Questionnaire: Part 1 Blank

Please read my comments before continuing.

So, I know there are a lot of character memes and interviews out there, and while I think they're a great start, some of you may want to go into much greater depth with your characters.  In my opinion, that's an absolutely fantastic idea.  With that in mind, let me just say that this is going to be a MASSIVE questionnaire; some of the questions will be very basic just to warm you up, and some of them may be completely irrelevant to your character.  Don't try to answer a question if it just doesn't seem right – you don't want to force your character, still underdeveloped or already developed, into a situation, reaction, or anything else you know would not happen, or at least don't think would happen.

While I've put focus on some pretty in-depth things, I do hope this questionnaire can be useful to everyone interested, as a tool either to help flesh out a character, or to help organize what you already know about a character and serve instead to fine-tune the details.  I find myself rather restricted sometimes by general questions, because I don't feel inclined to answer more than I have to, so there are a lot of questions here which dig into minor and sometimes trivial details – of course you don't have to answer them all.  They are simply there for your consideration.  I have tried to avoid terms which might make it hard for you to answer, such as gender-specific words and stereotypes – there's a lot of the English teacher's bane, the nondescript "they/their."  When unfamiliar terms have come up I have tried to clarify them.  I also have divided everything into sections to make it easier to handle, and more organized as a whole, so even if it looks daunting at first you'll hopefully find that you can do it in steps rather than all at once.  But, feel free to do it in one go, if that floats your boat.

Have fun!


First things first:

What is your character's name?


I'm not going to say this is the most important thing, but it helps for anyone else reading this to know who we're talking about.  If your character does not yet have a name, skip this and come back to it later.  There will be more questions about the name throughout the questionnaire, so skip them also if you have to. Also, again, please skip anything which does not apply to your character – below there are a few science-type questions, so if your character is just an average (or not) present-day human they probably have nothing to do with such things.


PARENTS: birth/non-birth

Was the character born of parents? If yes, see the questions about birth parents below this section.
Was the character cloned?  If so, who was the donor?
Was the character grown? If so, who or what nurtured it during development? What was it grown from?
Was the character put together like Frankenstein's monster? How was this possible? Who was the creator?
Was the development of the character a significant breakthrough in science?
Was the development of the character a secret? Did it break any laws?
In what sort of place was the character cloned/grown? A lab? Some other special facility? Is this commonplace in this character's era?
How many were involved in the creation of the character?
Were there any failed attempts before success with creating the character?
Were the physical traits of the character controlled before birth/completion?
Were the mental/personality traits of the character controlled before birth/completion?
How did the creator(s) feel about the character during development? Was there love? Hate? Fear? Excitement or anticipation? Was it just another day at work for them?

Birth parents:

Who or what was the character's birth parent? (By birth parent, I mean the one which carried and bore the character. In M/F pairs it would be the female, unless your character is like a sea horse and then it would be the male. Your character could be born of three parents, I don't know, but whichever one gave birth is what we're looking for.  If there was no giving birth per se, then use the closest equivalent.)
What were the birth parent's relations with family like?
Did the birth parent love their parents?
Was the birth parent an only child?
Were there siblings? If so, what was the birth parent's birth order? (order in which siblings are born; first, second, third, etc., oldest, youngest, etc.)
Did they get along?
Where was the birth parent born?
Did they ever move? If so, how old were they at the time? What effect did moving have on them?
Did they attend school? Were they homeschooled?
What sort of friends did they have? What was their crowd?
Did their parents approve of their friends?
Did their friends ever hang out with their siblings instead? Did this bother them?
Did they ever have feelings for a friend? If so, how did that turn out?
When was the birth parent socially considered an adult? Legally?
Was there any special celebration for reaching adulthood? Was this a memorable experience? Good or bad?
Did the birth parent go on to any higher education?
Why or why not?
Did the birth parent ever travel?
What effect did this have on the birth parent's view of the world?
What was the birth parent's general mental state?
Did the birth parent have any disabilities? Mental or physical?
What caused these disabilities? Heredity? An accident? Abusive parents/siblings?
What impact did this have on the birth parent's social interactions?
Did it lead to a negative self-image?
Was the birth parent able to overcome their disability?
What mannerisms did the birth parent pick up from family members?
Was the birth parent easily influenced by their parents?  By siblings?
Who or what was the birth parent's biggest role model?
Did the birth parent ever leave home?  If so, when?
If not, why?
When did the birth parent meet the partner(s) with whom your character was conceived?
How old was the birth parent at this time?
Did they like each other at first?  Did they just see each other in passing?  Was it a childhood love?
How did the birth parent express interest in the partner? Outgoing? Shy? Aloof wanting to be chased after?
How did the partner react?
Who made the first move toward a relationship?
How long did the relationship last?
How many relationships did each have before meeting each other?
How serious were those relationships? Did either of them have children through those relationships?
How did previous relationships affect theirs? Was there jealousy? On whose part? Why?
Did a previous love ever try to take either the birth parent or the partner back? Why? How did they respond?
Did the birth parent and partner ever argue? Why? Over what?
Were they able to resolve their arguments? Did they hold grudges?
How often were they able to see each other? Did this determine how much affection they had for each other?  Was it a cause of arguments?
Did either of them ever cheat on the other? Why or why not?
Did they ever move in together? Why or why not?
Did their parents approve of their relationship? Why or why not?
What effect did their parents opinion have on their relationship? Did it strain them?  Did it make them like Romeo and Juliet, pining for each other but not allowed to meet?
Did they ever get married?  When?
What was the wedding like? Were there any mishaps?  Did anyone get cold feet?  Did anyone's parents boycott the wedding?  What sort of ceremony was involved?  Were the participants religious? What religion?
If they did not marry, did they consider eloping?
Did they ultimately end up together, or separated (before or after the birth of your character)? Why?
How old was the birth parent at conception of your character?
Was this socially acceptable?
Was the birth parent happy about the pregnancy?
Was it an accident?  Was it planned?
How long was the pregnancy? What is the standard term for their kind?
Was the character born prematurely? Overdue? What effect did this have on the birth parent? (e.g., were they worried about it, were they just sick of being pregnant by then, did it affect their ability to safely give birth?)
What was the birth like? Was it normal (however that may be for the individual)? Did it require surgery? Was the birth parent's life in danger? Why or why not?
Was the birth parent's partner there at the time?
What were their reactions at the birth?
What were their parent's reactions at the news? Were any of them present?
Where was the character born? A hospital? A house? The roadside? What led to these circumstances?
Were the birth parent and partner prepared for a baby? Why or why not?