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Village Writers' Club

Hot Springs Village, Arkansas

50 Strong Bones for Building Character

  1. What is your person’s first name?
  2. Middle name?
  3. Surname?
  4. Nickname?
  5. What is the origin of one of the names?
  6. How does your person’s name affect her or him?
  7. How old is your person?
  8. What job does your person have or, if still in school, what grade level?
  9. What is your person’s favorite work or school activity?
  10. What is your person’s least favorite work or school activity?
  11. What is your person’s primary ethnic culture?
  12. What would you need to research about that culture in order to write about your person?
  13. What is the geographic location where your person lives?
  14. Where does your person dwell—house, apartment, mobile home, etc.?
  15. What does it look like outside?
  16. What does it look like inside?
  17. How does your person feel about her or his home?
  18. What does your person’s bedroom look like?
  19. Who does your person live with?
  20. Describe an individual your person lives with (if he/she does not live alone).
  21. Who does your person have the most conflict with?
  22. Why are they in conflict?
  23. How does the conflict play out?
  24. What are your person’s three main personality traits?
  25. What are your person’s two greatest strengths?
  26. What are your person’s two greatest weaknesses/faults?
  27. What is your person’s primary talent?
  28. What accomplishment is your person most proud of?
  29. What has your person done that she or he is ashamed of?
  30. What activity does your person love to do in her/his spare time?
  31. Why does your person love to do this activity?
  32. What does your person want to do but can’t?
  33. Why can’t your person do this thing?
  34. What is your person’s deepest secret?
  35. What does your person fear would happen if this secret were found out?
  36. Who are your person’s two best friends?
  37. Why is your person friends with these people?
  38. What one thing do these friends know about your person that other people don’t know?
  39. Who is your person’s enemy?
  40. Why are they enemies?
  41. What scares your person?
  42. Why is your person scared of this?
  43. If your person has a love interest, who is it?
  44. Is that love reciprocal?
  45. Why or why not?
  46. What is your person’s most important goal?
  47. What is the barrier to your person reaching the goal?
  48. Who is involved in creating that barrier?
  49. What strategy has your person considered but not tried to overcome that barrier?
  50. Why has your person not tried that strategy?