Interviewing a Fictional Character

Do your characters hide when you come knocking at the door? Try asking these questions instead to get to know them better.

We’ve all been through the get-to-know-you stage in meeting new people. Whether it is at work, or at school, or just moving to a new place, getting to know new people is difficult. It is made more difficult by the walls erected to keep our own personality and quirks obscured. Each person has their own walls around their persona, and they only let trusted people get to know the “real person” inside.

How do you get to truly know a person? You ask the deeper, thoughtful questions beyond name, job, school, sports teams, movies, etc. One suggested question for getting inside a person’s head might be: What is your most treasured possession? Or, How would you like to die?

However, you must be careful with such emotionally-charged queries, and use these questions with discretion, as they may be greeted with suspicion (or restraining orders) by one unfamiliar with your get-to-know-you questions.

In the late 19th century, an author named Marcel Proust penned a list of 35 questions to get to know a person better. (more…)

July 12, 2015 | Categories: Writing | Tags: character creation, getting to know you, Marcel Proust, questions, writing | 1 Comment