I suggest looking for resources on MIT OpenCourseWare. Look for Introduction to Short Stories, Intro to Writing, Intro to Fiction, or any similar keywords. If you’re interested in writing and reading, you most likely already know about character traits. Nonetheless, I encourage you to use a list of questions to give you a guide to follow. When answering the questions, I didn’t tie myself to the answers. They may change as I continue to draft and polish my writing. I had answers for most, and a few will need to be researched.
What do you know about your character?
- Name: James Pulido
- Nickname: JP
- Sex: Male
- Age: 17
- Looks: 5’7”, Dark Brown curly hair, olive skin, dark brown eyes, thick eye brows, semi-fit, not too muscular but he does exercise
- Education: high school student, self-taught in some subjects that most people don’t really care about and not taught in school
- vocation/occupation: has had some after school jobs here and there such as typical fast food restaurants, basic computer IT setup, car wash, trash can washing, yard work, hair cut design, illustration, all freelance
- Status and money: he has some money saved, maybe near $5000
- Marital status: single but interested in someone
- family/ethnicity: lives with his family but he can’t stand living with them. They are too loud and argue too much. He’s Mexican-American.
- diction/accent: typical American accent
- Relationships: has one guy friend and likes one girl
- Places [home, office, car]: he lives in a fictional city, spends his time at the the park, botanical garden, the zoo, a book store, his car and the city
- Possessions: everything in his backpack, pockets, bag, and car
- recreation/hobbies: writing journal entries, riding his bike, driving his car, learning new skills, drawing, exercising, walking with his pet
- Obsessions: self and how he’s not good enough, saying the right or wrong thing, negative thoughts and words from others, rejection
- Beliefs: ?
- Politics: he’s more liberal than conservative but he sees all sides. He may be more centrist
- Sexual history: he’s kissed one girl before
- Ambition: he wants to win at a competition in bicycling, rock or wall climbing, writing
- Religion: Christian/agnostic/humanitarian
- Superstitions ?
- Fears: rejection and standing out/apart from the rest, speaking out
- Attitudes ?
- Character flaws ?
- Pets: dog, cat, rabbit, lizard, hamster, guinea pig, pig, horse,
- Favorite books/music/movies: classics, psychology, philosophy, how-to/self-help books, physics, health and exercise, writing. MUSIC – rock, jazz, world music, EDM, techno, R&B, Electric Blues, ambient, rap, hip-hop, polka, yumexican, MOVIES – silent, action, romance, sci-fi, fantasy
- Journal entries: self, grandpa, love letters to a girl, parents
- Correspondence ?
- Food preferences: not the typical teenage food such as pizza, sandwich, burger, tacos,
- Astrological sign: Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, Rising
- Talents: Wall climbing, cycling, driving, listening, problem-solving, running, lifting weights, empathy
- Other–anything else you can think of
Resources
“Session 6: Character | Writing and Reading Short Stories | Comparative Media Studies/Writing | MIT Opencourseware.” MIT OpenCourseWare, 2012, ocw.mit.edu/courses/21w-755-writing-and-reading-short-stories-spring-2012/resources/mit21w_755s12_ses6/.