15 Questions to Ask to Write More Compelling Characters

Characters, despite being imaginary, are merely humans you create from scratch. Their histories, personalities, desires, and relationships are intricate and uniquer. However, the thought of developing an entire, imperfect human being can be overwhelming. Answering a series of questions, beginning with the fundamentals and becoming more in-depth over time, may alleviate some of the strain associated with character creation.

Before diving into this list, be sure to describe this character's role in your novel or story. Is this character primary, secondary, or tertiary? 

If you are writing a minor character who will appear for only a few pages or scenes, you generally do not need to answer all of these questions. But if you're developing a main or supporting character with a significant role in the tale, you should absolutely review the entire list!

This is going to be a series and this installment we're going to start with the fundamental: backstory and relationships.

Backstory Questions

1. ​What is their history in general?
2. Where was he/she born? Do they still live there now ?
   
3. When were they born (according to their age and your world's time period)?
   
4. What is their greatest accomplishment?
   
5. What is their most unpleasant/traumatic experience?
   
6. Which is their deepest, darkest secret?
   

Family and Relationships

1. Is he or she an only child? If they have siblings, what is the birth order and the nature of their relationship with each of them?
   
2. Do their parents still living?
   
3. Were their biological parents present throughout the their entire lives, or did someone else raise them?
   
4. Were they raised by a "village" of family and friends, or raised away from extended family and connections?
   
5. Did your character feel like they fit in with their family, or did they feel different?
   
6. What role did their upbringing and early life play in shaping how they interact with the world?
   
7. How do they appear differently for various individuals? How do they deal with their boss versus their friends?
   
8. Who are their acquaintances/friends now? How long have they been friends?
   
9. Have they lost someone due to the death of another character, a change in their circumstances, etc?
   

And that's it for today. I'm sure this will keep you busy so tomorrow, I'll have a few more sets of questions dealing with personality and motives to help with your character development!