Character Hangouts: #Preptober, Day 15

As we finish up with our character development prompts, today’s focus is on your character’s favorite hangouts.

That’s right: it’s time to start thinking about your setting!

Hangouts are a good place to start, when trying to situate your characters in their world. These could be real-life locations, or entirely fictional places, depending on your story.

I like to create fictional locations that are based on real-life places I enjoy, so my characters tend to hang out in places like cafés, libraries, bookstores, and other nerdy places. Of course, not a lot of action typically takes place in those kinds of hangouts, so sometimes you need to think differently.

For my ninja story, most of my character’s hangouts are actually located in hidden places: deep in the woods, in caves or grottoes, or in the secret treetop fortress where she lives with her parents. She’s also been known to hang out at the lake, in open fields, and in the treetops.

Every character needs at least one good public hangout, as well as a private space. Bedrooms make good private spaces, as do forts, clubhouses, treehouses, and the back room of a local bar or restaurant. These spaces might even be hidden, like a speakeasy that requires a secret password, or a panic room hidden behind a bookshelf that’s actually a door.

Think about what type of person your character is, to figure out where they’d like to hang out. An average-Joe mechanic character would probably not be much interested in hanging out at the bookstore, so a sports bar or greasy spoon diner might be better suited to their personality. Then again, perhaps your character likes to surprise people, and will pop up in unexpected places. The mechanic might be quite a reader, because he experiences lots of slow days at his shop, so perhaps the bookstore is his refuge.

Let your characters hang out for a bit today, and see where they take you!

Want to prep with me?

Fill in the same info for one of YOUR main character’s favorite hangouts, post it on your blog, and be sure to use the hashtag #Preptober on social media so we can find each other.

Don’t forget to grab a free copy of my Preptober Prompts Printable, which you can print out for personal use.

See you tomorrow with a new prompt!