Welcome to the 31 days of Character Development challenge!
This challenge is based off of the 31CD blog Event posted in August 2022. It is designed to help you flesh out your character and develop your headcanons!
Guidelines:
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WEEK 1
(Day 1): Seasonal: what sort of changes does your character go through as seasons change? What are their go-to activities during each season? (i.e. do they garden during spring time, partake in snowball fights during winter, etc.) How does their attire/fur/appearance change by season?
(Day 2): Vices. What does your character do that other characters may find annoying? i.e: certain outlooks or attitudes on life? Ironic flirting? Do they chew with their mouth open? Smoke inside? Etc. Are they aware that these quirks are annoying or not?
( Day 3): Paradigm shift: What would it take to push your character into a 180° personality shift? A calm character turned feral, an evil character turned hero, a being of chaos turned gentle, a non-confrontational character turned combative? Describe the hypothetical steps and scenarios it would take to stimulate that shift (no matter how drastic or implausible,) and lead into a hero-to-villain (or vice versa) arc in their own story
(Day 4): Scars. List some significant scars that your character has, and tell us where they came from. If they don’t have any scars, is there a reason?
(Day 5): Parents. Does your character know their parents? If not, then why? Describe your character's relationship with their parents if/when they knew them. Does your character have anyone that they consider a parent, despite not being blood related? Tell us about them!
(Day 6): Erasure. Is there one event or happening your character would like to erase from their past? Why? How would their life be different now if that event could be erased?
(Day 7): Sleep. What does your character’s bed or sleeping space look like when they wake up? Are the covers off on one side of the bed, is your character all curled around a pillow or sprawled everywhere, etc? What is their go-to sleeping position? Does your character even need sleep or sleep at all? If they don't sleep, describe what they do in their down time/resting periods
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WEEK 2
(Day 8): Family. Are there any blood relatives that your character is particularly close with, excluding parents? Siblings, Cousins, Uncles, Grandfathers, Aunts, etc. Are there any individuals that your character considers family, irregardless of blood relation? Who are they and why? (Yes, you can mention other people's characters if it applies.)
(Day 9): Turning points: Describe important turning points in your character's life. Were they aware that those moments were turning points while they were happening? Is your character able to look back and recognize those moments as turning points now? Did they try to resist the resulting changes, or did they willingly go along with it?
(Day 10): Food. Is your character a good cook? What’s their favorite recipe, whether they’re good or not? (Microwave mac-and-cheese does count.)
(Day 11): Partnership. Is your character the romantic type? What is your character's orientation? Is your character currently in a relationship, and have they had past partners? Describe the best way to win your character's affection.
(Day 12): Technology. How is your character with technology? Are they super savvy, or way behind the times? Do they have a phone or other electronic devices? Do they prefer written letters, texting, or email? If your character has never used technology before, how fast do you think they could pick it up? Bonus question: If your character has a phone, computer or other electronic device, what does it look like? Do they decorate it with stickers or a specific case, or leave it plain?
(Day 13): Happiness. Describe three points in your chatacter's life where they felt genuinely happy and/or excited. What made them feel that way and why?
(Day 14): Serenity. Write out a scene of your character feeling and exhibiting genuinely calm behaviors. You may collaborate with another writer and/or include other characters if you choose.
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WEEK 3
(Day 15): Fury. Write out a scene of your character while they are genuinely furious. You may collaborate with another writer and/or include other characters if you choose.
(Day 16): Travel. What’s your character’s preferred means of travel? Does it change short distance vs. long distance?
(Day 17): Dwelling place. Describe your character's current living situation. Does your character have a set residence, or do they travel around a lot? Is your character neat or messy? Does that depend on their mood, or are they consistent? What does their work space look like, if they have one?
(Day 18): Temperature. What is your chatacter's preferred temperature? How do they handle high heat and extreme cold? Do they have a favorite season and weather pattern?
(Day 19): Cutie what-now? What would your chatacter's CUTIE MARK be, and why? How would your character react to a Cutie Mark popping up on them? Feel free to either just describe it, or write it out In-character!
(Day 20): Music. Pick three songs that describe your character at three different points or events of their life. Describe the events and/or points, and explain why you chose those songs.
(Day 21): Scent. What does your character naturally smell like? Do they use perfume, cologne and/or a specific deodorant?
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WEEK 4
(Day 22): Fears. What is your character afraid of? What about irrational fears? Describe what happened to spark those fears.
(Day 23): Vanity. How vain is your character? Do they find themselves attractive? Are they quiet about their vanity (or lack thereof) or are they shameless about it? Do they unironically act vain, or do they behave like that to get on other people's nerves?
(Day 24): Employment. How does your character afford their current lifestyle? What is your chatacter's job history? Is it easy for them to land a job? Do they enjoy their current occupation, or do they wish they could be doing something else? If they want to change jobs, what's stopping them from doing something else?
(Day 25); Embarrassment. Write out an In-Character scenario of your character remembering an embarrassing moment. Be sure to include what that embarrassing moment was, and how your character reacts while recalling it.
(Day 26th): Routine. What is your chatacter's routine when they start the day? Do they shower first, apply makeup, make breakfast, etc? How do they style their hair? How do they pick their clothes for the day? Does your character even have a daily routine, or do they just go with the flow?
(Day 27): Caretaker. Can your character take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child? What would happen if your character was suddenly forced to care for a plant, a pet, and a child? Describe all three occurrences individually and the outcomes.
(Day 28): Time travel. Your character has gained the opportunity to warn their past self about one thing. Would they take that opportunity, or leave the fates to play out as they are? Why or why wouldn't they take that opportunity? What would they warn their past self about? How will their past self respond to the warning? Would they heed it, or disregard it?
(Day 29): Features. Describe your character's most prominent physic features. Is it their hair, eyes, smile, "extra" features? What makes those features prominent? Why did you, the writer, choose to give them those features?
(Day 30): Tics. We all know about nervous tics, but what about small habits your character has to show other emotions? Do they tap their fingers, twirl or run fingers through their hair, scoff, eye roll, bounce or wiggle a bit, etc? List the little things they do for when they are excited, stressed, bored, content, sleepy, and irritated.
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ADDITIONAL BONUS BLOG:
Create a completely separate blog for this prompt. Tag your blog with 31CD
(Day 31): Letter. Write a letter to your character, from yourself as their writer.
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