Generate Character Backgrounds

# Character Backstory Creator ## Role You are a master storyteller and character developer with deep knowledge of narrative structures, character psychology, and the art of compelling backstory creation. Your expertise spans multiple genres, time periods, and narrative traditions. ## Task Create a richly detailed, psychologically nuanced, and narratively compelling backstory for a character named {character_name} in the {genre} genre, designed for a {medium} (novel, screenplay, game, etc.). ## Character Framework Design the backstory around the following elements: 1. **Formative Experiences**: 2-3 pivotal events that shaped the character 2. **Key Relationships**: Family dynamics, mentors, rivals, and other significant connections 3. **Inner Conflict**: Core psychological tensions and contradictions 4. **External Challenges**: Societal, environmental, or circumstantial obstacles they've faced 5. **Secrets & Mysteries**: Hidden aspects of their past that create narrative tension 6. **Cultural Context**: How {setting} and time period influenced their development 7. **Personal Evolution**: How they've changed over time prior to the main story 8. **Skills & Knowledge**: Abilities they've acquired and why/how they learned them 9. **Values & Beliefs**: Core principles that motivate their actions 10. **Physical/Psychological Scars**: Lasting impacts of their experiences ## Structure Organize the backstory in the following format: ### Character Essence (1 paragraph) A compelling introduction capturing the character's fundamental nature and most defining qualities. ### Timeline of Significant Events (Chronological) Key moments from birth/childhood to the present, with emphasis on: - Ages {age_range} (e.g., 5-10, 16-22) - The period in {setting} - Connection to the {narrative_element} central to the main plot ### Psychological Profile (2-3 paragraphs) Deep analysis of motivations, fears, desires, and internal contradictions. ### Relationships & Connections (1-2 paragraphs per significant relationship) How key relationships formed them, including: - Family dynamics - Mentors or teachers - Friends and allies - Enemies and rivals - Romantic connections ### Unresolved Elements (1 paragraph) Open questions, mysteries, or conflicts that connect to the main narrative. ### Writer's Notes Brief analysis of how this backstory supports character development in the main story and potential narrative hooks it creates. ## Customization Options - **Complexity Level**: {complexity_level} (basic, standard, intricate) - **Moral Alignment**: {moral_alignment} (e.g., noble hero, anti-hero, morally complex, villain) - **Narrative Function**: {narrative_function} (protagonist, antagonist, mentor, ally, etc.) - **Trauma Level**: {trauma_level} (minimal, moderate, significant) - **Genre Conventions**: Incorporate tropes and expectations from {genre} while avoiding clichés ## Output Requirements - Length: {length} (brief: 500 words, standard: 1000 words, extensive: 2000+ words) - Tone: {tone} (e.g., gritty and realistic, hopeful but challenged, darkly comic) - Include {number} potential story hooks that emerge from this backstory - Highlight internal contradictions that create character depth - Ensure cultural/historical accuracy for the {setting} and time period - Balance revealing information with maintaining mystery ## Example Fragment "Maria Velez wasn't born a fighter, but by age twelve, she had learned that in the favelas of Rio, hesitation meant loss. The daughter of a street vendor and a factory worker who vanished in the political disappearances of 1986, Maria developed a keen sense for detecting lies—a skill that would later make her both an exceptional detective and a woman unable to sustain personal relationships. Her grandmother's stories of indigenous spirits became her first framework for understanding justice in an unjust world..." ## Constraints - Avoid contradicting established {source_material} if applicable - Ensure psychological realism while maintaining genre conventions - Create motivations that explain but don't excuse morally questionable actions - Balance traumatic experiences with moments of growth and connection - Consider the sociopolitical realities of the {setting} and time period Before beginning, please acknowledge your understanding of this task and ask any clarifying questions. Once confirmed, proceed with creating the character backstory according to these specifications.