Using Character Sheets?

[Fallenfromgrace]

I wanted to get a general opinion on the use of 'Character sheets' i saw them mentioned on another thread and assume they are like a 'bubble chart' of what traits and quirks your characters have?

Can someone tell me more about them?

How many people use them? how in depth do you go? are they helpful?

I was talking with my lovely volunteer editor Rogue Lurker about them today and i figured it would be a good idea to see what people thought.

I was on the train to uni this morning and started to roughly write what i thought was a 'character sheet' for my two main characters for my latest piece. Ive got basic appearance stats, occupation and interests, and immediate family. is that the sort of thing you'd include?

Please give me some feedback as i'd really appreciate it!

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I never use them... my husband does, because he used to play RPG's... I imagine those of you who have played, do... I imagine it could help... I don't really create my characters... they kind of create themselves... so it doesn't really work for me. But I know lots of people who love doing them.

Here's one that's very extensive...

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE:

Age:
How old does s/he appear?
Eye Color:
Glasses or contacts:
Weight:
Height:
Type of body/build:
Skin tone:
Skin type:
Shape of face:
Distinguishing Marks:
Predominant feature:Hair color:
Distinguishable hair feature (bald, receding hairline, etc.):
Type of hair (coarse, fine, thick, etc?)
Character's typical hairstyle:
Looks like:
Is s/he healthy?
If not, why not:
Physical disabilities:



FAVORITES:

Character's favorite color:
Character's least favorite color:
Why?
Favorite Music:
Least favorite Music:
Why?
Food:
Literature:
Expressions:
Expletives:
Mode of transportation:
Daredevil or cautious?
Same when alone?HABITS:

Smokes:
What?
When and how much?
Drinks:
What?
When and how much?
Hobbies:
How does character spend a rainy day?


BACKGROUND:

Hometown:
Type of childhood:
First memory:
Most important childhood event that still affects him/her:
Why?
Education:
Religion:
Finances:



FAMILY:

Mother:
Relationship with her:
Father:
Relationship with him:
Siblings:
How many?
Birth order:
Relationship with each:
Children of siblings:
Extended family?
Close?
Why or why not?



ATTITUDE:

Character's greatest fear:
Why?
What is the worst thing that could happen to him/her?
What single event would most throw character's life in complete turmoil?
Why?
Character is most at ease when:
Most ill at ease when:
Depressive or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)?
Priorities:
Philosophy:
How s/he feels about self:
Past failure s/he would be embarrassed to have people know about:
Why?
If granted one wish, what would it be?
Why?



PERSONALITY:

Greatest source of strength in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as
such or not):
Greatest source of weakness in character's personality (whether s/he sees it as
such or not:
Character's soft spot:
Is this soft spot obvious to others?
If not, how does character hide it?
Biggest vulnerability:



TRAITS:

Optimist or pessimist: Why?
Introvert or extrovert: Why?
Drives and motivations:
Talents:
Extremely skilled at:
Extremely unskilled at:
Good characteristics:
Character flaws:
Mannerisms:
Peculiarities:
Biggest regret:
Minor regrets:
Biggest accomplishment:
Minor accomplishments:
Character's darkest secret:
Does anyone else know?
If yes, did character tell them?
If no, how did they find out?



SELF-PERCEPTION:

One word CHARACTER would use to describe self:
One paragraph description of how CHARACTER would describe self:
What does CHARACTER consider best physical characteristic?
What does CHARACTER consider worst physical characteristic?
Are these realistic assessments?
If not, why not?
How CHARACTER thinks others perceive him/her:
What four things would CHARACTER most like to change about self? (#1 most
important, #2 second most important, etc.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why?
If change #1 was made, would character be as happy as s/he thinks?
If not, why not?



INTERRELATION WITH OTHERS:

Is character divorced?
Has character ever cheated on signficant other?
How does character relate to others?
How is s/he perceived by...
Strangers?
Friends?
Wife/Husband/Lover?
Hero/Heroine?
How does character view hero/heroine?
First impression: Why?
What happens to change this perception?
What do family/friends like most about character?
What do family/friends like least about character?



