How do you develop believable characters? How do you create unique characters? How do you develop deep, engaging characters that stick with your readers?

The answer to each of these questions is the same: you have to KNOW the character.

I’m not talking KNOW them like you know your friend, or even your best friend. I’m not even talking about knowing them like you know yourself.

You need to KNOW your character even more intimately than that.

You need to know not just what they like, but WHY they like it. You need to know what drives their actions, their emotions, and their reactions.

So how do you get to KNOW your character?

There are a hundred brilliant writing exercises out there to help you develop stronger characters.

But when it comes to getting to know who your character is, what they want, and why they want it, sometimes asking them simple questions is the most effective thing to do.

Here are the best questions to ask you character to truly KNOW them.

21 Questions to Ask For Strong Character Development

1. What is your greatest physical attribute?

A person’s physical strength is often a reflection of what hides on the inside, even if that reflection is a mirror image. Is your character making up for an internal short coming or is their inner glow just shining through?

2. What do you hate about yourself?

No one is perfect. And no one thinks they are perfect (no matter what they say). Understanding what your character wishes they could improve about themselves is like finding a window into their soul.

3. What is your darkest childhood memory?

Our characters are born at the age we introduce them in our story. But that doesn’t mean their personalities shouldn’t be defined by the tragedies of their youth.

4. Who do you love more, your mother or your father?

Which of their parents a person chooses to emulate most says a lot about their inner values. (Of course, for you to truly know how this plays on their personality, you must also get to KNOW their parents.)

5. Did you grow up with pets?

We often think of our characters in a bubble. But simple things like loving a puppy or torturing a sibling’s hamster define personality traits that we might otherwise struggle to name.

6. Do you remember your first kiss?

Is your character sentimental? A romantic? Or a realist? Whether or not they remember their first love (and how that first kiss went down) says a lot about them.

7. How did you lose your virginity?

A person’s romantic relationships are a culmination of every previous romantic encounter they’ve had. And that first one is huge in defining how a person views romance, sex, and if love truly exists.

8. Did you enjoy high school?

Aww, the formative years. It is hard to truly KNOW a person without understanding whether they were a confident jock, snarky but brilliant outcast, or depressed cutter.

9. What did you want to be when you grow up?

Aspirations are clues to a person’s inner desires. Life–pain, reality, exhaustion–changes these over time. That is why those first dreams of grandeur are the most important in revealing who a person really is.

10. Have you ever lost anyone?

Losing a parent, a lover, even a pet, can have lasting effects on a person and change how they interact with the world around them. On the other hand, those who have yet to suffer a major loss are more likely to have a positive outlook in situations others would not.

11. Have you ever hated someone enough to wish something terrible happened to them?

The yes or no to this question isn’t nearly as important as the why. Why do you hate that person so much? Or, why–what is it about you or your life–that has kept you from ever indulging in this common human sentiment.

12. What is the worst thing you have ever done?

Depending on the particular bend your story has, the worst thing your character has ever done will either be in their past or their future. Are they striving for redemption? Or sliding down a slippery slope to becoming the thing they hate?

13. What is your biggest regret?

This answer may be the same as the answer to the question above. If it isn’t, that tells you an awful lot about your character and where their priorities lie.

14. When were you the happiest?

This tidbit is a great way to understand when your character’s life started to go wrong. It should highlight a turning point and may even reveal a choice that has led them to the predicament they are in today.

15. If you found a genie, what three things would you wish for?

It’s all about understanding your characters priorities and desires. How do these three wishes define what they truly want out of life.

16. Why are you attracted to the person you are currently pursuing?

Not all stories have a romantic element, but all characters find themselves attracted (in one way or another) to another person. The reason behind that attraction can give you clues to what your character may like or dislike about themselves.

17. What do you indulge in when you feel stressed?

Whisky? Chocolate? Heroin? Love? Everyone has a crutch. How much your character’s crutch hurts them (or not) can be a reflection of how they feel about themselves and what they feel they deserve.

18. What kind of contest could you always win?

Good characters are constantly challenged. And constantly fail. But what keeps the reader engaged is the understanding that the character has the potential to rise. So what are your character’s strengths?

19. What are you afraid of?

Defining what your character fears–or what they really, really don’t want–is the first step toward defining the internal conflicts that will drive your story.

20. What do you want?

While fears create internal conflict, desires fuel the external plot. Understanding what your character wants is key to creating a believable plot arch that pulls the reader along.

21. What do you need?

This answer should be different than the one above. What your character wants is the thing they start out the story pursuing; it is what their definition of themselves says they need. But what they truly need is defined by their fears, flaws, and past. What they NEED is the thing they end up with (or not, if you’re writing a tragedy) that will truly make them happy.

Good Characters Create Good Stories

Developing your character before you define the course of your story is the best way to assure both things fit well together.

Your character’s desires, dreams, and their understanding of what is right is what drives them toward their physical goals. These are what create the plot arch of your story.

Your character’s flaws, fears, and past experiences come together to keep them from attaining their desires. This discord is what makes up the internal conflict of the story.

How your character grows and changes in order to overcome their flaws, fears, and past to achieve their desires, dreams, and what is right is your story’s character arch.

So before you begin planning your next book, take a moment to ask your character these 20 questions so you can truly get to KNOW them.

And once you get those answers, be sure to record your favorite down in the comments section below!