EXERCISE: Character Questions! (3 of 5)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting: March 12, 2010

Writer's Digest, May 2006, page 41 has a sidebar suggesting that we think about some of these questions concerning the ancestors and descendants who influenced the life and motivations of your characters. Feel free to expand on these with your own ideas.

Politics and Religion

• what were the family's religious practices?
• what were the family's political affiliations?
• was there anyone who rebelled against the family's religious or political affiliations?
• did any family member ever run for political office or join the clergy or a cult?

Religion and politics are often hot button issues, whether it's because the family was strongly for or against things. So how did your characters' families and their own beliefs stand in these arenas?

EXERCISE: Character Questions! (4 of 5)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting March 16 2010

Writer's Digest, May 2006, page 41 has a sidebar suggesting that we think about some of these questions concerning the ancestors and descendents who influenced the life and motivations of your characters. Feel free to expand on these with your own ideas.

Extended Family

• who was your characters' most eccentric relative?
• which aunt or uncle is the one every cousin avoids? (tink wonders -- why?)
• what heirlooms have been passed down?
• who's the most famous family member?
• who's the black sheep?

Beyond the nuclear family, there's all those fringes. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, who knows how they're related people? And the stories about them, who stands out, who should be standing outside, who got great grandma's sugar bowl? All that stuff...

EXERCISE: Character Questions! (5 of 5)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting: March 17, 2010

Writer's Digest, May 2006, page 41 has a sidebar suggesting that we think about some of these questions concerning the ancestors and descendents who influenced the life and motivations of your characters. Feel free to expand on these with your own ideas.

Holidays and Celebrations

• what were the family's holiday traditions?
• were there any made-up holidays?
• was alcohol part of family celebrations?
• which grandmother's house was more fun to visit at Christmas?
• which relative had the most unique wedding?

I was surprised to see visiting grandmother's house for Christmas in this list. While we were close to both sets of grandparents, and visited them at other times during the year, in my family growing up we didn't go to grandmother's house for Christmas. Interesting...

I think the key point of all five of these sets of questions is to think a little bit about the background of your character. How did they grow up? How does this influence them now? Add a little bit of background to help round out your character, and make them real for your readers.