- Jessica Sherry
30+ Quirky Questions for your Main Character
Engaging, memorable characters make the best stories. To achieve these awesome creations, writers must dive deep into their characters' personalities to bring them to vivid life in the readers' minds. To do that, writers must really know their characters and use intentional details about them in their writing for readers to latch on and relate to. We've all come across nice, detailed checklists and character dossiers to fill in similar to paperwork at the doctor's office--and those are useful--but how do we get deeper, tangible details that'll easily play into our stories and bring out our characters' psychology?

Well, how about some quirky questions? I go into more depth with each question on different blogs I've written, so check out the links if you want to get down and dirty. But, at a glance, see if you can answer these seemingly simple, but actually complex questions to reveal details about your MC:
What's her favorite mug? And what does she put in it? Hot cocoa, tea, coffee, Irish coffee?
Does she make her bed? I know... it sounds like such a random, useless detail, but like the rest of these questions, it reveals a lot about her.
What's in her car? What kind of car is it? How does she feel about her car? And... what does it mean to her?
What is she waiting for? Everyone's waiting for something... come on, massive book deal... please...
Who are her peeps? *Peeps are the people she turns to in the event of an emergency
What's broken in her life? Her microwave? Relationships? Feelings of security?
What sparks joy? *It's okay to be trendy. *Smirk
Has she ever received or given bad advice? How'd that turn out for her?
How does she keep her home? Her desk? Her bathroom?
What is she most sensitive about? Or... what's the easiest way to hurt her feelings?
What's her favorite Christmas movie? How does she deal with gremlins?
What's contradictory about her? Like... a beach girl who's afraid of the water.
What does she dream about? At night and in the daytime.
If she had a gathering, who would she invite?
Has she ever had an almost... something she really wanted that was just out of reach?
What does she view as essential in her life?
Can you add to this list? What crazy question do you think reveals a lot about your character? Share your ideas in the comments below.
Want more ideas? Click on any of those links or this one for everything... www.coffeebrained.com
Happy brainstorming and character creating!