2000 plus questions to ask a fictional character if you are a writer, actor or student seeking interesting term paper ideas. If you are faced with character development needs - this is the book for you!
What the reviewers say about Joan Meijer as an author
“The first big thing that hit me about this book is a specific talent that Joan
has as a writer that I've rarely seen… I'm stunned at the way that
Joan has taken a mere glimpse at a person and made them someone I cared about.”
~ Literary Litter by Shawn
Sample
Ambition
In most good plots the villain and the hero have overlapping ambitions. They want to influence the same town. They want the same girl. Much of the tension of a well-written story comes from this area of conflict. It is helpful when reading or writing a play or novel to examine the ambitions of everyone and pay close attention to where they overlap. It is not necessary that the ambitions look alike, as I said earlier God and the Devil want the same thing, but not in the same way.
What are the character's ambitions? Are they achieved or frustrated in this story? How does that affect the story? Are they actually achievable? Are they a source of pleasure or a source of frustration? Are those ambitions realistic? Do the character’s ambitions meet opposition? Is the opposition internal or external? Is this character his own worst enemy? Do this character’s ambitions often conflict and contrast with the ambitions of other characters. If yes, how? Does this character hold ambitions for another character; A parent wanting something for their child, a husband wanting something for his wife. If yes, what are those ambitions? Does that someone else hold the same ambitions for him or herself? If no, describe that area of conflict. An interesting tool for making a character more interesting is flawed ambition – the character that sleeps through the alarm on the morning of his Olympic Tryouts – twice – has a flawed ambition (see Fatal Flaw and self-sabotage). How do characters mirror each other? If a character can see something in someone else, they probably have the same quality in themselves. (i.e. two characters can each see how the other can achieve an ambition, but they fail to see their own abilities in the same area. Enemies often mirror each other in passion and quality of hate.) Explore this dynamic.
