Dissecting Character Grids (1)- Relationships

Now that I’ve been using the 10 by 10 Character Grids for a while now and found that I liked them as a way to let me get into my characters, I thought I will start a series to explore each element of them in greater details, which is basically creating a tips series for different aspects of a character.

I’m starting with Relationships because I’ve noticed that I tend to get to the full 10 items on this aspect of a character grid relatively quick. But before I get to the tips, let me answer first the question of what would I have achieved by the end of brainstorming 10 aspects on a character’s Relationships?

So how do I come up with Relationships real quick? By essentially coming up with answers to the following questions:

• What is the immediate family situation like?
  • Both parents still living?
  • How many parents does a character have (I’m writing fantasy, Oriental fantasy especially, so it is possible that I will be writing about polygamistic society)?
  • How many siblings?
  • How many spouses/ex-spouses?
  • How many children?
  • Who amongst these are significants in the life/mind of the character? What are the relationships between them actually like? Is it more in the realm of positive feelings like love and affection or negative feelings like competition and grudges and downright hate? Or a mixture of both?
  • Family values
• What is the extended birth family situation like?
  • Do any of the relatives play a significant role in the character’s mind/life?
  • If so, what is the exact relationship like?
• Friendships
  • Does the character have a lot of friends or only a few or none at all?
  • Who are the ‘notables’ in this aspect?
  • Are the friendships reciprocated?
• Romance/love interest
  • Any? If so, who and how is their current status?
• What is the character’s overall social standing?
  • What does acquaintances and people who know of the character generally view him/her as? Superior to themselves, on par or below themselves?
  • What is the basis of such a view?
• General people interaction
  • Attitude towards strangers upon first meeting