Character Development Worksheet

For my Week 3 assignment in my Fiction class I was asked to answer some of the most basic questions about my protagonist.   ie.  What is their biggest character flaw? … I was floored.  I honestly could not list one flaw, I  had my idea of who this person was so  diluted, that it made them almost inhuman when in fact they are supposed to be very human.  No one is perfect, and I’m not writing a book about Jesus, so they need flaws.

It was a real eye opener for me that I need to invest more in my characters.  So where does one even start to get to know a person they made up?  It isn’t like you get to spend time with them and meet their family, it is all in your head.  I scoured the internet looking for character sheets, and they all list things that  make you see them as objects and don’t really ask the right “What is this person like?” types of questions.   I sought out some of the questions I felt would be more helpful, and I compiled them into this 12 page questionnaire – complete with box to sketch their portrait.  I’m going to try and use this as a tool to help me, and if you REALLY want to get down and dirty with who these people are in your Stories/Novels, than fill this out.

Download PDF of Character Development Worksheet

Writers block is the destroyer of worlds!

Early today I  went over the list of things I needed to do tonight (yes I make lists).   I have several different activities on this list that are 100% geared toward writing and getting the brain exercised.  I noticed that I had overlooked a deadline for a weekly writing contest that I wanted to take a stab at, it is TONIGHT!

*panic! gasps for air! WHIZ! BANG! POP!*

Normally in a given day I have about 10,000 ideas that I can pull from thin air.  If I’m given a prompt to write from I can easily generate all sorts of ideas for the criteria.  However tonight I’m drawing blanks and just can’t seem to get past a couple sentences before I run out of gas.  I think maybe my brain is just fried.  Anyone who knows me or can read the top part of this website knows I have been hitting the words pretty hard lately (everyday for hours), and I just need a break.

I can’t think anymore and I’m struggling to even finish this post.  I’m taking the night off unless by some miracle that one great idea comes to me but I doubt it will.