Friday, August 24, 2012

Profiling Your Character

I've decided I like revising more than writing the first draft. Now the fun stuff begins ... or was I supposed to figure this all out before writing the first draft? Hmm. Oh well.

While revising, I came across a great list of questions to ask your main character. From page 87 in Deborah Halverson's WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES (btw: I still hate the title, but love the book):

1. What is her stance in the world?
2. Is she acquiescent? Challenging? Compromising?
3. Is she quick to anger or does she long for peace?
4. How does she act when confronted with a difficult decision or person?
5. How does she react to someone else's difficulty?
6. What does she think is important? True? Impossible?
7. What brings her joy? Gives her pain?
8.What does she really, really, want?
9. Are her desires and reactions consistent? If not--real people are not always consistent--what is the reason?

What do you think? Great list? Will you use the questions for your characters?

8 comments:

  1. That is a pretty good list- I'd say I'd use them. :) thanks for posting.

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  2. Great list! These will come in handy while I work on my YA novel. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. This is the second post I've read about character profiling. I'm not sure it would work for me - I like to make things up as I go along, because I can change them any time I want!

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  4. I love asking questions of my character. This is a great list to use.

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  5. Interesting list. I tend to picture my character as someone I've known or an amalgamation of several people and go from there, usually.

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  6. Good list for character prompts :)

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  7. Hey Margo! It's been a long time since I stopped by! I hope all is well.

    I've heard of profiling characters before. It sounds like a fun way to really get to the heart of what all your characters are really about. This list is a great starting point! Thanks for sharing!

    Jen

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  8. nice post thanks for sharing...i found your blog thrue other follower im looking for to visit more...blessings

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