Researching Your Characters--Real or Imagined

The internet is full of great questionnaires for characters. I love taking a break from the grind of writing a book to play with one of these. I can even put on my journalist hat and imagine interviewing the character--real or imagined--to see what new information I can dig up.

This week, pick one of your major or minor cast and spend time getting to know them in a new way. People move stories, illustrate theories and ideas, and rumble in the background of all great literature, no matter the genre. It's up to you, the writer, to get to know them.

Fiction writers know this is part of the process--you imagine a character then fill in their life details. But those writing "real" people can also benefit from the in-depth interview. Especially if you are writing someone that bewilders you with their secrets, it's worth the time to see what else you might learn. (One writer learned about her deceased mother, a featured player in her memoir, by interviewing colleagues and friends of her mother. This was a relief because she'd reached a dead end in her own information.)

This week, interview one of your main players. Find out new details about them. Start with the very basic questions below (I use them whenever I need to get deeper into character motivation.)

Basic questions
1. What’s your height, weight, eye color, hair color?
2. What do you like or dislike about your looks?
3. How old are you really?
4. How do you feel about your age?
5. What three things are in your refrigerator?
6. What sort of work do you do?
7. What’s your favorite possession?

Then ask . . .
1. What's a secret you've never told anyone?
2. What do you most regret?
3. What book stayed with you long after you finished it?
4. What’s forgotten under your bed?
5. What do you do regularly even though you hate it?
6. Who have you learned the most from?

Take good notes. Let your intuition direct this exercise.

And memoirists: try to accept flashes or images or ideas that are out of what you might have considered.