How To Create a New Character [Creative Writing Prompt]

Character Profiles can be one of the most difficult parts of writing a new story. As part of my work with indie authors, I’ve created a new worksheet. 20 Questions to Create a New Character. I contacted my friend Eliza over at ElizaStopps.com to help me out, so using the questions that I came up with, we created a new character, Korey Brookes. Once we completed the worksheet, Eliza took over and is writing a story based on our new character.

The goal of this post, and Eliza’s story, is to not only show how the questions can help create a new character, but also how that worksheet can help in an actual story. Whether you are writing a short story, or an entire book, these questions can be super helpful!

Enter your email at the end of this post to get your free worksheet, 20 Questions to Create a New Character, then head over to Eliza’s blog post to read the story she wrote using this character!

How old is the character?

This was an interesting question to answer. Eliza and I decided to pick the age exactly halfway between our two ages, so Korey is 34 years old. We wanted someone old enough to be past the “crazy 20’s,” and 34 seemed a good age for the kind of character we ended up with. This would be a good time to pick a random age, depending on the type of story you’re thinking of writing.

What is the character’s gender identity?

Eliza and I decided to make our character female, because we are both female, and wanted to make sure we wrote a character that could be believable. Eliza has written non-binary characters before, but didn’t have a ton of experience, so we wanted this story to be as easy to write as possible. Other authors, of course, could make their character non-binary, and would have roughly the same experience using this worksheet.

Is the character married?

Korey is married, and has 2 children. Eliza and I figured her age would mean she was likely married. At this point, we started to get some ideas about who the character was, and how she would think about things. Being married fits with the profile we were starting to see come through.

How many family members does your character have?

This was an interesting question. Eliza and I thought about how we would define “family” for this character. We questioned whether we would count extended family, or just husband and kids. We again, met in the middle, and added Korey’s mom, dad, brother, and an aunt who lives with her mom and dad. Along with Korey’s husband and 2 kids, this gives her a family size of 8. We didn’t clarify whether Korey’s brother is younger or older, but that could be an interesting idea to explore for your own character profile.

How does your character choose to relax?

My first instinct was Sailing, based purely on instinct, but one of the things we discussed was a career option for Korey. We figured she and her husband are well-off, so would be able to take sailing trips on a whim, and because of where they live, skiing is also a fun activity the whole family takes part in. Korey also snowboards, while her family skis. We figured at this point that she would want something exciting, but not adrenaline-inducing. She has her job for that.

Does your character choose Fight, Flight or Freeze?

Korey chooses Freeze, mainly because her husband knows how to fight. If freezing doesn’t work, she chooses flight. Her husband is the brawn, Korey is the brains. When they are together, Korey feels protected. It was at this point in the process that we started discussing what type of job Korey would have. I kept calling her a spy, and Eliza settled on her being a cryptographer for the government.

What is your character’s birthday? Zodiac Sign?

We chose Korey’s birthday as April 23, making her a full Taurus. Because of her job as a cryptographer, being a Taurus is a huge boon. Anyone with a knowledge of the zodiac would be able to answer this question better than I could, but based on knowing my husband, who is a Taurus, I think her sign is perfect for her.

Is your character an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?

Korey is an ambivert. She loves going to various functions with her husband, so she can be social, but she adores snuggling down with a good book at home. She fits as both an introvert and an extrovert. Her job as a cryptographer means she’s good with people and numbers both.

Take the Myers-Briggs test for your character. Choose the same number answer for all questions. What is the result?

The result we received was that Korey is the Defender. You can read the description below. As you can see, based on the answers we’ve already completed, that being a Defender is perfect for Korey.

In their unassuming, understated way, Defenders help make the world go round. Hardworking and devoted, people with this personality type feel a deep sense of responsibility to those around them. Defenders can be counted on to meet deadlines, remember birthdays and special occasions, uphold traditions, and shower their loved ones with gestures of care and support. But they rarely demand recognition for all that they do, preferring instead to operate behind the scenes.

This is a capable, can-do personality type, with a wealth of versatile gifts. Though sensitive and caring, Defenders also have excellent analytical abilities and an eye for detail. And despite their reserve, they tend to have well-developed people skills and robust social relationships. Defenders are truly more than the sum of their parts, and their varied strengths shine in even the most ordinary aspects of their daily lives.

Does your character have a college degree? What degree is it?

Based on previous answers, we discovered that Korey is a cryptographer with a government agency. This job would require a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. Korey has a degree in both, with her Master’s being in Mathematics.

If character has a college degree, what type of school did character attend? For example: party school, medical school, Harvard, Magic school, etc….

Korey attended MIT. That school is famous for both computers and math. Since she’s a cryptographer for the government, she would have had the best education possible. We also know from previous questions that she’s probably well-off, so student loans wouldn’t be a problem.

Does your character rank highly in some sort of hierarchy? For Example: Alpha in a wolfpack.

Not high, but not entry-level. Korey has worked at her job for a while, so while she’s not the director of any department, she’s been with the agency long enough to have earned the respect of her superiors and her coworkers.

If character doesn’t rank highly in a social hierarchy, where does the character fit?

Upper-Middle Class. Not members of a country club, but if they want to go away for the weekend on a whim, they aren’t sacrificing anything to do so. Korey was able to afford to attend MIT, and she works for a government agency.

Is your character from a big city or a small town?

Korey and her husband live in a suburb of Colorado Springs. We didn’t want her in a huge city, but didn’t want her in a small town either. Personally, I love the idea of Colorado Springs, because that’s where Stargate SG-1 is set. 

What does your character use for transportation?

Korey drives two different vehicles: A Green Prius, and a Black H2. Her Prius is for taking her kids to various activities around town, and her H2 is to use for work. It’s armored, so if she ends up traveling somewhere not so safe, she has the additional protection.

Has your character received any fight training? Martial Arts?

Korey jogs every day, in keeping with her “Flight or Freeze” tendencies, and she’s a badass with a gun or knife, but doesn’t fight hand to hand much.

Is your character neurodivergent?

Korey is on the ADHD spectrum, so she can hyperfocus when she’s at her desk, but can handle all the multitasking required to take kids to school/sports/ballet etc…

If yes to question 14, how quickly is your character able to work through problems?

Korey is pretty quick at working through them, and can come up with multiple solutions when necessary.

What kind of pets does your character have?

Korey has a golden retriever named Bob, who goes running with her every morning.

If you could choose an actor to play your main character in a movie, who would it be? Why?

Danielle Panabaker. She can do it all, and fits with the “family woman” personality.

One thing Eliza and I thought was cool about this process was how the various questions determined the type of story we would eventually have. Based on the type of story, we were able to complete other questions easily, so the character almost wrote herself at that point. You could use this worksheet as a creative writing exercise to work on your writing skills. This worksheet is perfect for creating a brand new character that you can build a story around.

Don’t forget to read Eliza’s story!

Because the idea around the worksheet is to create a new character, the options are practically limitless. You are seeing only one option of perhaps thousands that you could create from this one worksheet. It would work for all genres as well, because you could create a fantasy character as well as a character in a thriller. The point is to have fun with it, and to use it to work on your writing skills, and perhaps create a whole series of stories for readers to enjoy!

Until next time, Friends!