7 fun ways to get to know your characters (that are 100% free!)
- Hannah Noffsinger
- Oct 10, 2025
- 4 min read
If you've spent any amount of time on the writerly sides of Pinterest, Tumblr, or the blogosphere, you know that not all character development prompts are created equal. Some are boring, some are useless, and some are just plain hard to answer.
I rounded up 7 of my favorite prompts (that I've actually tried!) that are both fun to answer and actually help your characters come alive. Some of them can even be put directly into your manuscript! Just don't forget to write your answers down somewhere (the comment section is as good a place as any 😉).
Without further ado, here are 7 fun, free, and actually helpful ways to get to know your characters!
Pick their theme song
A character's theme song could be anything: their favorite song, the song you listen to while writing them, something random with exactly one line that describes them perfectly, even a song another character wrote them, like TikTok user @Ella-Vanilla mentioned in a comment on one of my posts!
Music is just as much (or more!) about vibes as it is about the actual lyrics or musicality of a piece. The key here is to choose what feels right to you, not necessarily something you can easily explain to someone else. Remember, these exercises are for *you as the author* to learn more about your characters.
Ask, "What's a lie they 100% believe?"
Okay, I'll be honest. I got this idea from a D&D campaign I played over the summer. It's a fantastic prompt, as it gets you thinking about how your character's mind works and what they're willing to believe, and it can be as serious or as silly as you want!
A great way to use this question is to make it involve two (or more!) characters, i.e. "What's a lie Character A tells that Character B 100% believes?" Not only are you learning about each character individually, you're also getting insights into their relationship with each other!
Make them in Sims 4 (it's free!) and fill out their personalities
This is a great option if you already know what your character looks like, as most of creating a Sim is styling their appearance.
Don't forget to fill out their personalities, too! While there are limited options, this can be a good exercise in knowing your character well enough that you can pick something that's "close enough!"
You do need a device that can download and run The Sims. I use my laptop, but it's also available on the App Store and Google Play.
Discover what kind of nonverbal greetings they use
Most people don't only greet each other by saying "Hi." People say hello with a hug, wave, nod, high five, kiss, bow, or anything else you can think of!
Not only does this exercise teach you about your character, you can also discover what sort of greetings are common or accepted in their world. Do they follow social norms? Or do they go outside the box? (Bonus points for secret handshakes!)
Need some inspiration? Here's a list of some customary greetings from around the world (I particularly love the story behind Tibet's 😉).
Make a list of everything they keep in their pockets
This one's a classic: What objects do they carry around with them? These can be things they often need (like car keys or a treasure map) or things they just like to have with them (like a cool hunting knife or their grandmother's wedding ring).
This prompt can also feed directly into your story. Stick a gun under their car seat or a box of candy in their bag, ready to be used at exactly the right time. Just make sure there's a reason it's there!
Take personality quizzes as if you were them
This is a prompt I've been doing for a few weeks, and it's crazy how much I've learned about my characters. I actually, legitimately cried when I took the Knights Radiant quiz and it told me that my main character's motivation is protecting others. It made so much sense to me, and I felt like I finally knew who she was!
The great thing about personality quizzes is that even the silliest ones teach you about your character's vibe and decision-making process.
Here's some quizzes to get you started:
The Class Reunion Test (CW: mentions sex)
Anything from Truity, but especially:
Answer these questions from tumblr user @wisteria-lodge
This one is a little more work, as it's kind of a 10-in-1 prompt, but I'd say it's definitely worth it! Pick one or two questions to think about, or sit down with a snack and a pen and pump out answers to all 10!
My favorite part of this post is that they add little explanations to each question, so you know exactly why each question helps you get to know your character so well. If you want to take it a step further, create your own questions along the same lines!
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