LGBT Senior’s Weekly Writing Prompt: Character Speed Dating

Build a Character in Five Minutes

Most of you know I write fiction, and I conduct writing workshops in addition to journaling. Here’s a fun way to explore character creation.

Characters don’t arrive fully formed. They show up in fragments — a gesture, a habit, a thing they always say. Answer these five questions about a person who just appeared in your mind. Write the first thing that comes:

• What does this person do first thing in the morning?

• What are they afraid of that they’ve never told anyone?

• What do they keep in their pockets or their bag?

• What do they want more than anything right now?

• What one sentence do they say so often that people who love them could finish it for them?