When Im Trying To Create New Characters, I Often Find Questionnaires That Have Questions Like What Is

When I’m trying to create new characters, I often find questionnaires that have questions like “what is your character’s favorite movie?” Or “What is their favorite social media app and why?” However, these questions do not work for creating fantasy characters (like I am). Do you have any ideas for questions to help writers create fantasy characters?

This is a fantastic question, especially for fantasy writers. There aren't many resources dedicated to the creation and development of fantasy characters. I highly recommend exploring Dungeons & Dragons (DND) questions; they can offer valuable insights like this one.

On that note, if you'd be interested in a customized workbook solely focused on fantasy character creation, just give me a heads-up! Meanwhile, I've crafted a concise yet distinctive short questionnaire to get you started. (With unique questions, not the basics.)

Magical Essence 🌟✨:

Source of Power: 🌀💫 What magical abilities or powers does your character possess? How did they acquire or inherit these powers?

Magical Affinity: 🌊🔥 Describe their connection to elemental forces or magical domains. Are they aligned with specific elements or forces of nature?

Otherworldly Origin 🌌🔮:

Realm of Origin: 🏰🌌 Where does your character come from? Describe their homeland or origin realm—its landscapes, cultures, and inhabitants.

Mythical Lineage: 👑🌟 Does your character hail from a line of legendary beings, gods, or creatures of ancient lore? How does this lineage influence their identity?

Legendary Quests and Adventures 🗡️🛡️:

Heroic Exploits: 🏹⚔️ What legendary quests or adventures has your character undertaken? Describe their valorous deeds and encounters with mythical creatures or foes.

Artifacts and Relics: 🏆🔮 Have they encountered or possess legendary artifacts or relics? How do these items influence or aid their journey?

Creatures and Companions 🐉🦄:

Familiar or Animal Companion: 🐾🔍 Does your character have a magical creature companion or a familiar? Describe this bond and its significance.

Encounters with Mythical Beings: 🧜‍♀️👻 Have they interacted with beings like dragons, spirits, or mythical entities? Describe these encounters and their impact.

Destiny and Prophecies 🌟🔮:

Foretold Prophecies: 🔍📜 Is there a prophecy or destiny foretold about your character? How do they perceive and react to this prophecy?

Chosen One or Fate's Hand: 👑🌌 Is your character considered a chosen one or fated to fulfill a significant role in the world's destiny? How do they handle this responsibility?

Interactions with Magic and Society 🤝🔮:

Attitude Towards Magic: 🧙‍♂️🔑 How does your character view magic in their world? Are they a skeptic, a practitioner, or a scholar of magic?

Relationship with Magical Societies: 🏰🌐 Are they part of magical societies, guilds, or orders? How do these affiliations shape their actions and beliefs?

Struggles and Sacrifices 💔🌪️:

Internal Conflict: 🤔💔 What inner struggles or conflicts does your character face? Are there conflicts between their desires, duties, or moral beliefs?

Sacrifices Made: ⚖️💔 Have they made sacrifices or endured hardships in their journey? What are these sacrifices, and how do they impact their character development?

Fate and Free Will 🎭🌌:

Control Over Destiny: 🌟🔗 Do they believe in free will, or do they feel their destiny is preordained? How does this belief affect their actions and decisions?

Choices and Consequences: 🤷‍♀️🔮 How do their choices influence the world around them? Describe instances where their decisions had profound consequences.

I hope these questions help you start thinking about your story and your character. I mentioned things like dragons and magic to give you a place to begin, but you can totally explore other ideas beyond typical fantasy themes. Use these questions to spark new thoughts for your plot and character development, leading you to create a story that's unique and goes beyond the usual fantasy clichés.

Writing Tip:

If you don’t feel like actually writing, prepare for writing:

Open your WIP Word doc

Read the last page again

Scribble notes on what happens next

Once you’ve done this, you might just find yourself wanting to continue after all. And if you don’t, no worries. You’ve made it easier to jump back into it later. 

“You Blew Me Away” sculpture by Penny Hardy

Cyanide

For my last meal, I requested a shiny green apple and a marble bowl of cherries. They quirked their eyebrows at it. One of the guards cracked a smile I think. "What, no steak? No bucket of fried chicken? Hell, you didn't even ask for a pound of strawberries." "I wouldn't want to go out without this figure." I even flexed for them. "Fucking Christ, you've lost it. Flipping that killswitch can't fry that brain anymore." I shrugged, smiled, and watched them walk away. Minutes later, they brought it and left me to my devices.

