Writers Tool Box: Character Sheets

For pretty much as long as I've been writing I've been advocating the use of character sheets, to varying levels of detail. The reason for this is it gives you an accurate picture of some of your characters. For those of you that are familiar with the tabletop role play genre of games, this isn't a new concept. In fact you're required to fill one you so that you have all of your characters stats in the blink of an eye or the turn of a page. So let's begin.

Basics (Level 1):

Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight: (if you don't know for sure, ball park it)
Eye Color:
Hair Color:
Hair Style:
Skin Color:

The first set, being the Basics; are things that you can get just from looking at a person or character. These will be the most commonly referenced stats in your writing as they define the physical. Your readers will become more comfortable with your characters generally if they know what they're looking at. This follows the 'Show, Don't Tell' theory of writing. Which bring us to...

Level 2:

Identifying Marks:
Hand Features: (this may seem like an odd one to include but, think about it. How many times a day do you look at your hands and use them?)
Scent:
Mannerisms:
Character Back Story:

Level 2 introduces you to a deeper aspects of your character and allows you to bring them to reality. The physical mannerisms and what not are revealed. These are things you generally don't give much thought to but in order to create a realistic character, these categories should be given a more in-depth look. Especially scent. Some of our strongest memories are tied to scent. Cookies baking in the oven, vanilla and lavender from grandma; so many of our memories are triggered by our nostrils. All the little details will make your characters seem much more real.

Level 3:

Strongest personality traits:
Weakest personality traits:
Needs of the character:
Ambitions:
Favorite sayings:
Interests and hobbies:
Favorite foods:
Favorite colors:
Pets:
Education:
Religion:
Financial situation:
Future plans:
Possessions this character values most:
What drives your character:
How does your character handle conflict:
What is standing in your character's way:
What is their favorite room and why:
What vehicle do they drive:
Favorite sport(s):
What are your character's prejudices:
How does your character feel about love:
About crime:
What is their neighborhood like:
What is your character's philosophy on life:
What is your character's family life like:

As you can see the Level 3 section of the character sheet requires the most amount of thought but also allows for the most development of your characters. This will be critical, should you be trying to write a longer work such as a novel, or series.

If you follow through with this outline for a character sheet, you'll find that you have a complete idea of who your characters are and your readers will appreciate the depth in your story. While I fully admit this is not a character sheet that I created, it is by far my favorite. The link where it can be found is here:Using Character Sheets in Fiction. This is one that I've brought to light in Inkwell as well.

So. Go forth and create your richest characters yet!

Namaste,
Jessi