GOALS:

Immediate goals:
Long range goals:
How does character plan to accomplish these goals?
How will other characters be affected?




PROBLEMS/CRISIS:

How character reacts in a crisis:
How character faces problems:
Kinds of problems character usually runs into:
How character reacts to NEW problems:
How character reacts to change:



GENERAL:

Favorite clothing: Why?
Least favorite clothing: Why?
Jewelry:
Other accessories:
Drives:
Where does character live?
Where does character want to live?
Spending habits (frugal, spendthrift, etc): Why?
What does s/he do too much of?
Too little of?
Most prized possession: Why?
Play musical instrument? Which?
How did s/he learn?

UNCATEGORIZED:

Person character secretly admires:
Why?
Person character was most influenced by:
Why?
Most important person in character's life before story starts:
Why?
How does character spend the week before the story starts?

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

That's a good list -- if you can answer most of teh questions, you've really fleshed out your character. But it's overkill do do that, of course, in some stories, or for ancilliary characters.

 

[RogueLurker]

I never use them... my husband does, because he used to play RPG's... I imagine those of you who have played, do... I imagine it could help... I don't really create my characters... they kind of create themselves... so it doesn't really work for me. But I know lots of people who love doing them.

Here's one that's very extensive...

<snip>

Dear God .... by the time I finished filling something like that out, I'd be too tired of the character to write about them.

 

[Fallenfromgrace]

I never use them... my husband does, because he used to play RPG's... I imagine those of you who have played, do... I imagine it could help... I don't really create my characters... they kind of create themselves... so it doesn't really work for me. But I know lots of people who love doing them.

Here's one that's very extensive...

*snips*

hmmm, that is pretty cool, its a lot to answer, if i were to do one like that i'd cut out a few questions (lots maybe) but i can see the fun in that too

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Dear God .... by the time I finished filling something like that out, I'd be too tired of the character to write about them.

Yup... that's one of the reasons I don't do them... I find out about my characters on a "need to know" basis

 

[arienette]

I do, in fact I use the sheet above with a lot of deleted questions.

 

[Trinique_Fire]

LOL i dont' use character sheets. i find it overkill to even fill out all that. i jot down notes as they come to me about the characters, the story, whatever.

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

I think the good thing about it is that it makes you think about the character you're writing, rather than rely on stereotypes

 

[Grushenka]

I think the good thing about it is that it makes you think about the character you're writing, rather than rely on stereotypes

I think such a practice could easily result in stereotypes. Thinking about such, let alone Filling out a list like that would bore me to death, or at least put me off writing.

I've only two stories on Lit., but have been writing non-erotica for some time. Character traits, foibles, etc., somehow fill themselves in as I write. If not, the poor thing is done for. I don't put up with boredom in real life, certainly wouldn't brook it in fiction.

Grushenka (still a newb )

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I think such a practice could easily result in stereotypes. Thinking about such, let alone Filling out a list like that would bore me to death, or at least put me off writing.

I've only two stories on Lit., but have been writing non-erotica for some time. Character traits, foibles, etc., somehow fill themselves in as I write. If not, the poor thing is done for. I don't put up with boredom in real life, certainly wouldn't brook it in fiction.

Grushenka (still a newb )

Yup. Welcome Grushenka.

 

[Grushenka]

Welcome Grushenka.

Thank you!

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

I think such a practice could easily result in stereotypes. Thinking about such, let alone Filling out a list like that would bore me to death, or at least put me off writing.

I've only two stories on Lit., but have been writing non-erotica for some time. Character traits, foibles, etc., somehow fill themselves in as I write. If not, the poor thing is done for. I don't put up with boredom in real life, certainly wouldn't brook it in fiction.

Grushenka (still a newb )

Like I said, for certain types of story (including the "write like a mofo until it's finished" type), you don't need to think about the character explicitly in depth before you start.

In real life, character traits and foibles dont arise ex nihilo. They usually come from a defining experience. And that back story what I think needs to be understood before you frogmarch your character along your story path.

