Basic Things to Know About Your Main Characters When Writing Fiction

Whether you're a plotter or a pantser, it's a good idea to get to know your main character before embarking on a journey with them. Like most people, your characters have a life and personality that you have to dig down and find.

So what are some basics of getting to know your character? I could bore you with the demographics, but you should know them already. Instead, I want to dive into getting you to know a deeper version of your MC.

• What is their relationship like with their family and friends?

• What are their beliefs, not necessarily religious?

• What is their motivation for their actions?

• Who were they raised to be? Did they shift from that and become something else?

• What are their plans for an ideal future?

• What's their self-esteem and self-worth like?

• Why is this character the protagonist?

You will find as you learn more about your character early on that it can save you from a hundred hours of rewrites. Befriending and understanding your characters is the easiest way to get their story told.

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