Character Outline
To me, the most important part of a book is its characters. I don’t want little half-formed stick figures running around, doing exactly what I tell them to do. I want real, live people telling me what they’re going to do. While my characters may be extensions of myself, to some degree, they’re also their own people. They have abilities, fears and wants that I don’t have.
In order to develop a character to that point, I feel it’s important to have a full understanding of that character. While I discover a good bit about my characters in the first draft, I also complete a full character outline for them. No matter how big or small a part they play in my story, each character gets his or her own outline. It’s a lot of work, but I feel like it’s worth it to develop them from words on a page to real people in my head.
Below, I’ve included some of the questions I use in my character outline sheet. I have compiled this list from many different sources and turned it into what I need for proper character development. Some questions may seem like they’re the same, but they are asked in such a way that it makes me really look at the answer differently. Most of this information will never make it into the story, but it’s there if I need it. And I’ve been surprised more than a few times by the answers I’ve discovered.
What about you? What do you do to develop your characters? Is there anything you would add or take away from this list?
Basics
Full name:
Nickname:
Birth date and astrological sign:
Age:
Race:
Hair color and style:
Eye color:
Any scars or distinguishing marks:
Height:
Weight:
Family and Childhood
Mother/Relationship to mother:
Father/Relationship to father:
Parents’ occupations:
Brothers/Sisters:
Other close family:
Home life during childhood:
Important experiences or events:
Health problems:
Your Character’s Character
Bad habits:
Good habits:
Proud of:
Embarrassed by:
Greatest fear:
Biggest regrets:
Feels vulnerable when:
Feels secure when:
Conflicts:
Motivation and drives:
What single most event would throw the character’s life into turmoil and why:
Greatest source of strength in the character’s personality (whether they see it or not):
Greatest weakness:
Character’s darkest secret:
Self-perception
One paragraph description of how character would describe self:
What does he/she think is their best physical characteristic:
Worst:
Are these realistic assessments:
Why or why not:
How does he/she think other perceive him/her:
What four things would the character most like to change about him/herself and why:
If a change was made, would he/she be happy and why:
Likes and styles
Music:
Books:
Foods:
Drinks:
Color:
Clothing:
Jewelry:
Expressions:
Expletives:
Where and how the character lives now
Home and furnishings:
Most cherished possession:
Town or city name and details:
Married before:
Children:
Best friend:
Enemies:
Career:
Does he/she like his/her career:
Hobbies:
Guilty pleasure:
Your character’s life before the story
Biggest mistakes:
Biggest achievements:
Most important person in his/her life and why:
Brief timeline of events before the start of the story:
Describe how the character spends the week before the story starts:
A little Extra
Which of the seven deadly sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride) does your character fight? Which does the character willingly give in to?
Which of the seven virtues (chastity, abstinence, liberality, diligence, patience, kindness, humility) does your character fight? Which does the character willingly give in to?
What would your character do to relax after a bad day?
Where does your character want to be in his or her life ten years from now?
Who was the character most influenced by and why?
What lessons does the character need to learn?
The most dangerous flames burn from within...
Fire's Kiss
by Brittany Pate
Paranormal Romance
November 21, 2017
Get Your Copy Today!
Being a half-demon isn't easy. Neither is being wooed by a mask-wearing warlord with vengeance on his mind.
Embyr tends her tavern and maintains her quiet life while keeping her dangerous parentage a secret until she's attacked by a hellhound and saved by one of the most feared men in history. For the last eight hundred years, Ryder McLennon, the infamous leader of Death's Horsemen, has used his army to hunt the vampire who killed his wife. Long devoid of any emotion, he's earned a reputation as a murderous madman. But in Embyr, he discovers something that could turn the tide of battle in his favor. Her control over fire can reduce an enemy to ash and her flippant disregard of him heats his blood in ways no one ever has. She's beautiful, powerful and completely different from her violence-loving brethren. Embyr finds herself thrust into a war she wants no part of, targeted by a vicious vampire because of her cooperation with Ryder. As she tries to use her power over fire without letting the madness of her race overcome her, she also has to fight her attraction to a killer bent on her seduction.
About the Author:
Brittany Pate lives in Texas with her husband and son. She is a longtime lover of all things fantasy and romance. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys narrating audio books and drinking entirely too much coffee.
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