 

[Grushenka]

Like I said, for certain types of story (including the "write like a mofo until it's finished" type), you don't need to think about the character explicitly in depth before you start.

In real life, character traits and foibles dont arise ex nihilo. They usually come from a defining experience. And that back story what I think needs to be understood before you frogmarch your character along your story path.

I think we both have valid opinions, no big deal to me, just wanted to join in.

I have written some very well delineated characters that 'come to life' for a reader; it all happened as I wrote though, not through checklists, etc.

Frogmarch? I like the image.

Grushenka

 

[rgraham666]

You say 'character sheet' and I think 'Role Playing Games'.

Like most of my writing, my characters are mostly products of imagination and intuition. If I tried to flesh them out that fully on paper before hand, I think I'd lose more of them than I'd gain.

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

The two stories I've spent most time and effort on (2 years and 1 year, respectively), both have the same basic structure:

An encounter takes place between the central character and another person which changes the course of history. The encounter, in both cases, lasts about two weeks. So it's a thin section of time where two people's lifelines intersect. For me, the key problem is plotting the life-trajectories before, during and after the encounter. You have to know where the two people are coming from, and where they're going. And in my case, it involved getting to know the charcaters as well as I could before even outlining the story.

 

[lucky-E-leven]

Maybe I've just never had enough characters in a work to find the use in character sheets, but I'm also of the opinion that if you have a really well defined vision of that character in your mind, you don't need it. At least, that's what my experience has been through three novels and countless short stories, and so far there haven't been any inconsistencies I'm aware of.

How many characters are you trying to keep straight?

 

[Fallenfromgrace]

Maybe I've just never had enough characters in a work to find the use in character sheets, but I'm also of the opinion that if you have a really well defined vision of that character in your mind, you don't need it. At least, that's what my experience has been through three novels and countless short stories, and so far there haven't been any inconsistencies I'm aware of.

How many characters are you trying to keep straight?

See i have always gone with the flow for my pieces, but then most of them have been abandoned after a little while.

This particular piece focuses on a couple- therefore two central characters, both female in a serious relationship. So the two main characters are to be kept tabs on, and then on of the character's family (Mum/dad/bro/sis/ neice/nephew/ brother in law) come into the plot in a biggish way, and then the other character's family still in a big way but a more negative way.

Really i need to concentrate on the main couple. i just wanted opinions on the use of character sheets.

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

See i have always gone with the flow for my pieces, but then most of them have been abandoned after a little while.

This particular piece focuses on a couple- therefore two central characters, both female in a serious relationship. So the two main characters are to be kept tabs on, and then on of the character's family (Mum/dad/bro/sis/ neice/nephew/ brother in law) come into the plot in a biggish way, and then the other character's family still in a big way but a more negative way.

Really i need to concentrate on the main couple. i just wanted opinions on the use of character sheets.

Well, I can't tell from your description what's supposed to happen in the story, but I guess you have it thought out. What I guess is that you're going to weaken your story with all those relatives. I'd concentrate on, say, one parent each, for the main characters. That's already three relationships to work on.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

I create profiles of the significant characters in my novels, but more to record how they develope than to forecast attributes. After filling out the basic "name, rank, and serial number" info, I only use the sheets to record new traits or to refresh my failing memory about a character. Keeping the sheets up-to-date can be a chore, but it beats having to search back through the ms because you forgot something like when a character first got laid.

It can sometimes be a good idea to create one for your setting(s). That way some tidbit like the name of the local newspaper doesn't experience an unexplained change between chapters one and sixteen.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[lucky-E-leven]

See i have always gone with the flow for my pieces, but then most of them have been abandoned after a little while.

This particular piece focuses on a couple- therefore two central characters, both female in a serious relationship. So the two main characters are to be kept tabs on, and then on of the character's family (Mum/dad/bro/sis/ neice/nephew/ brother in law) come into the plot in a biggish way, and then the other character's family still in a big way but a more negative way.

Really i need to concentrate on the main couple. i just wanted opinions on the use of character sheets.

Is this story of novel length? The thing I have contemplated using some sort of flow charts for is chronology. Time-line things if I'm going to have upwards of 4 characters interacting with one another individually over the space of many years.

