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Ask Your Character Questions (Including Point-of-View) Here!

Here you can ask us questions about creating fictional characters. We will try to answer your character questions below, and invite others to comment as well.

Characters are, of course, one of the essential elements of fiction. Sometimes an engaging character will stay with a reader long after they have forgotten the plot of a story. And even the most engaging plot can appear lifeless if it does not involve characters whom the reader cares about.

Of course, the subject of fictional characters is tied closely to both plot and point of view, so there may be some overlap.

We will also try to address character questions that are related to Dramatica story theory, which has some special observations to help writers, such as the distinction between main characters and protagonists, the function of impact characters, and how to use archetypal characters.

Some character questions may have already been addressed in articles on the novel writing page. So if this is the first time you have visited this site, you might start by looking there for answers. You may want to take a look at some of the other character questions that have been asked and answered below. Or you can search this site for relevant articles by entering your search term into this box...

Custom Search

Otherwise, feel free to submit your questions below...



Have a Question About Characters or Point of View?

Submit a question about any aspect of characters, such as characterization, point of view, impact characters, archetypal characters or main characters. If we feel we can provide an answer that will benefit other visitors and that the question has not already been addressed at length elsewhere on this site, we will post it. (We also invite you to comment on questions others have submitted.)

Enter the topic of your question here.

Character Questions Others Have Asked

Click below to see character questions from other visitors to this page, and our answers...

Use of real people, long dead.  starstarstarstarstar
Question: While reading some other answers posted, I came across one talking about libel and mentioning real people in fiction, and it worried me slightly....

First person writing  starstarstarstarstar
Question: Hello! I seem to have run into a bit of a problem. You see, the majority of my writings are in third-person, it's just what I prefer writing ...

Character Traits/Information Give-a-ways  starstarstarstarstar
Question: I have a huge problem. Is it important to just hurry and get most of the characters introduced and explained as soon as possible so they can ...

Impact Character  starstarstarstarstar
Question: In a story where the main character is the protagonist, does your impact character have to be the antagonist?

Answer: Absolutely not....

Multiple Lead Characters  starstarstarstarstar
Question: Is there anywhere I can turn to learn how to write a novel that features an ensemble of three friends as lead characters? Or do I just have ...

My characters are just warped versions of myself  Not rated yet
Question: My characters are cheesy and unrealistic. How do I make them believable and unique. I'm not very good at observing people and describing their ...

Writing a Character's Dark Side  Not rated yet
Question: I have found myself getting into a character that is coming from a really dark place. When writing a story one wants to keep one's readers ...

The Villain  Not rated yet
Question: I'm having a lot of trouble creating a villain to fit my fantasy novel. I have a protagonist and a main idea but no bad guy to interrupt the ...

Narrator And POV  Not rated yet
QuestionL I am totally new to story writing and have a novel in mind. My question concerns the narrator and point of view. The POV during the story will ...

My character needs to make a love choice but i don't know which character she should pick???  Not rated yet
Question: Okay she is a mild-mannered surgeon and there are two choices of guys she could be with. There is Caleb the bad boy with a horrible rep. But ...

Archetypal Characters: their 8 functions  Not rated yet
Question: Archetypal Characters: their 8 functions. Can you clarify how I could make the characters have all of these function in a different way?

Answer:...

how to find character names?  Not rated yet
Question: I'm having trouble deciding on a character name. I really like unique names, but some of my favorites (such as Ever or Haven from Evermore)...

Begining a novel from a secondary character's point of view..  Not rated yet
Question: Is it appropriate to start a novel with a scene involving the secondary character? I'm working on Middle Grade novel and my secondary character ...

Writing in the third person  Not rated yet
Question: I just read where someone, like myself is writing in the third person. I'm basically doing to the very same thing, although my characters ...

How do I get people to care for my characters in the first chapter?  Not rated yet
Question: Hi, this is Natalie Danyus again.

I'm going to write a story where an angel is a narrator of the story. He is narrating about the little ...

Main character  Not rated yet
Question: I would like a suggestion on what point of view a book should have when the whole story is across a 10-year timespan and there are many important ...

Nothing anyone has ever done..  Not rated yet
Question: I am trying to make up characters that no one else has ever done, because every time i start to write, the characters always sound like the ...

Character revision  Not rated yet
Question: In one story of mine, which I began in 2006 and ended (after hiatus) in 2009, I'm having a protagonist problem. I want to revise and tighten ...

about backstory  Not rated yet
Question: I'm getting mixed advice when it comes to backstory. some people say let people draw their own conclusions and others say make it a solid chapter....

Cheesy Conflict  Not rated yet
QuestionL Hello again, I've got ANOTHER problem. = ) The dialogue between my main character and a bully from school seems too cheesy, I figured that ...

Character Narrators  Not rated yet
Question: If I'm writing a story in which the narrator is actually not the protagonist, just a close friend/flatmate/love interest/etc (think Sherlock ...

Impact Character  Not rated yet
Question: My impact character is my main character's long time friend. My protagonist is supposed to be a fairly decisive person, is there a way to create ...

Careers/Jobs for your characters  Not rated yet
Question: How do you find and decide on a good career and/or job for your character to have? I have my characters set up, and am halfway through my ...

Antagonist  Not rated yet
Question: I have come up with a motive for why my antagonist does what he does but I can't seem to come up with a unique personality.

Answer: Inventing ...

The Opposition  Not rated yet
Question: I have my protagonist and his "allies" created but I'm starting to wonder if I've done my antagonist correctly. I understand that an antagonist ...

Characters  Not rated yet
Question: I have trouble coming up with characters names and personalities.
My question is.........How do you find out those things quickly and easily?...

Impact Character  Not rated yet
Question: Can the impact character forcing the protagonist to question their habitual ways of solving problems be a sort of 'generalised other'? Eg ...

Anti-Hero  Not rated yet
Question: I am planning on making the main character of my writings to be an anti-hero. Some scenes are easy to keep consistent with his more cynical ...

Do I have to introduce characters early?  Not rated yet
Question: I was wondering whether all major characters have to be introduced in the beginning or fairly early. When is it just too late to introduce ...

Point of View Inconsistency   Not rated yet
Question: I'm not sure exactly what point of view I'm writing in. I give parts of my story to others and they say, "You need to keep your point of view ...

Effective Techniques for Getting the Reader's Sympathy  Not rated yet
Question: What are the most effective techniques to naturally make the reader feel the emotion that the author intentionally planned for them? For example,...

Characters?  Not rated yet
Question: I have my characters formed but just their names and birthdays and some aspects of their personalities but I want to know them more. How can ...

Using Character Questionnaires  Not rated yet
Hi, my name is Natalie, I'm fourteen-years-old.

I got four characters that will be going on the adventure through a different parallel world. My main ...

Choosing Fictional Names  Not rated yet
Question: When trying to write a novel, the thing that gives me the most trouble is picking names. Names of people, names of places, names of ANYTHING....

Antagonist  Not rated yet
Question: How can I create a believable antagonist?

Answer: It's just like making any other character believable. Give them specific traits, keep ...

Introducing The Protagonist  Not rated yet
Question: Does the Protagonist have to be introduced before any other character?

Answer: The short answer is no, though it is often an effective ...

Main Character and Impact Character Query  Not rated yet
Question: Is it possible to have two main characters that are also the impact character to each other?

Answer: Yes. In effect, you would have two ...

characters  Not rated yet
Question: Can a book have too many characters?

Answer: It really doesn't matter how many characters a book has as long as they are engaging.

You ...





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