is invaluable in both personal and professional contexts, helping you navigate complex social situations with greater ease and empathy.

These prompts can also be powerful tools for overcoming mental blocks and limiting beliefs. Often, the act of writing can help us externalize our thoughts and see them from a new perspective. This distance can make it easier to challenge negative self-talk or irrational fears that might be holding us back.

Moreover, the practice of engaging with psychological writing prompts can be a form of mindfulness in itself. As you focus on responding to a prompt, you’re fully present in the moment, attuned to your thoughts and feelings. This psychology exercise can be a effective technique for mental well-being and personal growth, helping to reduce stress and increase self-awareness.

Psychological Writing Prompts for Creative Writing

For those engaged in creative writing, psychological prompts can be a goldmine of inspiration and depth. They can help breathe life into characters, add complexity to plots, and infuse your writing with authentic emotional resonance.

Character development prompts, for instance, can help you create multi-dimensional, believable characters. You might use a prompt that asks you to explore a character’s deepest fear, or to write a scene from their childhood that shaped their personality. These exercises can help you understand your characters on a deeper level, making their actions and motivations more authentic and compelling.

Plot and conflict generation prompts can help you break out of predictable storylines and explore new narrative territories. A prompt might challenge you to write a scene where your protagonist faces their worst nightmare, or to introduce an unexpected element that turns the story on its head. These exercises can inject fresh energy and unpredictability into your writing.

Setting and atmosphere creation prompts can help you craft vivid, immersive worlds for your stories. You might be prompted to describe a location using all five senses, or to write about a place that exists only in your imagination. These exercises can help you develop your descriptive skills and create more engaging, atmospheric writing.

Dialogue and interpersonal dynamics prompts can help you write more realistic, nuanced conversations between characters. You might be asked to write a dialogue where what’s left unsaid is more important than what’s spoken, or to explore the power dynamics between two characters through their interaction. These exercises can help you capture the subtleties of human communication in your writing.

Exploring themes and symbolism through prompts can add depth and layers of meaning to your work. You might be challenged to incorporate a specific symbol into your story and explore its significance, or to write a scene that embodies a particular theme. These exercises can help you create more thought-provoking, resonant writing.

Implementing Psychological Writing Prompts in Therapy and Counseling

Beyond personal growth and creative writing, psychological writing prompts have found a valuable place in therapeutic settings. Many mental health professionals recognize the power of writing as a tool for healing and self-discovery.

Journaling, guided by carefully chosen prompts, can be a powerful therapeutic tool. It provides a safe space for clients to explore their thoughts and feelings, process difficult experiences, and track their progress over time. A therapist might provide prompts tailored to a client’s specific issues, encouraging them to dig deeper into their experiences and emotions.

For those processing trauma and working towards healing, specific prompts can be particularly beneficial. These might guide the individual to explore their feelings in a controlled, supportive environment, helping them to gradually confront and process traumatic experiences at their own pace.

In cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), writing exercises often play a crucial role. Prompts might be used to help clients identify and challenge negative thought patterns, or to practice reframing situations in more positive, constructive ways. This psychology of writing down goals can be a powerful tool in CBT, helping clients to clarify their objectives and commit to positive changes.

Group therapy sessions can also benefit from the use of writing prompts. Shared writing exercises can foster connection and understanding among group members, providing a structured way to share experiences and insights. It’s like creating a collective creativity psychology experiment, where each participant’s unique perspective contributes to a richer, more diverse exploration of the topic at hand.

Some therapists even combine art therapy with psychological writing prompts, creating a multi-modal approach to self-expression and healing. Clients might be asked to create a piece of art in response to a prompt, then write about their creation and the emotions it evokes. This combination can tap into different aspects of the psyche, providing a more holistic approach to therapy.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Psychological Writing Prompts

To truly harness the power of psychological writing prompts, it’s helpful to approach them with intention and consistency. Here are some tips to help you make the most of this practice:

Creating a consistent writing routine is key. Set aside a specific time each day or week for your writing practice. This doesn’t have to be a long session – even 10-15 minutes can be beneficial. The important thing is to make it a regular habit, like brushing your teeth or having your morning coffee.