Why have you abandoned prior stories after a little while, just out of curiosity? Does that have any bearing on why you're looking into mapping things out more?

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

FallenFromGrace, I've been on a couple of writing courses and, probably like you, read books on writing in order to try to improve my writing craftsmanship. The courses were very useful -- I learned my strengths and weaknesses as a writer in about two days. And I made the same guess as lucky hinted at about you as a writer -- you need to organize and clarify, because otherwise you'll literally lose the plot and won't ever finish the story.

You're clearly trying to write a character-driven story, and therefore in your case you MUST detail the main characters and only add secondary characters who highlight the main protagonists' personalities.

And using writing aids like personality checklists and onion diagrams may work for you, as it does for me.

 

[Fallenfromgrace]

Well, I can't tell from your description what's supposed to happen in the story, but I guess you have it thought out. What I guess is that you're going to weaken your story with all those relatives. I'd concentrate on, say, one parent each, for the main characters. That's already three relationships to work on.

Thank you for your suggestion of concentrating one family member for each character, i guess much more than that can get complicated.

Is this story of novel length? The thing I have contemplated using some sort of flow charts for is chronology. Time-line things if I'm going to have upwards of 4 characters interacting with one another individually over the space of many years.

Why have you abandoned prior stories after a little while, just out of curiosity? Does that have any bearing on why you're looking into mapping things out more?

At the moment its in the region of 13000 words, and thats just from getting in from work through a night of sex and then lunch the next day! i've got at least another 2 weeks to write. if not a huge event months into the future! (i havent quite decided!)

The other(s) ended after about 4 pages of introduction because they were 'for someone' and then things changed. My biggest 'other than this' one was getting very complicated i just started writting it from my imagination w/o a real storyline. i might go back to that and redraught it one day.

yes i guess that all has something to do with why i want to get a bit more organised. while i see the usefullness ofa character sheet and a plotline plan, i can see the advantages of just going with the flow too. but if i dont reign myself in in some way, then im going to have a huge load of discrepencies seeding through my story.

FallenFromGrace, I've been on a couple of writing courses and, probably like you, read books on writing in order to try to improve my writing craftsmanship. The courses were very useful -- I learned my strengths and weaknesses as a writer in about two days. And I made the same guess as lucky hinted at about you as a writer -- you need to organize and clarify, because otherwise you'll literally lose the plot and won't ever finish the story.

You're clearly trying to write a character-driven story, and therefore in your case you MUST detail the main characters and only add secondary characters who highlight the main protagonists' personalities.

And using writing aids like personality checklists and onion diagrams may work for you, as it does for me.

the story is VERY VERY character driven- you're correct, its much more about the characters interaction with each other than about what happens to them through the stry though of course that has an effect! I see what you all mean about only including those characters who are useful to the story, i shall think about that some more.

i have never been on a writting course, and all my writtings have come from bordom/ stress/ sexual frustration (ha!) and so even though i have in the past wanted to write well, i never hadthe backing behind me to do so, since ive joined here i already feel like i've learnt some things (i only joined last week!)

I think i might use some form of character sheet, after my feeble attemtp on the train i realise its a lot more than name/age/height/job lol. I dont know to what extent i'll fill that extensive ^^ one out, but i shall do something, because as you clearly point out it is all about the 2 main characters and so i need to know as much as i can about them asap.

would you beleive its around the 13000 mark and i am still trying to decide on the surname of one of the two main characters!!



thanks everyone for all your suggestions! when i finally do post my story up i'd love some feedback! its in editing at the mo!

;-)

 

[English Lady]

When I'm doing my NaNo Novels I will write a little line about each major character as the spring up just so I can try and keep them consistant throughout the whole thing. I don't do anything more in depth than that and I don't even do that for my short stories

 

[Darkniciad]

Despite gaming for years, and writing in my fantasy world from those times, I don't build character sheets. Those were for stats, the characters were in the conversations and behavior. I'll occasionally jot down some history and a few oddball notes as the characters tell me who they are, but otherwise I just let them move through the story and grow.