I turned the apple in my hands, grinning at myself in the reflection of fruit wax. Even the bowl was right, black veins in white stone. All it took was a moment, one bite and I was gone, crunching away with the largest piece my almost unhinged jaw would let me take. My chin dripped with juice, but I chewed with my mouth closed. I wasn't an animal for God's sake. I chewed in a neat ring around it, carving the best of the meat from this meatless thing. I didn't care about the bits caught between my incisors. I gnawed and punctured the flesh with my canines, vampire sucking the juice out. At last, I dug the seeds from the core, cooing and saving the one with the root spouting. A life to begin where mine was to come to an end. Perhaps they'd plant it for me. I took the others in my fingers and shoved them in my pocket. I imagined taking the leftover pieces, the bit of the top with the stem, the part of the bottom with remnants of flowers, the core, the pile of bones out in my hands, tossing them out to feed the birds. At least, I imagined birds, sparrows, cardinals, even bluejays. A nice crow to come return the favor. I wiped my face on my sleeve, smiling at the sticky residue.

I took my chair and leant in the far corner of the room for the cherries. It wasn't a throne, but the recline would do enough for my mind to forgive the discrepancy. I lifted the marble bowl and carried it to my makeshift throne. I made a scene of them all, dangling each over my open mouth like some cartoon king. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my empty throat at the halfway point. If only they could see me. But I was on a timer, they said, so they didn't have to sit back and watch my every move. Still, I put on a show, just in case. I continued my routine, dangling, chewing, spitting the stones in the stone bowl. The irony, or was it serendipity? I doubt they'd know.

Soon it wouldn't matter. At the end of it all, I had stones, seeds, and time. So I dumped the pits out and started smashing. Hammering away one after the other. I cringed at the cracks in the cherry seeds but they would do. Crack, shatter, collect. One pile of shattered stones. The marble bowl worked as a hammer, and I almost felt bad for wasting its rich life for my last act. But what else was it doomed for, other than to sit on some granite island contained in white walls and an open floor plan? At least here, things were quiet when all was said and done. I swept the seeds into my palm, sighing at the dust and dirt they'd gathered. Does no one take pride in their work anymore?

I lay down in the center of the concrete floor. One after the other, I dropped a seed from my clenched hand into my open mouth, chewing it into a paste before swallowing. I admit I grew impatient and started dropping pairs of them at once, though never more than two at a time. When the last of the cherry seeds had been ground up by my molars, I chewed the apple seeds for good measure and a little variety. I took the sprouted seed in my fingertips "One day, you'll be a home. I'd like to see it. With your leaves in the wind, a nest in your branches…" I folded the sprouted seed in my hands and rested them on my stomach. Letting my eyes close, I imagined straining my neck, open-mouthed, to a mother with a delectable bug paste she'd chewed for me. I felt her beak in mine, dropping the meal down my throat. What I wouldn't give for a pair of wings. A song to sing on the breath of the morning.

Except I wouldn't have breath for that much longer. Soon they'd come knocking. And my neck would be in a noose. Or a needle in my arm. No…no that wasn't it. Were they gearing up to shoot me full of holes? Maybe they'd slit my throat. No, too messy. I remember that much. No they…they'd press a big red button launch me into space. No, wait. Not a button. A switch. Killswitch. Fry my brain. Fry my brain up like chicken, but no they wouldn't eat it. I wonder what happens after. Whatdotheydo with my body? Duzzit go… do they burn it up? Do they bury it? Ashes, ashes, I'm already down. And out. I hope God doesn't punish me for stealing death from the executioner.

New writerblr looking for writerblrs to follow and interact with

You can call me Rose or Quinn, whichever you prefer.

I've been working on a poem a day as an alternative to NaNoWriMo, and you may see some of them posted here. I've posted my first poem, Cyanide, and I hope you enjoy it.

Otherwise, I write fiction, mostly in the fantasy/sci-fi genres. I have a WIP called Get the Girl starring two girls who love each other very much and would do anything to protect each other from the situations I put them into.

When I'm not reblogging like mad from my main to fill the blog up with resources, you can find me on Discord a lot. Just ask for my info there.

For the ask game! 1. What was your writing-highlight this year?

My writing highlight this year definitely had to be my NaNoWriMo alternative, which was writing a poem every day for the month. It was a challenge some days to come up with an idea or even know what I was doing, but I made it! I pushed myself to hammer down those poems one by one and I did, even wrote a couple of bonus poems one night.

Thank you so much for the ask!