#character tip

I see a lot of posts about tips for fleshing out characters. They’re helpful and all, but sometimes they can be challenging to actually accomplish, or worse, boring.

The way I like to flesh out my characters is by writing down as many random useless facts about them as I can. Sort of like making head canons. The goal is to come up with a bunch of information to make your character feel more real, and to have fun doing it. Anything goes, so just keep writing as long as you have ideas flowing.

Some questions you might try asking about your characters to get started or if you just run out of ideas:

What is/was/would be their favorite... color? animal? food? video game? movie? book? tv show? drink? board game? card game? pastime? treat? subject in school? plant? music genre? music artist? song?

Do they/would they have sleep overs? Who with? What do they/would they do during them?

What did they obsess over when they were a kid? Do they still have that/those obsession(s)?

What’s their dream job?

What do they wear... to bed? to go swimming? to formal events? when they work out? when they want to be comfy?

What would their life be like if they were in... a modern setting? a medieval setting? the 1950s? the stone age? the industrial revolution/a steampunk setting?

Do they collect anything? why/why not?

Who do they look up to? Who’s the most ridiculous idol they’ve ever had?

What is their handwriting like? Is it surprising to others? Is their anything particularly unique about it? (for example, always dotting their ‘i’s with hearts)

Who’s their favorite person to spend time with? What do they like to do with that person?

What is something they’re weirdly good at? Something they’re surprisingly bad at? Something they shouldn’t know how to do?

What are the most concerning facts they know?

What’s their relationship with their parents like? How often do they contact their parents? how far away are their parents from them?

What’s something they got in trouble for when they were younger?

What’s something they like that is surprising? Dislike? Know? Don’t know?

How good of an artist are they? How do their skills differ between different mediums (drawing vs clay vs painting, for example)? 

How good are they with makeup, fashion, and hair?

What is their love language? If you want to take it a step further, what is the ranking of most applicable to least applicable for all five love languages for them?

How messy/neat are they? How do they feel about people who differ from this? How do they feel about their own messiness/neatness?

Can they cook? Do they like cooking?

Are they a picky eater?

What is their sense of humor like? Is there something or someone that never fails to make them laugh?

How charismatic are they? Are they aware of this?

What’s something stupid they won’t admit they’re embarrassed about? Why does it embarrass them? Why won’t they admit that it does?

Are they a good liar? What kind of situation would they lie in?

What would happen and how would they react in a... body swap? time travel arc? evil clone situation? mind control situation? time loop?

Can they sing? Are they aware of their skill level? Do they like to sing? Will they sing in front of other people?

What’s the most ingenious plan they’ve ever had? The stupidest plan they’ve ever had that actually worked? The best plan that went the most wrong? The worst plan all around?

What’s the best gift they’ve ever gotten? The worst gift? Is there a difference between the objective best/worst and their opinion?

What kind of videos would they make if they were a Youtuber? Would their channel be well known? Would people like it?

How would they react to working in customer service? Would they be good at it?

How do they feel about bugs as a whole? Do they have any specific love or hatred of any particular bug?

What is/would be their general typing speed and ability? Does it/would it differ between physical keyboards and touch screen?

What do they consider the best technological advancement of their time? If they’re not already in one, what would it be in a modern setting?

Hmm, now that’s a funky question there Anon because there’s a whole lotta parts to it! Also keep in mind that I’m kind of scatterbrained so I tend to do things rather chaotically regardless, hahaha. ^///^ 

But first thing’s first! Take it easy! Worldbuilding is kind of an intimidating thing to tackle when looking at it as a whole. Nobody ends up with a big complex societal structure over the course of a week or two, and even if you do, you’re gonna be revising it for a while anyways pffft. >///<

Alrighty, so for me personally (And do remember that this is what I personally do, these are not rules), what I do is figure out a goal first. I find it easier to build upon a foundation, even if it’s kinda vague, since it’s easier to build stuff in one direction rather than have many pieces strung all over the place to tie together later. Do you have a main idea for the world? Genre? Tone? Feeling? How big are you making it? An entire planet? A nation? A town? This will be important for stuff later, because everything in a world affects one another! It’s a key part in building up society too! But we’re not there yet.

