127 Original Character Activities to Develop Your OCs

1. TL;DR

These 127 original character activities cover writing, drawing, roleplay, relationships, and group challenges. Pick one that suits the time and tools you have; you don’t have to finish a full character profile to learn something new about an OC.

2. How to Use These Activities

Choose an activity that makes your OC do, decide, hide, or explain something. A short scene or rough sketch can reveal more than adding another fact to a profile. If you want a general writing warm-up, the <a href="https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/prewriting/questions.html" rel="nofollow">Purdue OWL prewriting questions</a> offer ways to get ideas moving. For a quick, shareable group activity, try an OC meme prompt with OC Meme Templates.

3. 127 Original Character Activities

Writing and Story Activities (1–25)

1. Write a scene showing how your OC starts an ordinary morning.
2. Give your OC a private monologue after a small but meaningful loss.
3. Write a diary entry where your OC avoids naming the real problem.
4. Interview your OC with five questions they cannot prepare for.
5. Retell a familiar fairy tale from your OC’s point of view.
6. Write a letter your OC plans to send but never mails.
7. Write a 100-word argument between your OC and someone they trust.
8. Describe a difficult decision through action, without explaining the character’s thoughts.
9. Show your OC’s home through the eyes of a first-time visitor.
10. Write an apology scene without using the words “sorry” or “apologize.”
11. Have your OC give advice to their younger self.
12. Summarize your OC’s week as if it were a series of text messages.
13. Write a public announcement your OC would make during a crisis.
14. Create a short story in which three ordinary objects become important.
15. Give your OC a job title they have never held, then write their first day.
16. Write a scene where your OC tries to reveal a secret indirectly.
17. Tell the same memory twice: once as your OC remembers it, once as another person does.
18. Write a recipe your OC learned from someone important.
19. Have your OC make a list of things they want to do before the year ends.
20. Write a conversation between your OC and a child version of themselves.
21. Show your OC telling a lie that is easy for others to notice.
22. Write the speech your OC gives at a memorial or farewell.
23. Invent a saying your OC repeats and explain where it came from.
24. List three excuses your OC uses, then write the honest reason underneath.
25. End a short scene with an object that changes meaning for your OC.

Drawing and Design Activities (26–50)

26. Draw your OC with six expressions that all look recognizably like them.
27. Design an outfit your OC would wear in bad weather.
28. Draw your OC’s hands holding an object they refuse to lose.
29. Redesign your OC at a different age while keeping one signature detail.
30. Draw your OC as a silhouette and identify their most recognizable shape.
31. Create a three-color palette based on your OC’s personality or setting.
32. Design a garment your OC has repaired many times.
33. Draw the desk, bag, or workbench your OC uses most.
34. Design one piece of equipment your OC would build or modify.
35. Draw a relative and show one subtle feature they share with your OC.
36. Create a badge, emblem, or symbol your OC would choose for themselves.
37. Draw your OC in the same pose with two contrasting emotions.
38. Redesign your OC’s clothing to show how their role has changed.
39. Turn your OC into a creature while keeping three recognizable traits.
40. Draw your OC trying to hide that they are tired.
41. Design a keepsake your OC would carry but rarely discuss.
42. Create a formal outfit your OC would feel uncomfortable wearing.
43. Draw your OC in clothing borrowed from someone very different.
44. Design a hairstyle your OC tried once and immediately regretted.
45. Draw a visual timeline of how your OC’s style has changed.
46. Design a room for your OC using only five pieces of furniture.
47. Draw your OC using a tool or object they have never handled before.
48. Create a color-coded chart of your OC’s everyday belongings.
49. Draw your OC after a long trip, including the details they would notice first.
50. Make a simple character sheet showing a front view, side view, and one expression.

Roleplay Activities (51–75)

51. Start a scene where your OC meets someone without exchanging names.
52. Roleplay a conversation in which your OC must ask for help.
53. Let your OC negotiate for something they cannot afford.
54. Have your OC explain a rule to someone who plans to break it.
55. Roleplay a disagreement where both characters are partly right.
56. Put your OC in charge of a group that does not know them.
57. Write an exchange where your OC recognizes a voice but not the speaker.
58. Have your OC talk their way out of an awkward misunderstanding.
59. Roleplay your OC teaching a skill they take for granted.
60. Let your OC answer a question they were hoping nobody would ask.
61. Have your OC and a rival work together on a simple task.
62. Roleplay an interrupted conversation that both characters want to finish.
63. Put your OC in a meeting where they are the least experienced person.
64. Have your OC negotiate a boundary with someone close to them.
65. Roleplay an argument in which your OC is trying not to raise their voice.
66. Let your OC ask a stranger for directions in a place they know well.
67. Have your OC explain why they changed their mind.
68. Roleplay a scene where your OC must choose what information to leave out.
69. Let your OC make a promise they do not yet know how to keep.
70. Have your OC mediate between two people who distrust each other.
71. Roleplay a reunion between your OC and a former teammate.
72. Put your OC in a conversation with someone who uses their old nickname.
73. Have your OC respond to an unexpected compliment.
74. Roleplay a scene where your OC must say no without ending the relationship.
75. Let your OC ask someone else what they need, then listen without interrupting.

