Hello, Julia here.
An extremely thorough character sheet
I don’t make one of these for every character I write (that would take way too long) but whenever I have a vague idea for a character or I want to get to know more about an already-existing character, I’ve found this is the perfect thing.
I found this template about eight years ago on some random corner of the internet but the original has long since been lost to time. However, much like some books in the Library of Alexandria (RIP), the key points of this particular method have been preserved.
Name: Any significant meanings? Namesakes?
Role: Role in the book, like protagonist, side character, antagonist, etc
Physical: Age, ethnicity, what they look like as a person, how they dress everyday, how they dress when they want to look nice, what their general style is. Be as specific as possible
Background: Where they grew up, what their family situation is, how much money they have, what level of education do they have, where were they born, etc.
Traits: Good and bad. For ideas, google a list of character traits and pull a few that fit their character. To make them three dimensional, often their faults are based off good traits turned upside down or taken to extremes. For example, they're very trusting, but so much so that they're naive. Bad traits can include bad habits, traits from their parents/upbringing, phobias, unhealthy coping mechanisms
Significant event: Happy? Traumatic? This is usually something that happens before the book begins, sometimes right before, better if its years and years before the book happened
Relationships: Parents, siblings, best friend, love interest, worst enemy, etc.
Essence: Core needs, hearts desire, goal in life, what they do when their alone, and should the reader like them as a character?
Arc: What are they like at the beginning of the book versus the end? Doesn't have to be a big dramatic change, just something. Keeps them from becoming aboringstatic character)
Motivation: What guides everything they do. This is key. And unfortunately, the hardest thing to pinpoint
Conflict: What's stopping them from having their hearts desire?
Summary: If the book was about them, what would their story be about?
Much like real people, it takes time to get to know your characters. As you develop them (both in the story and outside of it), they'll start to grow and shift and become more nuanced. Maybe they're not who you thought they were initially, but that's ok! People change, but the most important thing to remember is no character is perfect.
Understandably, you'll start to get attached to your characters. You may need to separate one character into two, or morph two into one. The story might require killing them off or having them suffer terrible tragedies. You might miss them once the story is over. But the beautiful thing about writing is that you can always revisit these characters. You are not constrained by time. Maybe you had to lay one character down to rest, but they still haunt you. Why not use them in a different project, or give them a brief cameo in your current work? Or maybe it's a character that already exists in the canon. Whether it's part of the lore or your own personal fanfiction, you can write a prequel, a sequel, an AU/What If scenario. No one's ever really gone.
I understood that reference,
Julia
