Writing Prompts To Get To Know Your Characters Better

Writing Prompts to Get to Know Your Characters Better

I’ve created a list of 48 different scene prompts to get more familiar with your characters and their relationships, that are more fun (in my opinion) than lists of deep questions to ask yourself about them. Feel free to do as many (or as few) if you want. If you answer any, please tag me!

Individual Characters

Write a description of them from the point of view of their best friend or a person who has a crush on them.

Write a description of them from the point of view of a person who absolutely hates them.

Write their earliest or favorite memory.

Design what their Instagram page would look like. (Yes, even if they’re from a time when they don’t have Instagram.)

Write their death scene, even if you’re not planning on killing them within the piece.

Alternatively, write them a eulogy or obituary.

Your character is in high school, and has become valedictorian and has to give a speech at graduation. Write it.

Write a letter of recommendation for this character. For what? I don’t care. Write it.

Your character has a YouTube channel. Write the script for their most watched video.

Write the notes written on the doctor or therapist’s clipboard after a meeting with the character.

Your character has been arrested. Write the news posting.

What song did your character make an embarrassing dancing video to as a child?

Your character has become a celebrity and is on a talk show, telling the story of a traumatic childhood memory…

One-On-One Friendships

First meeting scene has been done so many times. Write the first fight instead.

Write a series of text conversations between the two.

How would they behave at an elementary school sleepover?

One friend has been detained–arrested, grounded, detention, you choose–and the other is trying to convince the detainer to let them out.

The two decide to enter the school talent show, solely for the $50 Cheesecake Factory gift card prize.

For whatever reason, they must pretend to be siblings. Bonus points if they are different races or just look nothing alike.

One friend got evicted, and has to live with the other for a week.

They’ve been working on a joint bucket list since they became close. Write the list.

One is extremely drunk and the other must stop them, as they have decided that now is the time when they just have to…

Your characters reunite in a nursing home in their 90s after not having seen each other for at least a decade.

A creep hits on one of them, and as friends do, they pretend they’re dating to ward off said creep. Only problem? Said creep keeps showing up.

The maid of honor/best man speech.

Friend Groups

They’ve been in a car together for 6 hours on a road trip, and someone tries the dreaded “Are we there yet?”.

A group picture goes horribly wrong. Write the scene– or draw the picture if you’re a visual artist.

It’s middle school. There’s a snow day. Everyone goes sledding. And then…

Compile the memes that are most commonly sent in the group chat.

They discover one of them has never seen Star Wars. Write the following discourse and movie marathon.

Look up “Most likely to” challenges on YouTube, write down the best questions, and use them with the group. Even better, write a scene where the group is using them with each other.

Write your characters as overly passionate PTA members planning the next school fundraiser.

One of them goes out of town, and the group has to watch their house/plants/pet/kid while they’re gone.

A member of the group was minorly wronged. Everyone decides to enact petty revenge.

The wedding was going so well, until the rest of the friends decided to make the reception a little more interesting.

One friend works at a restaurant. The rest decide to eat there while the friend is working. Describe how the group gets the friend fired in one night.

For whatever reason, nobody can go home for Thanksgiving. They decide to have Thanksgiving together instead.

Romantic Relationships

Write a breakup scene. Doesn’t matter if they’re not going to break up in your piece.

Write the moments when they each knew.

One’s meeting the other’s parents for the first time, and accidentally lets slip that…

The siblings/friends scheming together about how to get the two to date without being creepy.

Write the stupidest argument they’ve ever had.

What text message conversation is framed in their apartment/house?

Somehow kill one of them, and let the other react.

It’s Valentine’s Day. The couple goes out to eat, when both of their exes walk in… with each other.

The Mario Kart match neither of them is allowed to talk about.

They’re not speaking. Write the development of the fight only through conversations with the buffer friend.

Write a proposal scene, even if you’re not planning on them getting married in your piece.

They return to the place where they first met/kissed/dated. Somehow, the place has been changed, and not for the better.

Warmth

Chapter 2

It had been a normal day for Michelle, until she found the Russian giant on the sands of her favourite beach.

Now, Seychelles had not had the quietest upbringing. Her history, especially after her independence, was dominated by coup after failed coup, more a spectacular mess than anything else. Not surprising, really, considering who her parents were. But, also being who they were, there had been lessons - dozens of boring, boring lessons - on, apparently, How To Survive ( it was more, she thought, How to Best Pick Fights and Not Make Friends, but meh. Europeans.) She’d been given a handbook too, underlined and highlighted, with stapled-in pages no less dog-eared that the rest, probably something passed down among her various pseudo-siblings, but that was besides the point. The point was, Seychelles did not follow most of the rules, but some she did, if only to be particularly safe.

So, naturally, the last thing she was expecting was to run into one of the countries on the ‘Avoid At All Cost’ list, lying on her beach, not realising that he was well on his way to getting very nicely sunburnt.