Sometimes the littlest details about a character suddenly bring them from the realm of the fictional to feeling real. Consider, for example, their taste in food:
Does your character prefer to indulge in things that are salty or sweet? Can they handle spicy foods?
Or try to understand where their sentimentality starts and ends:
There is a fire and your character only has time to save three things. Assuming all members of the household and pets have been rescued, what would he or she pick?
The more you understand a character- even if these little tidbits of knowledge never make it into a final draft- the easier it will be to communicate their personality. A person who enjoys spicy foods, for example, may wind up being the more adventurous sort. A person with the presence of mind to grab birth certificates, social security cards, and a checkbook may be the sort of practical individual who plans ahead. One who saves their childhood teddy bear, a picture of a beloved relative, and their wedding dress may well be more emotionally attached to items. Mentioning these details in passing also serves to bring the character to life for the reader. It's a lot subtler to mention a gymnast digging enthusiastically into a plate of Carl's famous Five Alarm Nachos than to say "Jenny was always bold." Food for thought.
All prompts on this blog are free for personal and instructional use, but cannot be republished without the permission of the author.
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