Relationships and Backstory Activities (76–101)

76. Make a timeline of the five events that most changed your OC.
77. Draw a relationship map showing who knows each of your OC’s secrets.
78. Write one memory your OC and a friend remember differently.
79. Decide which family tradition your OC keeps and which one they question.
80. List what your OC admires, envies, and misunderstands about their closest friend.
81. Create a keepsake connected to someone your OC misses.
82. Write how your OC’s relationship changes after sharing a difficult truth.
83. Give your OC an old friend who now wants something different.
84. Decide who your OC would call first after making a serious mistake.
85. Write the moment your OC realizes a mentor is not always right.
86. Give your OC a sibling or friend who remembers their past differently.
87. List three things your OC has forgiven and one they have not.
88. Write how your OC behaves around someone they once disappointed.
89. Create a family story that your OC later discovers is incomplete.
90. Decide what your OC and a rival secretly have in common.
91. Write about a friendship that ended over a small misunderstanding.
92. Give your OC someone they protect but cannot control.
93. Describe a relationship your OC has outgrown but still values.
94. Write a conversation where your OC tries to set a new boundary.
95. Decide what your OC learned from their first serious friendship.
96. Give your OC an ally who remembers a promise they forgot making.
97. Write how your OC reacts when someone apologizes sincerely.
98. List the kinds of people your OC trusts quickly and slowly.
99. Create a relationship where both characters are hiding different truths.
100. Write a scene where your OC realizes someone knows them better than expected.
101. Have your OC and a loved one disagree about what “home” means.

Group and Community Activities (102–127)

102. Create a shared playlist for a group of OCs and explain each character’s contribution.
103. Run a “two truths and a lie” game with your characters.
104. Write a group chat where everyone misunderstands the same message differently.
105. Give each OC one object to bring to a team trip.
106. Make a list of who would arrive first, last, or not at all to a group event.
107. Have your characters plan a meal while disagreeing about what to serve.
108. Write a group scene where each person has a different reason to leave early.
109. Ask friends to guess how your OC would react to a harmless surprise.
110. Create a shared holiday and decide how each character celebrates it.
111. Give every OC one secret they would tell a different person.
112. Write a team’s first attempt at working together, including one preventable mistake.
113. Create a group challenge where every character must teach someone else a skill.
114. Let each OC recommend a book, song, or film to the group.
115. Plan a day trip and give each character one choice about the itinerary.
116. Write a scene where the group realizes they have been celebrating the wrong date.
117. Design a fictional award and decide who would win it for an unexpected reason.
118. Put your OCs in a group project with one unclear instruction.
119. Let each character choose one item for a shared emergency kit.
120. Create a friendly competition where the winner is not the most skilled character.
121. Write a group scene from the point of view of the person who speaks least.
122. Have your characters make a community rule and immediately test its limits.
123. Give every OC a different explanation for a strange sound nearby.
124. Create a shared photo album and write captions in each character’s voice.
125. Ask your group of OCs to plan a surprise for someone who dislikes surprises.
126. Write a community meeting where your OC must represent a view they partly disagree with.
127. Create a group tradition that began by accident and became important to everyone.

4. How to Pick an Activity

Choose a writing activity when you want to explore voice or motivation, a design activity when you want to test visual details, and a roleplay activity when a character’s reactions feel unclear. For a group of OCs, try one of the relationship or community activities.

5. FAQ

What are easy activities for a new OC?

Start with an everyday scene, a short interview, or a drawing of the character’s important belongings. These activities need little preparation.

Do I need to finish every activity?

No. Treat each one as an exercise. Keep the details that fit and discard what does not.

Can I use these activities with friends?

Yes. Roleplay and group activities work well when each person controls their own character and agrees on the scene’s boundaries.

6. Conclusion

A character activity is most useful when it helps you make a choice about the character. Pick one prompt, try it in your preferred medium, and keep any new detail that makes the OC feel more specific.

For a visual follow-up to a drawing activity, explore OC maker and use the AI Anime Generator to make an anime-style version of your OC.