[…] I also have an idea to try something interactive, perhaps next week, to develop a specific set of questionnaires. Don’t …read more […]

What do they value? What type are they? (hero, average Joe, etc.) What are their main traits? What is they psychic wound? How will they react to external danger? What is their conscious want? What is their unconscious need? Who are their friends? Who are their parents, siblings? What would they do if the won lotto? There are many more...

I always backtrack on how they know each other and build on their relationship and organically make shit up as I go: How'd they meet? Why do they still know each other? Do they have any drunk stories together? Inside jokes or nicknames? Is there anything that bothers one about the other? Anything they envy about each other? Stuff like that. Helps me get to know them better. Sort of like backtracking on how my real life friendships evolved and what we've garnered along the way. I also talk to my characters in the shower and in the car to see what we'd chat about or how I'd scold one or whatever. Not an entirely healthy "relationship" when sitting at a stoplight and clearly no one's in the car with me. That's when the trusty ol' cellphone comes in handy. lol Shhhhhh don't tell...

Oh how I need this help!!! This is great. Scott would you post the ones that you shared with your class up here or no?

I've used two different ones with various success. Dave Trottier has one in The Screenwriter's Bible that basically builds a character based on their station in life, easily understood personality traits, and story arc. It goes: - Role, purpose in story - Occupation - Conscious Goal - Personal Motivation - Inner Need - Flaw Blocking Need - Back Story - Dominant, Core Trait - Other Good and Bad Traits - Imperfections, Quirks - Skills and Knowledge - Point of View, Attitudes - Dialogue Style - Physiology - Psychology, Sociology - Relationship with Other Important Characters - Catalyst within Story - Big Event - Crisis - Showdown - Realization - Denouement You can go into as much or as little detail as you wish for most of those, but I found it limiting in the way I approach my characters. Recently I've been using Character Trees that I read about in Film Crit Hulk's Screenwriting 101. Here, you build a character from the feet up: - Feet: Everything about the character's present and past. Physical attributes, job, and biography. - Groin: What does the character want? - Heart: What does the character need? - Throat: How does the character want to be seen by others? How are they actually seen? - Left Cheek: How intelligent are they? What sorts of problem-solving skills do they rely on? - Right Cheek: How creative are they? What is their sense of morality? - Crown: Using the other information, what is their overall psychological makeup? I like this strategy because of the detail it allows me to explore my characters in before I write, which gives me license to be spontaneous while I write. That being said, I rely more on the biography section more than anything else.

Hi. Wonderful idea. And wonderful contributions. I do think there's no single ideal character questionnaire but rather a mega list of questions to choose from, it's up to you to decide if it helps you or not. What I mean is that a Protagonist, Nemesis and Mentor may need to be thoroughly explored, and maybe secondary characters may just need a couple of questions. Also, my guess is it depends on genre. Drama would benefit from some questions that may be too much for sci-fi. Rom-com may need some additional detail into the main relationship. Period pieces should require a lot of research. My questionnaire is a mess and extremely long - I think it would be better to send it to you through email and if you like something, share it.

I used the one questionnaire from Dave Trottier and the one that can be found on The-Screen-Lab. It's interesting to answer every question on these lists, even if they don't appear in the script in any obvious way. But it helps yourslef to get to know the characters. I started using questionnaires for every character that has at least a name or some mentionable screentime. They helped me a great deal to flesh out those character, which, in return, helped moving the story forward. Some useful questions, for building up a character, could be: -How do they relate to their parents -Did they do well in school -About their jobs That is mostly for some background. The below helped me finding out how they act in general: -How they react in conversations -How's their voice/pitch -Are they smart, slow-witted, stupid or hyper-intelligent Plenty more to add. I really love those suggestiones in the comments!comments