Character Questions

1: What is the conflict?

2: Can you deepen the conflict?

3: Can you suck other characters into the main character’s problems, thereby broadening the conflict?

4: How do you hook your readers on page one?

5: What are the mysteries in your story?

6: Do you have a foil character which exposes the main character’s flaws and/or strengths?

7: Does your main character start in a hole wanting something?

8: What is getting in her way?

9: Why does she want what she wants?

10: What is the inciting incident?

11: What are the sub-plots?

12: What character flaws are stopping the main character from getting what he wants?

13: What external forces are stopping the character from getting what he wants?

14: How does the main character try to fix her problems?

15: What are the consequences of her attempt?

16: How does she try to fix it the next time?

17: And then what are the consequences?

18: How does she attempt to fix the problem for the third time? Is her attempt an all or nothing goal?

19: What mistakes does your main character make?

20: What is the mood of your story?

21: What is your setting?

22: Is your setting unique?

23: Is there a way to push it, to make the setting different?

24: Do you have misdirection in your story? Any red herrings? Will your readers think they know what is going to happen? But then you trick them?

25: What are the surprises and twists in your story?

26: Does your story start with action?

27: What kind of plot does your story have?

28: Are each of your characters unique?

29: What makes them special?

30: What are your characters’ secrets?

31: Have you created a sympathetic main character? How?

32: What do your characters fear?

33: Is your story building up to something big? Can you make it bigger? 

34: Is every scene more exciting/interesting than the scene before?

35: Who/what is your antagonist?

36: Why is he/it doing what he’s/it is doing?

37: How can you make your main character’s voice unique?

38: Is the story constantly moving forward? How?

39: Does every character serve a purpose?

40: Do you have any characters you could combine in order to lessen the chance that you’re creating character soup?

41: How do the events affect and change the main character? 

42: What tools does your main character have to gain in order to win in the end?

43: How do you make the climax the big thing?

44: Do you have a ticking time bomb? If so, what is it? How does it escalate the tension? 

45: What are your characters’ back stories?

46: How do their back stories affect their actions?

47: What is the history of your setting?

48: How does it affect the story?

49:  What mistakes does your main character make? And what does he learn from them? 

50: What is your story’s theme?