When getting to be friends with someone, often we bond over the more ridiculous aspects of our relationships. My housemates and I, for example, learned our way around each other's peculiarities while discussing whether or not Mortal Kombat was an appropriate lens through which to view Sex and the City and making late night trips to fabric stores and one very memorable trek to a Toys R Us. While we don't expect to be friends with every single one of our characters, you still need to get to know them. And what better way to do that than by asking the same dumb questions that we ask our friends?
If your character could have any one superpower/magical power, what would it be? If they already have one, are they happy with it? Would they choose another?
Who knows- the above question might turn your realistic fiction into a work of magical realism, if the answer catches your interest.
If your character were confronted by a fictional supervillain, how would they handle it?
If your character will be confronted by a fictional supervillain in their own story, consider a famous bad guy. What would happen if they met Darth Vader or the Joker or Captain Hook?
If your character caught a leprechaun and was given the choice between keeping it captive and having three wishes or letting it free and gaining access to its unlimited pot of gold, which would he or she choose?
Given the choice between imprisonment for a month or three five minute sessions of corporal punishment spread out over three months, which would he or she choose? Assuming of course that the imprisonment would not entail any corporal punishment or hard labor.
They seem completely silly, but each of these questions still provides insight into the thought processes of a character. For example, a timid businessman faced with Voldemort might well prove that deep down, he wants to be a hero. Is money more important to him than the ability to magically improve things? Is his freedom more important to him than the idea of discomfort along the way? Does the fact that he dreams of becoming invisible mean something about how he interacts with people? Asking the dumb questions feels silly at first, but it's fun to consider what your straight-laced suit wearer or vapid teenage girl or powerful wizard might do with the leprechaun. Also, unrelated: asking your housemates these questions over the course of writing this blog produces some laughter as well. The only thing I know for sure is that one of them emphatically chooses prison over beatings. As would I, I think.
All prompts on this blog are free for personal and instructional use, but may not be republished without the permission of the author.
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