The following is a list of optional guiding questions that you can use to develop your main character and their journey, based on the framework Benj and Justin use for their own story brainstorms. You can use these questions as a jumping off point for your own brainstorm, or, if you'd like more structure, write a short answer for each one!

Story

• Describe in 1-2 sentences what the story is about.
• What is the story called? If you're adapting an existing story, what is the original source?

The World and Musical Style

Setting

• In what location and time period does this story take place? If you're adapting an existing story, are you going to use the traditional setting of the story, or set your adaptation in a different time and/or place?
• What is the wider social or political context in the world of this story?

Music and Language

• What style of music would best reflect this story and its characters? What types of instruments or musical elements would you want to incorporate? Do you want to choose a musical style that matches your setting and might exist within the world of your story, or do you want to mismatch them?
• How will people in this world speak and sing in this world? What type of language and vocabulary will these characters use?

The Main Character's Journey

Who am I?

• What do you know about this character already, from the source material or your initial ideas?
• Who is this character in the context of their world? How do they relate to their immediate circumstances, and to the larger context of their society?
• Why should the audience root for or seek to understand this character?

What do I want, and why do I want it?