General Character Development Prompts
1. One of the best ways to write about a character is to have a handy reference sheet on them out. Fill this out so if you ever forget about something or are in a jam, you can refer to this:
2. Write about your character's ideal perfect lover. Is he or she their exact opposite? Are they just your character's best friend on a more romantic point of view? Or are they even of the same gender? Get thinking!
3. Think about how your character may react differently if they lives in a place like New York City as oppose to a place like London. Use places that you have been to because the best reference in fictional writing is you.
4. What is your character's theme song? If you can't find anything with the proper words, listen for a melody or tune that matches your character's personality. This one may be tricky and it sounds pointless, but it's a lot of fun and you can get a lot of great ideas from doing it.
5. Your character comes upon a fork in a road and has no idea where to go. How does he feel? Which road does he take and why? What's at the end of the road?
Prompt from www.creative-writing-solutions.com
Funny Character Development Prompts
1. Your character goes to a comedy club and is asked to participate in a stand up comedy act. The act turns out to be something totally crazy. Write about how your character would react!
2. Your character finds them self on the brink of insanity from something very silly. What could drive them insane and make them act so strangely?
Sad or Tragic Character Development Prompts
1. The most important person in your character's life dies. How do they react? Who helps them? What is the aftermath on their personality?
2. How would your character feel if they badly injured or even killed someone because they were driving home from a part drunk? Write about how it happened and than about the aftermath. How does this event significantly change your character?
3. Your character gets addicted to drugs and is not their usual self. Who is there to help them, if anyone? What happens to them? How does your character feel about all of this?
4. Your character is laid off from their job and is kicked out of their house because they can't afford the rent. They've been living of the streets for a month now and are tired and hungry. How would your character feel? Is there a need for revenge? What do they do about it? Do they ever stop being homeless? Who do they meet? What have they seen? There's a lot of options with this one, so do whatever you like!