Character+Development

** Take time to answer each of these questions candidly and deeply. Expand your responses to include other questions that may arise. **
 * How much about your characters do you really know? Small details might seem superfluous, even irrelevant to the story you intend to write, but the smallest detail informs the bigger picture. The more you know about your characters, the better you’ll create believable characters who live and breathe on the page and in their own fictional world. **

1. ** What do you know about this character now that s/he doesn’t yet know? ** What's soon going to happen to her and her best friend, Persis. 2. ** What is this character’s greatest flaw? ** She doesn't have the ability to focus on what's going on in the real world, she prefers to ignore it until it's almost too late. 3. ** What do you know about this character that s/he would never admit? ** She's terrified of fire. 4. ** What is this character’s greatest asset? ** When people really need her, she comes through for them. 5. ** If this character could choose a different identity, who would s/he be? ** She would have chosen to be a person in one of the small groups from her town that escaped the burning. 6. ** What music does this character sing to when no one else is around? ** She sings to anything that's playing, she loves all types of music, especially acoustic guitar. 7. ** In what or whom does this character have the greatest faith? ** Her best friend. She doesn't really confide with anyone in her family, but she trusts Persis wholeheartedly. She also idolized her older sister, Seraphina. 8. ** What is this character’s favorite movie? ** My character lives in a very poor world- she doesn't own a TV, and has never seen a movie. But if she did, it would be a drama or thriller like Titanic or The Prestige. 9. ** Does this character have a favorite article of clothing? Favorite shoes? ** She adores her suede moccasins her grandmother gave her for her fifteenth birthday. 10. ** Does this character have a vice? Name it. ** She is a bit of a kleptomaniac- she has stolen many things. 11. ** Name this character’s favorite person (living or dead). ** Her best friend, Persis, and her little sister, Ophelia. She also loves her grandmother, who died a week after her fifteenth birthday. 12. ** What is this character’s secret wish? ** To leave home, and live in the woods as far as she can get from any human civilization (which would be very difficult). 13. ** What is this character’s proudest achievement? ** Winning a singing competition she was in when she was eight. 14. ** Describe this character’s most embarrassing moment. ** She failed a test once at school, and when she brought it home, her father was so annoyed he posted it up on a wall for the whole house to see. 15. ** What is this character’s deepest regret? ** Not drinking the water from the fountain of youth. 16. ** What is this character’s greatest fear? ** Fire. 17. ** Describe this character’s most devastating moment. ** When her older sister Seraphina died. 18. ** What is this character’s greatest achievement? ** Leading the group of people ready for burning into the woods. 19. ** What is this character’s greatest hope? ** To somehow live in a world where the fountain of youth was never discovered. 20. ** Does this character have an obsession? Name it. ** She is obsessed with water- she adored swimming in the stream near her town until it was filled in to build more houses. 21. ** What is this character’s greatest disappointment? ** When she realizes Persis will be no help in helping people escape. 22. ** What is this character’s worst nightmare? ** Her worst nightmare is being burned alive, which is exactly what's ALMOST going to happen to her, although she doesn't know it yet. 23. ** Whom does this character most wish to please? Why? ** She doesn't want to please anyone- she's rather rebellious. 24. ** Describe this character’s mother. ** My characters mother, Romy Castello, is 38 years old and very strict and bossy. She has light brown hair, and brown eyes. She works as a tailor. 25. ** Describe this character’s father. ** Her father, Herodotus Castello, is 36 years old. Like his wife, he is very strict, but he is also rather cold and analytical. He has dark blond hair and grey eyes. He works in the fields like my character's friend Persis, but only a few days a week. 26. ** If s/he had to choose, with whom would this character prefer to live? ** Her mother- even though she is very strict, she is much kinder and does not pry into my character's life like her father does. 27. ** Where does this character fall in birth order? What effect does this have? ** She is the middle child. She had a sister (five years older), Seraphina, who died of pneumonia when she was eleven. She also has a younger sister who she adores, Ophelia, who is 14 years old. 28. ** Describe this character’s siblings or other close relatives. ** Seraphina was very quiet, solid, and intelligent. She always helped my character with her problems. Ophelia is loud, very intense and boisterous, and a generally happy person. 29. ** Describe this character’s bedroom. Include three cherished items. ** My character shares a room with her younger sister Ophelia. It is quite small, with pale yellow walls. She has a small bed and a chest for her clothes and things. Her three most cherished items are the music box her first teacher gave her, her guitar, and her first doll. 30. ** What is this character’s birth date? How does this character manifest traits of his/her astrological sign? ** She was born on December first- she is a Sagittarius. She is very adventurous and talkative. 31. ** If this character had to live in seclusion for six months, what six items would s/he bring? ** She would bring a knife, her favourite books, her guitar, 32. ** Why is this character angry? ** She is angry that the fountain of youth was discovered. 33. ** What calms this character? ** Singing and going swimming. 34. ** Describe a recurring dream or nightmare this character might have. ** She has a recurring nightmare of the whole world going up in flames. 35. ** List the choices (not circumstances) that led this character to his/her current predicament. ** Choosing not to drink the water from the fountain of youth. 36. ** List the circumstances over which this character has no control. ** She has no control over whether or not other people drink the water. 37. ** What wakes this character in the middle of the night? ** Her neighbors- she lives in a noisy neighborhood. She is also sometimes woken up by her nightmares. 38. ** How would a stranger describe this character? ** Strong, charismatic, and sometimes a bit insensitive. 39. ** What does this character resolve to do differently every morning? ** She resolves to take her life more seriously, but it never happens. 40. ** Who depends on this character? Why? ** Her younger sister Ophelia really depends on her. 41. ** If this character knew s/he had exactly one month to live, what would s/he do? ** Just go about her life normally, she would rather pretend that she wasn’t going to die. 42. ** How would a dear friend or relative describe this character? ** Stubborn, dreamy, but overall kind. 43. ** What is this character’s most noticeable physical attribute? ** A long scar along her cheekbone from when she was burned as a child. 44. ** What is this character hiding from him/herself? ** The fact that Persis isn’t that good of a friend. 45.** Write one additional thing about your character. ** Physical description: She has long blond hair, with light hazel eyes. She is small and thin. She takes after her mother more.