- Invitation Status
- Looking for partners
- Not accepting invites at this time
- Posting Speed
- One post per day
- Multiple posts per week
- 1-3 posts per week
- One post per week
- Slow As Molasses
- Online Availability
- Most days, most hours
- Writing Levels
- Elementary
- Intermediate
- Adept
- Advanced
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- Male
- Female
- Nonbinary
- Agender
- Primarily Prefer Male
- No Preferences
- Genres
- Adventure. Angels and demons. Apocalyptic. Arthurian. Comedy. Dystopian. Fantasy. Historical. Horror. Post-apocalyptic. Romance. Science fiction. Supernatural.
Hello, Iwaku! Food says a lot about a person. No person is entirely neutral about every aspect of food (or if someone is I've never met them). Throwing up a list of likes and dislikes is not a bad place to start, but there is a lot more to our relationships with food than that. Experiences such as culture, class, and the way we were raised play into that relationship. Since neutrality is rare and there is so much that goes into it, this is one of the first exercises I like to do for my characters. I find it very fun and helpful, so I wanted to share it with all of you. Plus, it's super fun to see all the variety in results.
Don't feel pressured to address every question I listed under a larger topic. Not everyone has strong feelings about everything – and there are other things some people feel strongly about that I didn't include. I tried to stick more to broad "consider this" questions.
In General:
This is all about how your character feels about food overall. Is it an experience to be enjoyed among family and friends, a simple means of sustenance, or something else entirely? How much do they value food, as either a thing to be enjoyed or a resource? Are they wasteful? How do they feel about leftovers? Are they someone who saves leftovers or do they throw out anything that wasn't eaten after the meal? Is eating a routine? Do they prefer to eat on a schedule (strict or vague) or is whenever a good enough time? Do they snack a lot (or at all)? How do they feel about eating out? Is it for special occasions or a regular occurrence? Do they enjoy it? When they do eat out where do they like to go? How about fast food or takeout?
Regarding Cooking:
This is all about your character and cooking. Do they enjoy it? Do they have the time for it? Is it just something they, unfortunately, have to do? When did they start cooking? Are they good at it? What aspect(s) are difficult for them? Is it a social activity or does everyone need to stay away from them and out of the kitchen while they are cooking? Are they someone who pops a frozen dinner into the microwave and calls it good or do they make every meal from scratch? How do they feel about other people making food for them?
Preferences, Broad Strokes:
Here is where we finally get into the specifics of what foods your character likes and dislikes, and why. Do they like a wide range of things with variety or are they a picky eater? A sweet tooth? And adventurous eater? Which tastes, textures, temperatures, and combinations do they like? Which don't they like? Do these preferences change a lot? Does the time of the year or the weather influence any of these? Maybe it doesn't at all. Is the ripeness of produce important to their enjoyment of it? Do they have a preference for over or under-ripe fruits or vegetables? Is it a case-by-case basis?
Preferences, Small Strokes:
And here is where we narrow down and focus on specific foods, more than categories. What are some of their favourite foods? Some that they find gross? What are their nostalgic or comfort foods? What are some foods that don't fit their general preferences, either for known or unknown reasons? Maybe there is no reason your character shouldn't enjoy cottage cheese except that they were forced to eat it as a child and can't stand it now. Maybe they got food poisoning off of one of their favourite foods and are a bit more reluctant about it now.
Drinks:
This is all about beverages. Does your character drink a lot of liquids? Which ones do they prefer? Do they like water or do they always want to drink something else? Is the temperature of the drink important? Do they like putting ice in their drinks? How do they feel about thick or carbonated drinks? Do they like juices that have pulp in them?
Drinks, Boozy:
And now we get into whether or not your character likes to drink, and what kind of preferences they have regarding it. The first question, of course, is do they drink? If so, do they drink frequently? Do they hold their alcohol well? How do they feel about drinking? What are they like when drunk? Have they ever been drunk? Are they a social drinker? A reckless drinker? When they drink is the goal to get smashed or do they want to keep a nice buzz going? Do they have a good grasp of how much or little they can drink to get the result they want? Which types of alcohol do they enjoy? Do they like mixed drinks, shots, a nice glass of wine? If they like mixed drinks which ones, either specifically or broadly. Do they follow their shots with chasers? How do they feel about drinking games?
Bonus:
If they got to pick their last meal, what would it be and what are the reasons for it?
Do they have any food allergies or food intolerances that weren't listed above?
Don't feel pressured to address every question I listed under a larger topic. Not everyone has strong feelings about everything – and there are other things some people feel strongly about that I didn't include. I tried to stick more to broad "consider this" questions.
In General:
This is all about how your character feels about food overall. Is it an experience to be enjoyed among family and friends, a simple means of sustenance, or something else entirely? How much do they value food, as either a thing to be enjoyed or a resource? Are they wasteful? How do they feel about leftovers? Are they someone who saves leftovers or do they throw out anything that wasn't eaten after the meal? Is eating a routine? Do they prefer to eat on a schedule (strict or vague) or is whenever a good enough time? Do they snack a lot (or at all)? How do they feel about eating out? Is it for special occasions or a regular occurrence? Do they enjoy it? When they do eat out where do they like to go? How about fast food or takeout?
Regarding Cooking:
This is all about your character and cooking. Do they enjoy it? Do they have the time for it? Is it just something they, unfortunately, have to do? When did they start cooking? Are they good at it? What aspect(s) are difficult for them? Is it a social activity or does everyone need to stay away from them and out of the kitchen while they are cooking? Are they someone who pops a frozen dinner into the microwave and calls it good or do they make every meal from scratch? How do they feel about other people making food for them?
Preferences, Broad Strokes:
Here is where we finally get into the specifics of what foods your character likes and dislikes, and why. Do they like a wide range of things with variety or are they a picky eater? A sweet tooth? And adventurous eater? Which tastes, textures, temperatures, and combinations do they like? Which don't they like? Do these preferences change a lot? Does the time of the year or the weather influence any of these? Maybe it doesn't at all. Is the ripeness of produce important to their enjoyment of it? Do they have a preference for over or under-ripe fruits or vegetables? Is it a case-by-case basis?
Preferences, Small Strokes:
And here is where we narrow down and focus on specific foods, more than categories. What are some of their favourite foods? Some that they find gross? What are their nostalgic or comfort foods? What are some foods that don't fit their general preferences, either for known or unknown reasons? Maybe there is no reason your character shouldn't enjoy cottage cheese except that they were forced to eat it as a child and can't stand it now. Maybe they got food poisoning off of one of their favourite foods and are a bit more reluctant about it now.
Drinks:
This is all about beverages. Does your character drink a lot of liquids? Which ones do they prefer? Do they like water or do they always want to drink something else? Is the temperature of the drink important? Do they like putting ice in their drinks? How do they feel about thick or carbonated drinks? Do they like juices that have pulp in them?
Drinks, Boozy:
And now we get into whether or not your character likes to drink, and what kind of preferences they have regarding it. The first question, of course, is do they drink? If so, do they drink frequently? Do they hold their alcohol well? How do they feel about drinking? What are they like when drunk? Have they ever been drunk? Are they a social drinker? A reckless drinker? When they drink is the goal to get smashed or do they want to keep a nice buzz going? Do they have a good grasp of how much or little they can drink to get the result they want? Which types of alcohol do they enjoy? Do they like mixed drinks, shots, a nice glass of wine? If they like mixed drinks which ones, either specifically or broadly. Do they follow their shots with chasers? How do they feel about drinking games?
Bonus:
If they got to pick their last meal, what would it be and what are the reasons for it?
Do they have any food allergies or food intolerances that weren't listed above?