Yesterday we talked about how to get your Hero to talk! Today, I thought I would give you a few pointers on WHAT to ask him once he starts talking! There are a few pointed questions to ask your hero (and it’s not what kind of car does he drive!) to unearth his deep issues and those things you can use to develop his character. Here are 3 Top Secret Questions to ask your hero:

1. What is the nightmare in your past that has made you the person you are today?
Okay, so not everyone has turbulent pasts, but often, some decisive moment, a mistake, a tragedy, a misunderstanding, even a childhood prank can so deeply affect a character that he/she is still making choices based on that nightmare. Let’s say your hero had scoliosis that prevented him from playing sports in an all-sports school, (or even family). Maybe now he would choose extreme sports to prove that he’s the tough guy he wanted to be in high school. Or, let’s say that your heroine got picked to go to state choir finals…and on the week she was supposed to go, her mother got sick and she had to stay home and care for her. Her best friend went instead and got a college scholarship because of it – and the heroine never got to go. Now, she goes to night school and tries not to resent her mother for her missed opportunities. See, those are issues you can build on as you create your characters, and develop their story.

2. What can you do at the end of the story that you find impossible to do at the beginning?
I love this question because it’s all about change, and a character in a story should grow and change. Maybe, in the above scenario, the heroine is never able to forgive her mother. Or, maybe she is never able to let herself rely on someone because she doesn’t want to do to them what happened to her. By the end of the book, however, she is able to either forgive, and embrace her dreams, or learn to trust. Maybe our hero learns that being a tough guys isn’t about living fast and hard…but rather being tender and kind? Whatever it is, this question will help you map their growth.

3. What is the lie you have believed?
So often we live our lives based on a voice from the past that tells us a lie. For example, maybe our heroine heard her mother say, well, you wouldn’t have won anyway…and deep down she believes that she didn’t deserve to go. Or maybe our hero heard, “he’s such a weakling, you can’t expect anything from him” from one of his brothers, and he believes that he is weak, and useless…and thus why he constantly risks his life. Discovering the lie will also give you the tools to craft your spiritual epiphany – to shine the truth onto your character and break them free from their lie.

I’ve never been a fan of long character lists and questionnaires. Just a few probing, specific questions are all you need to get to the heart of a character! Tomorrow I’ll share notes from the characterization process from one of my own books! Thanks for reading!