Legits Character Development Worksheet

Legit’s Character Development Worksheet

There are lots of character development worksheets out there, but in my opinion nothing that really examines a character’s growth and development, which is what I’m aiming to do with mine. You can use this to better understand your character, spot “holes” in their development, or to build a character from scratch! 

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Ancestry

What is this character’s lineage? 

Are there any genetic factors that may affect them? (Mental illness/disabilities that run in the family, magical lineage, etc.?)

What is/was their parents’ social class? 

What are their parents/caregivers like prior to their being born?

If not raised by their parents, then by whom? Are their caretakers of a different social class than the character? How are they treated as a result?

In the case of non-human characters, what is the status of their “kind” prior to their birth/construction/etc.? (E.g., are they the first generation of a new AI? Are they the first generation of vampires to live in the light?) 

Are there changing social values between prior generations and their own that may affect them?

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Circumstances at Birth

What is their parental status at birth? (Single mother, both parents, etc.)

What social class is your character born into?

What is expected of your character based on the social class that they are born into? By their parents/caregivers? By the society they live in?

How are they advantaged/disadvantaged at birth? Disability? Poverty? Etc.

Are there any circumstances surrounding their birth that may affect their early childhood? (For example, they were unwanted by their parents/caregivers, they were the long-awaited heir to a kingdom, or they were born (assigned as) a girl when the parents were hoping for a boy?)

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Childhood 

If they lose a parent/are orphaned/adopted/parents divorce, etc., at what age does this happen? a.) How does the age at which this happened affect them? Do they remember this change? Are they affected by the change?

Does their social status/class change at any point during childhood? Why?

What is their relationship with their parents/caregivers like? How do these interactions affect them in later life? (For example, a perfectionist character may have only received approval from their parents for big achievements.)

Do they have siblings or other close relationships with family members of a similar age? (Do bear in mind that early relationships with siblings can play a strong role in the way that people approach friendships in later years.)

If they have siblings, what is their birth order, and how does this affect them?

What are some of the most impactful moments from their childhood? How do these moments affect them? What do they learn from these experiences? (E.g., “authority figures aren’t to be trusted).

Was their childhood a happy one? If not, how do they see their childhood as an adult? Does this make them angry, do they try to ignore it, or have they moved on?

What are their typical social interactions like as children? Do they have a lot of friends, are they shy, etc.?

Do they exhibit expected behaviors or have difficulty conforming? (Conforming to gender roles or not, for example.)

What are their primary interests as a child?

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Adolescence

Is there a turning point that moves your characters from childhood and into a more “mature” perspective? (For example, the death of a loved one.) 

Does their social status/class change at any point during adolescence? Why?

How does their relationship with their parents develop from childhood to adolescence?

Do any major changes occur in their life during adolescence? How do these changes affect them?

In the case of MOGAI characters, at what point does your character realize they are “different” than the expected social norm? What are the circumstances surrounding that?

What is your character’s attitude toward sex and sexuality? How does their interaction with their parents/caregivers affect them?

How much independence is your character granted as an adolescent?

Does your character have more/less responsibility than the typical adolescent? In what ways? (For example, having to take care of a younger sibling.

How does their social life change (or not change) from childhood to adolescence?

How are they prepared for adulthood as an adolescent?

When in their society are they expected to become an “adult”?

How do their interests evolve from childhood to adolescence?

Is there a defining moment that transitions them from adolescence into adulthood? (Joining the military, moving out, etc.) 

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Adulthood

What is their primary attitude towards life based on their experiences in childhood and adolescence?

What kinds of events would be necessary to change these attitudes? 

Does their social status/class change as they reach adulthood, or at any point after? Why?

Are they generally independent as an adult? Why/why not?

Do they retain their relationship with their family on reaching adulthood?

Do they retain their social group from adolescence?

How/where do they meet new friends/love interests?

What is their attitude toward romance/love/family? What are their main goals regarding this as they enter adulthood?

What is their main goal as an adult? (A high-paying career, romance, family, to have fun, to survive, etc.) 

How do their goals change over time? As they meet old goals and set new ones?

How do their interests mature from adolescence to adulthood? (For example, an interest in writing as a teen may lead them to a career in publishing.)

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Older Age

Do they accomplish their goals as set out in earlier adulthood? How do they feel if these goals are not met?

As they approach older age, what is their social class?

Do they build a family in their adulthood? What is this family like?

If they become a parent, how is their relationship with their children affected by the relationship they had with their own parents?

What do they want to “leave behind” in the world?

Do they become a mentor/teacher to others?

As they grow older, how do they feel about the concepts of aging? Weakening? Death?

Think outside the box as you answer these. Remember that if you bend and stretch them enough, these questions can fit into virtually any world. 

Things food snobs are wrong about

“Organic” isn’t better for you or for the environment. It actually means nothing of any significance at best and is sometimes even the more wasteful, more hazardous option.

A shitload of “natural” food including a lot of imported produce is grown and harvested through slave labor in inhumane conditions.

Pizza, fried chicken, french fries, fast food, candy bars and chips ARE nutritious. They are loaded with good things. Just because they have an abundance of excess fats and might not be healthy as a staple doesn’t mean they are “nutritionless” or that their calories are “empty.” Those are hokey buzzwords pushed by the people in charge of how much you pay for the alternatives.

Eating healthier costs more. Much more. Looking down on people for their reliance on cheaper food is extremely classist and expecting everyone to be able to live off fresh veggies and cage-free meats is insultingly unrealistic in the modern world.

“Processed” literally only means the food went through some kind of automated process. This can be literally the exact same thing a human being would have done to the food for it to be labeled “unprocessed.” Being processed does not make something less healthy.

Chemicals with long, scary names are part of nature. An apple is full of compounds you probably can’t pronounce. A shorter ingredients label only means they didn’t bother listing all 300 things the product is actually made of and HAS to be made of.

Preservatives, artificial flavors and other additives are not the devil. Most are harmless and in general they are part of the reason you haven’t already starved to death or died of a food borne illness.

MSG is not bad for you at all.

The fact that something might be made of “scrap” meats like pig snouts or chicken necks only means one thing: that we didn’t waste perfectly normal, edible meat.

I DON’T KNOW HOW I FORGOT THIS IN MY FIRST VERSION OF THIS POST BUT GMO’S ARE NOT DANGEROUS TO EAT. GMO’S ARE SAVING LIVES. YOU’VE ALREADY EATEN GMO’S BEFORE YOU EVEN KNEW THE TERM. IT’S FINE. EAT THEM.

never to sick to make up genders

Hey y’all, so, with my chronic illness and executive functioning issues there is like NO WAY I’lll be able to keep up modding this blog (especially since I’ve been gone for like, ever). Not that this blog is stopping, I’m sure the other mods will keep up.

However, I’m very invested in the goal for this blog. Not gonna lie, sometimes there’s been issues here that I’m not happy with. But I’m pretty detached from the blog itself now. I feel like starting a new project but I’m kinda stumped. I’d love ideas from anyone who would be interested in that.

I still consider myself an affiliate here, but I’m gonna resign for now. I don’t want to be inactive in the community, though, so I hope I figure something out.

Also, to those wishing to join the skype group, I’d recommend messaging someone besides me because I don’t log in anymore. If any other mod wants to offer their info that’d be fine.

I’m still gonna coin genders and make flags sometimes.

~Raleigh

Functional miniature crossbow! Made with a chopstick, metal wire and elastic thread.

Art by EoD, 24/8 2017

Keep reading

http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/02/social-justice-abuse-ipv/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare

i swear some people saw this, and it took the feminist pages longer to realize some of their way of thinking could be problematic