Before you start writing, take a moment to set an intention. What do you hope to gain from this writing session? Are you looking to explore a particular emotion, gain clarity on an issue, or simply let your creativity flow? Setting an intention can help focus your mind and make your writing practice more purposeful.

When responding to prompts, try to embrace free writing and stream of consciousness. Don’t worry about perfect grammar or polished prose. The goal is to let your thoughts flow freely onto the page without censorship or judgment. This automatic writing psychology can help you tap into your subconscious mind, revealing insights and ideas you might not access through more structured writing.

After you’ve finished writing, take some time to analyze and reflect on your responses. What surprises you about what you’ve written? Do you notice any recurring themes or patterns? This reflection can often be just as valuable as the writing itself, helping you to gain deeper insights from your work.

While writing can be a deeply personal practice, there can also be value in sharing and discussing your writing with others when appropriate. This might be with a therapist, a trusted friend, or a writing group. Sharing can provide new perspectives on your work and help you see things you might have missed on your own.

Remember, there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to respond to a prompt. The value lies in the process itself, in the act of exploring your thoughts and feelings through writing. Be kind to yourself and approach the practice with curiosity rather than judgment.

As you continue to work with psychological writing prompts, you might find yourself naturally incorporating elements of positive psychology journal prompts into your practice. This can help cultivate a more optimistic outlook and focus on personal growth and well-being.

In conclusion, psychological writing prompts offer a powerful tool for self-discovery, creativity, and personal growth. They provide a structured yet flexible approach to exploring our inner worlds, helping us to understand ourselves better and express our thoughts and feelings more effectively.

By incorporating these prompts into our daily lives, we open ourselves up to a journey of ongoing self-discovery. Each writing session is an opportunity to learn something new about ourselves, to challenge our assumptions, and to grow as individuals. Whether you’re a writer looking to deepen your craft, someone on a journey of personal growth, or simply curious about exploring your inner world, psychological writing prompts offer a valuable path forward.

Remember, the journey of self-discovery through writing is ongoing. There’s always more to learn, more to explore, more to understand about ourselves and the world around us. So pick up that pen, open that blank page, and see where the prompts take you. You might be surprised at what you discover.

As you embark on this journey, consider exploring other aspects of psychological writing, such as psychology writers who bridge science and storytelling in mental health , or delve into crafting impactful language in psychological sentences . And for those looking to apply these skills in social contexts, you might find value in learning about self-promotion psychology and mastering the art of showcasing your value , or exploring psychology questions to ask a girl for deepening connections through meaningful conversations .

The world of psychological writing prompts is vast and varied, offering endless possibilities for exploration and growth. So dive in, let your pen flow, and see where this journey of self-discovery takes you. Your next great insight or creative breakthrough might be just a prompt away.

References:

1. Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8(3), 162-166.

2. Smyth, J. M., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2008). Exploring the boundary conditions of expressive writing: In search of the right recipe. British Journal of Health Psychology, 13(1), 1-7.

3. Slatcher, R. B., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2006). How do I love thee? Let me count the words: The social effects of expressive writing. Psychological Science, 17(8), 660-664.

4. Lepore, S. J., & Smyth, J. M. (Eds.). (2002). The writing cure: How expressive writing promotes health and emotional well-being. American Psychological Association.

5. King, L. A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(7), 798-807.

6. Frattaroli, J. (2006). Experimental disclosure and its moderators: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(6), 823-865.

7. Baikie, K. A., & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), 338-346.

8. Pennebaker, J. W., & Chung, C. K. (2011). Expressive writing: Connections to physical and mental health. Oxford Handbook of Health Psychology, 417-437.

9. Smyth, J. M., Stone, A. A., Hurewitz, A., & Kaell, A. (1999). Effects of writing about stressful experiences on symptom reduction in patients with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized trial. JAMA, 281(14), 1304-1309.

10. Niles, A. N., Haltom, K. E., Mulvenna, C. M., Lieberman, M. D., & Stanton, A. L. (2014). Randomized controlled trial of expressive writing for psychological and physical health: The moderating role of emotional expressivity. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 27(1), 1-17.

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