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.