Hey peeps!
Long story short, 
my fiancé Brandon was de-cluttering our office and he found a gem I thought would really help a lot of readers.

Brandon found an old journal I used for one of my creative writing classes way back in junior year of high-school. In it, I found a check list that my amazing professor, Professor Briggs gave us.

That checklist has honestly saved my life countless times + has helped me so much. I always keep it in mind when I write for a character, and being that I found the actual copy of it,
I want to share it with you all.

Today's topic (in case you're bored with not at all short story): 
HOW TO CONSTRUCT A CHARACTER.

(look at my hand-writing from when I was 16-17)

scanned them for you all,
but worry not,
I will type it out because my hand writing is just atrocious xD

1) BASICS

- name (is there a meaning behind it? what does the name mean / why was she/he given this name? named after someone?)

- nickname (reason for it?)

-alias

- birthdate

- personality

-age, astrological sign + details about the sign and does it suit your character or is it total bogus?

-sex, race/nationality, birthplace, occupation, social class.

2) PHYSICAL TRAITS

- height, weight, build, hair colour  (length, hairstyle, thick or thin hair?)

- eye colour (contacts or glasses?) 

-skin tone and skin type (fair, tan, olive, black, oily, dry, etc).

-shape of the face (oval, round, square, heart, etc). 

- features on fair ( bold/thin brows, small/big lips, etc).

-unique scars? (freckles/beauty marks, battle wounds, etc.)

-righty or lefty?

-tattoo's or piercings? Meaning behind tattoo?

- disabled? health, mental, physical issues? + if so, why?

-dressing style

3) FAMILY

-mama's name / does character still have parents? occupation of mama
- do the same for the papa.

-siblings! does character have siblings? if so, how is their relationship with them?
Good?
Bad? If bad, why?

- birth order (who's oldest, youngest, middle child, etc).

- boyfriend / girl friend
-  bff (when they met, etc).
- enemies
- pets

4) BACKGROUND

- heritage

- religion (if religious, what religion and why, if not, why?)

- beliefs (what they value in others and themselves)

- relationship history 

- education

- hometown details 

- type of childhood 

- what bedroom was/is like, etc.

5) PERSONALITY TRAITS

- daredevil / cautious?

- popular / loner?

- day / night / person?

- optimist / pessimist?

- do they act different when around others?
- do they keep to themselves?

- introvert / extrovert

WARNING: introverts DO not always have to be quiet asf. Many introverts are super talkative + friendly when you get them to talk about something they know / are passionate about.

- soft spots // is it obvious or not? if they hide it, why?

- biggest vulnerability

- worst + best memory

- proud of

- embarrassed of

- talents + skills

- unskilled at

-driving style

- pet peeves, sexuality, and any special powers?

6) HABITS

- catch phrase? anything they enjoy saying a lot?
- gestures

- irritating habits to themselves as well as to others

- tics, quirks, etc.

- eating, sleeping, working out habits.

-healthy and unhealthy habits.

- superstitions

- mannerisms 

7) ATTITUDE

- at east with who? 

- not comfortable with whom?

- situations that make them uncomfortable / where do they feel most comfortable?

- priorities + philosophies 

- out look on life

- how they feel about themselves

- past failures,

- if granted a wish, what would it be?

8) SELF PERCEPTION

- WHAT'S ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE THEM?
- Why that word?
- Give examples to prove. 

- what they consider to be their best / worst attribute both physical and non-physical

- how they think others view them?

- what makes them happy / unhappy?

- one thing they would never change about themselves.

9) RANDOM BITS I'D LIKE TO ADD

- Favorite color,

favorite number,
favorite band, song, etc.

favorite anything really.

CUSTOMIZE your character to YOUR liking.

- how they say things like "i love you" "hello"
- high pitched or monotone?

x x x 

okay guys, that's basically it!

I hope that this helps you all as much as it has helped me. Bless Professor Riggs + appreciate all your English teachers that just want you to find your voice + better your writing skills.

YOU DO NOT have to include ALL of these things into a character. Take only what you need from this and apply it to them as you see fit. Take what you like etc.

The more you give away about a character, the more well-constructed he/ she is. 

another thing about OC's is, it sometimes really helps to pick a celebrity/ someone to portray who your OC is, but I'll make a whole other chapter about that.

- physical attributes are really not that important when it comes to characters, but what's inside REALLY does matter.

-what are they constantly thinking of?
- how  do they react to news?
- what do they worry about?

there's so many more things that can go on this list, so if you'd like to add something to it-

by all means, go forth with it!

x x x  

I promise I'll get to the topics I told some of you I'd cover.
For now, I hope you have enjoyed this / found it a tad-bit helpful.

If there's anything you'd like to add this list,
please let me know.
The more the merrier!

P.S.
I can't stress this enough, but guys, be unique with your characters.
Give them weird names,
give them crazy hair,
let them be larger than life.

If you're not into that, REALLY REALLY spend time building your character.
If she/he is more mild and subdued, things can still be dynamic.

Don't let others influence what your character has to be like because that "certain mold" of character is popular in a book.

Fuck that.

Do what makes you happy + forget about everything when you build a character.
What do you like?
Go from there.

:) 

x o  , v i o l e t .