Let’s say we’re going with fantasy as a base theme! (Since that’s my favorite haha) But for that there are already a ton of questions you can ask! (And questions are the easiest way to expand upon world building ^///^) Is there magic? What’s the magic like? How does this affect day to day life? Is there a government? A main nation? Political relations? Is magic a normal thing? Country exclusive? Bloodline exclusive? Are there conflicts due to it? Are there tensions between people with and without it? Do people fear it? Understand it? Study it? Use it in daily life? Where does it come from? Spirits? Gods? Nature? All these are already a ton of variables to think about, and each choice leads to a slightly different world!

I’ll take what I’m working on now as an example, Kantibar Keep is a story set in a fantasy world with magic, but it also has a growing technological sector led by people who are in competition with said magic. (I’m leaning too much fantasy at the moment, I’m working on the tech part) The main idea was fantasy but also fighting game, so the plot is a little loose, but since I’m me I’m taking the world building seriously anyways ahfbajfjsjf- The main foundation of the world stems from my desire to create a magic system, so that’s where I branched out from. How does it work? There’s too many mechanics for me to recount but I’m still going into depths with that. Where does it come from? Nature, spirits, and gods! I split the magic into both natural and arcane elements, and essentially made the world magical in nature while also introducing mythical elements. Magic is normal enough to have its own sector of occupations, as well as be a key aspect of how society functions, but not everybody is able to wield it, hence the development of technology despite the presence of magic. Currently I’m working on the nations as well as the people within those nations, but see how there’s a ton of questions yet to be answered? That’s part of worldbuilding! And it’s a lot of work. >///<

After I have a big, and I do mean BIG, picture about the world, I start thinking in smaller more manageable bits. I always start with magic just because I find that most enjoyable to make, but different people probably have different preferences. If I’m trying to tell a story, I usually go to characters next, because I think that’s the most important aspect of a story but this specific step can go both ways. I can either make a character and base the nearby world around how they came to be, or make the area first and make characters based on what this type of society would most likely create.

In Kantibar Keep a neat aspect of the worldbuilding comes from something as small as making a courier service. One of my characters is a courier, but their family, who run the company, is a prestigious mage family. So what can I gleam from that? Well for one, it means the world is dangerous enough that sending packages long distance is somehow something that can make you well known if you’re good at it. And two, proud mages are willing to do the job, which means it’s not really a simple endeavor. And that is indeed the case! Because the world of Kantibar Keep is full of monsters, and going long distance without a plan is incredibly risky. Typical postal workers in this world are known as post knights, and they do most of the delivering between towns, while higher level couriers are typically mages. It’s such a small aspect of the world, but a lot can come from it, y’know? :O

Ah but now I’m rambling. My point is!! There isn’t really a right, wrong, or set method to worldbuilding. What I do is basically smashing ideas together until something sounds cool. The easiest way, to me, to make a world more complex is to ask questions based on your foundation! Remember, societies and people always react to the world around them. A town that always floods would build their society very differently than one in the desert, and magic, or tech, or post apocalyptical radiation is no different! And it can stem from tiny things too, like, oh there’s a national fighting tournament that’s held annually but how did that come to be? Is it a celebratory tradition? Is the prize something really rare? Is the world just into blood sport? Silly things like that y’know? But keep in mind!! Worldbuilding isn’t the end all be all of stories, you don’t need to know every tiny detail for a world or story to work, so be sure to not do unneeded work and waste your energy! The best part of worldbuilding should always be that it’s fun. ^///^

I hope this helps somewhat, I did ramble a bit haha. This is just kind of how I do things! Questions are super fun, I love it when people ask me stuff since it helps me generate new ideas, so maybe asking a friend could help you too! If you have anything specific to ask I’d be happy to try and give my two cents too. While I’m no professional, I can confirm that I am very passionate about the subject. >///<

If you’re writing a transgender character, there’s always gonna be people to call them an “it”. S i g h s. 

 Oh hello again Anon!! I’m glad to hear my previous answers helped. As long as you’re ok with hearing my opinions on things than I’ll always be happy to tell ya! ^\\\^

I’ll tell you off the bat that it completely depends how you plan on using the character. If it’s for certain narrative purposes, they don’t even have to mean well! A part of someone who just exists, and that aren’t necessarily good. Like Intrusive thoughts for example, it isn’t really a “good” thing, but Remus also isn’t really an “evil” side. It’s just another part of Thomas that requires proper managing and accepting as a normal part of himself to be aware of instead of denying and repressing it. But if you want a side that’s more antagonistic? If that’s the story, then why not?

But! If we’re doing this under the impression that they also just want the best for their center, then there’s a couple things you can maybe do!