Questions to Ask Your OC
Essential questions to ask your OC (Original Character) that help you develop their personality, background, and story, while creating depth and authenticity in your creative writing and character development.
1What are your character's core values and beliefs, and how do they influence their decisions and actions?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's core values and beliefs, and how do they influence their decisions and actions?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Critical for understanding their moral compass and ensuring you understand what principles guide their choices and how they navigate ethical dilemmas.
2What are your character's biggest fears and insecurities, and how do they affect their behavior and relationships?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's biggest fears and insecurities, and how do they affect their behavior and relationships?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Important for understanding their emotional vulnerabilities and ensuring you understand how their fears shape their actions and interactions with others.
3What are your character's greatest strengths and talents, and how do they use them to achieve their goals?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's greatest strengths and talents, and how do they use them to achieve their goals?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Reveals their capabilities and helps you understand what abilities they possess and how they leverage these strengths in their journey.
4What are your character's most important relationships, and how do they influence their personality and choices?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important relationships, and how do they influence their personality and choices?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Critical for understanding their social connections and helps you understand how their relationships shape their character and decision-making.
5What are your character's biggest dreams and aspirations, and what drives them to pursue these goals?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's biggest dreams and aspirations, and what drives them to pursue these goals?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Important for understanding their motivations and helps you understand what they want to achieve and what inspires them to keep going.
6What are your character's most significant life experiences, and how have they shaped who they are today?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most significant life experiences, and how have they shaped who they are today?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Reveals their backstory and helps you understand how their past experiences have influenced their current personality and worldview.
7What are your character's biggest regrets and mistakes, and how do they handle these when they arise?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's biggest regrets and mistakes, and how do they handle these when they arise?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Shows you care about their growth and gives you insight into their ability to learn from mistakes and handle difficult situations.
8What are your character's most important skills and abilities, and how did they develop these talents?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important skills and abilities, and how did they develop these talents?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Critical for understanding their capabilities and helps you understand what they can do and how they acquired these abilities.
9What are your character's most important possessions or mementos, and what do they represent to them?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important possessions or mementos, and what do they represent to them?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Important for understanding their material connections and helps you understand what objects hold meaning for them and why.
10What are your character's most important traditions or rituals, and why are they meaningful to them?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important traditions or rituals, and why are they meaningful to them?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Reveals their cultural and personal practices and helps you understand what routines and traditions are important to them.
11What are your character's most important goals and objectives, and how do they plan to achieve them?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important goals and objectives, and how do they plan to achieve them?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Critical for understanding their ambitions and helps you understand what they want to accomplish and how they approach planning.
12What are your character's most important challenges and obstacles, and how do they overcome them?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important challenges and obstacles, and how do they overcome them?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Important for understanding their resilience and helps you understand what difficulties they face and how they handle adversity.
13What are your character's most important memories and experiences, and how do they influence their current behavior?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important memories and experiences, and how do they influence their current behavior?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Reveals their psychological makeup and helps you understand how their past experiences continue to influence their present actions.
14What are your character's most important secrets or hidden aspects, and how do they protect or reveal these?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important secrets or hidden aspects, and how do they protect or reveal these?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Critical for understanding their private self and helps you understand what they keep hidden and how they manage their secrets.
15What are your character's most important conflicts and tensions, and how do they resolve these?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important conflicts and tensions, and how do they resolve these?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Important for understanding their internal struggles and helps you understand what conflicts they face and how they work through them.
16What are your character's most important learning experiences, and how do they grow and change over time?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important learning experiences, and how do they grow and change over time?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Reveals their development arc and helps you understand how they learn and evolve throughout their story.
17What are your character's most important communication styles and preferences, and how do they interact with others?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important communication styles and preferences, and how do they interact with others?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Critical for understanding their social behavior and helps you understand how they communicate and relate to different types of people.
18What are your character's most important coping mechanisms and strategies, and how do they handle stress and pressure?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important coping mechanisms and strategies, and how do they handle stress and pressure?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Important for understanding their resilience and helps you understand how they manage difficult situations and maintain their well-being.
19What are your character's most important future plans and aspirations, and how do they envision their life unfolding?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important future plans and aspirations, and how do they envision their life unfolding?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Reveals their long-term vision and helps you understand what they hope to achieve and how they see their future developing.
20What are your character's most important lessons learned, and how do they apply these insights to new situations?
Click to see why this works
What are your character's most important lessons learned, and how do they apply these insights to new situations?
Click to see why this works
Why this works
Essential for understanding their wisdom and helps you understand what they've learned and how they use this knowledge to navigate new challenges.
How to Develop Your OC: Essential Questions and Strategies
Expert tips and techniques for getting the most out of these questions.
Best Practices
Start with Core Values
Begin by defining your character's core values and beliefs. These will serve as the foundation for all their decisions and actions.
Develop Backstory
Create a rich backstory that explains how your character became who they are. Include significant experiences that shaped their personality.
Consider Relationships
Think about your character's relationships with others. These connections will influence their behavior and provide opportunities for conflict and growth.
Plan for Growth
Consider how your character will grow and change throughout your story. Plan for character development arcs that show their evolution.
Question Sequences
The Foundation Sequence
The Development Sequence
Common Pitfalls
Don't Make Them Perfect
Avoid creating characters who are too perfect or flawless. Give them realistic flaws and weaknesses that make them relatable and interesting.
Avoid Ignoring Growth
Don't create static characters who never change. Plan for character development and growth throughout your story.
Don't Ignore Relationships
Avoid creating characters in isolation. Consider how their relationships with others influence their personality and decisions.
Avoid Ignoring Backstory
Don't overlook the importance of backstory. A character's past experiences should influence their current behavior and personality.