14 Questions to Ask When Creating Characters

One of the most important parts of creating a believable character is understanding their psychology. Not just what they want or fear, but why they behave the way they do.

When I'm developing characters, these are the questions I find most useful. They're not hard rules, and not every character needs an elaborate answer to each question.

1. What do they want, and what do they actually desire?

Separate a character's surface wants from their deeper desires. They might insist they want independence when, underneath that, they desperately want companionship. Both can be true, and that contradiction is often where things get interesting.

2. What shaped them?

Nobody begins existing on the first page. Their upbringing, relationships, losses, and experiences have influenced who they've become. This doesn't always have to mean trauma. Sometimes, the smallest experiences leave the deepest impressions.

3. What is their psychological wound?

What happened to them that still affects how they see themselves or the world? More importantly, what did they come to believe because of it? Someone who has repeatedly been abandoned might begin to believe they're simply not worth staying for.

4. What do they fear?

And how does that fear influence their behaviour? Someone afraid of rejection might avoid intimacy altogether, while another might constantly seek reassurance. The same fear can produce very different people.

5. What is their greatest flaw?

I prefer flaws that emerge naturally from a character's personality rather than ones added to make them seem imperfect. Stubbornness might come from independence. Possessiveness might come from insecurity. The interesting part is how these flaws interfere with what they want.

6. Where do they contradict themselves?

This is one of my favourites. Real people are contradictory! Someone can desperately want affection while pushing away everyone who offers it. They can resent someone while still craving their approval. These contradictions don't always need resolving.

7. What do they hide?

Not necessarily a dramatic secret. What feelings do they conceal from others? What might they refuse to acknowledge even to themselves? There's often a difference between what someone feels, what they believe they feel, and what they show the world.

8. What would they do anything for?

What matters enough that they'd sacrifice something important to protect it? Their principles, their reputation, their security? And just as importantly, what would they never sacrifice?

9. How do their relationships change them?

Nobody behaves exactly the same around everyone. A character might be confident with friends, defensive around family, and unexpectedly vulnerable with someone they love. Relationships reveal different sides of a person, especially when there's history between them.

10. How do their desires and fears conflict?

This is where psychology begins driving your story. A character who wants love but fears abandonment might sabotage the very relationship they desperately want. Their greatest obstacle isn't necessarily another person or an external event. Sometimes it's themselves.

11. How do they protect themselves?

Sarcasm, withdrawal, humour, anger, indifference, excessive politeness, etc. People develop ways of protecting themselves emotionally. What interests me is when those behaviours once helped them survive but now prevent them from getting what they want.

12. What would make them change?

What would it take for them to question their beliefs or behave differently? Change should feel earned. Someone who has spent years distrusting others probably won't overcome that fear after one heartfelt conversation.

13. What is their arc?

Not every character needs to overcome a lie, discover a truth, or become a better person. Some grow, some deteriorate, and some just refuse to change, while others change only a little, and that's perfectly fine. An arc doesn't need to be a complete transformation.

14. Who are they at the end of their story?

What has changed? Their beliefs? Their relationships? The way they respond to something that once frightened them? Sometimes even the smallest change can be the most meaningful.

The most important thing is how these questions connect.

A character's past influences their fears. Their fears influence their flaws. Their flaws complicate their relationships. Their relationships challenge their beliefs. And all of these things influence the decisions they make throughout the story.

For example, imagine a young woman who desperately wants someone to love her but has spent her life being abandoned. She's independent, stubborn, and quick to push people away. When someone finally offers her genuine affection, she doesn't know how to accept it.

Her arc doesn't have to involve becoming less independent or suddenly overcoming her fear. Perhaps she simply learns to let someone stay.

This is what makes character psychology so interesting. People don't always act in their own best interests, and they don't always understand why.

Hope these tips help you develop your amazing characters!