Hey everyone! Here we are with another weeks post. I can’t wait for everyone to enjoy this post. I had a little bit of a hard time narrowing my ideas down into this post because it’s a topic that I’m constantly flip flopping on. But I hope that you all find it helpful. So without further ado…
Writer Resources and Tools: Character Sheets
Character sheets. Sometimes one of the most helpful things that you’ve ever had and sometimes they are simply something that gets in the way of the rest of your writing process. I’ve always had a bit of a struggle with character sheets. And from a lot of other writers that I’ve talked to these are kind of a controversial thing for writers. Some people enjoy using them and others aren’t really ones for using them at all. It really depends on who you ask and, sometimes, even when you ask them.
I have discovered through writing on my own that writing using a character sheet is all about how much of it you want to see. There are lots and lots of character sheets out there that you can download, pay for, or simply copy from someone’s website. But what you really need to know about character sheets is how to evaluate your character to know what parts of it to use and what parts to not. The basic character sheet includes all the basic things that any reader would need to know about the character in your story. Name, physical appearance, basic personality, likes, dislikes, background, and their strengths and weaknesses. The more advanced character sheets include things a little more abstract, lists of places they’ve lived, family trees, character motivations, moods, quirky habits that aren’t in the book, their favorite pair of clothes, their favorite random item at their house, their religion, their wish lists, their bucket lists, weird random special skills, and so on.
I was once asked by a close friend while I was working on a set of advanced character sheets for one of my book series what the difference was between a basic and advanced character sheet other then their length. The short answer: Basic character sheets are for the reader, advanced character sheets are for the writer.
There are 2 main reasons that I use character sheets, corresponding with the above statement. The first is to keep my facts straight. The second is to make round characters.
First, keeping the facts straight. Keeping the facts straight is something for basic character sheets. Keeping the facts straight is for the reader. Your reader doesn’t always care about the things from the advanced sheet. They don’t care what the characters bucket list is, they don’t care what their religion is (unless it has to do with a central theme of your story), they don’t care what their favorite pair of clothes is. Your reader cares about their basic information. What is their height? What do they weigh? What is their hair color and eye color? How old are they? Things like that. Things that are the contents of a basic character sheet. Your reader will notice if your character is red headed in one chapter and blonde in another. Hair color doesn’t work like that (unless they dye it). Basic character sheets are for keeping the facts straight, so your poor reader isn’t confused.
Second, they’re for making round characters. When writing a story there is a difference between a flat character and a round character. A flat character is a character that doesn’t feel real, they are a character. A round character is a character that is real, they almost seem like they are a real person. Round characters are the ideal character for all writers. Don’t get me wrong, not all writers are super amazing and have hundreds of novels filled with round characters. Even some published authors don’t have perfectly round characters, they simply have such a good story and writing style that it doesn’t really matter all that much. If that’s you, don’t stress, keep writing. If you are really trying to make round characters, then character sheets are a must. If you want your character to be a real person they need to be as deep and interesting as a real person. If your character wants to paint an elephant’s toenails and it’s on their bucket list that tells you something as a writer. Even if that fact doesn’t make it into the book that fact is something you as the writer know that gives you some detail to make them more of a real person. If your character is a real person to you then it’s easier to write them as a real person for your reader. Advanced character sheets are for making your characters more real, for the writer to get to know a more real person.
Here are two websites that I like using. One is for a basic character sheet and the other is for an advanced character sheet if anyone is looking for either one. And don’t be afraid to cut stuff out or add stuff that you feel is missing from either sheet. That’s what they’re for!
Basic Character sheet: https://www.deviantart.com/slytherinsheiress/art/Very-Very-Basic-Character-Sheet-340098566
Advanced Character sheet: https://www.deviantart.com/character-resource/art/Big-Ass-Character-Sheet-Updating-167182524
So that’s all I have to say about character sheets. I hope that some of you find that a little helpful. There are two more posts this month and only two more Fridays! Did I plan that out? I may and I may not have, and you can’t prove anything. But I hope that you’ll tune in for these last two and also stay tuned next year for more posts as well! Next week’s post will be about critique buddies. So make sure to check it out next week. Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog, become a member for more updates, and give this post a heart! And never forget…
Get Up, Get Writing, and Get Published. See you next week!
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