Character Worksheets? Do you use them?
Get To Know Your Fictional Characters.
Character Worksheets
How do you get to know the
characters in your novel? Do you audition them before you even write your first
word? If you want your characters to be believable and well rounded it is
important that you know them inside and out. You must be able to determine how
they will act or react in any given situation
Do you interview your
characters? Do you have a favorite worksheet or template that helps you get to
know your characters? It is easy to come
up with your own set of questions for you characters.
How much do you need to
know about your fictional characters? While you need to quite a bit more about
the background, physical features, mannerisms, fears, goals and the likes and
dislikes of your major characters, it is also important know about your minor
characters
You will find many articles
on-line that cover this topic. The internet offers a plethora of forms and
templates that you can download and use as a guide. The level of depth differs for major and minor
character. I find these worksheets extremely useful as I prepare character bios
for all my characters
You cannot write a novel
with believable characters if you the author do not know who they are. You need
to know more than just hair and eye color or height and weight. How do other characters view this
character? What is his strongest
positive personality trait? Was he brought up in a strictly religious home and
how does that affect the choices he will be forced to make in your story?
Is your impact character a
follower or a leader? What are her hobbies? What is her position in the family
(youngest or oldest) and how does she relate to her family. Does she keep her
friends close and enemies closer?
How does your protagonist
see herself? Is it basically the same or
does it differ drastically from the opinion of others? What is her greatest accomplishment in life?
Does she put on a facade and present herself to others as a competent and
confident woman while secretly battling a case of low self esteem
Did something terrible
happen to your villain when he was a child? Did he never recover from
witnessing his mother’s brutal murder? Does he act all macho, but is deathly
afraid of thunder and lightning?
Or maybe your antagonist
lost her husband and child in a car accident and has a secret agenda to punish
all drunk drivers. Perhaps she suffers from borderline personality disorder
because she was raised by a single alcoholic mom and she is unable to let go in
relationships.
If you don't know your character then you cannot possibly know the
choices he or she will make
Will you actually need all
of this information to write your novel? Probably not, but it helps you write
believable if not understandable actions and reactions. If you are not
intimately familiar with your characters you can't possibly know the difficult choices they will make.
Characters are just like
real people. We all have a breaking point and our history, background, beliefs,
morals, strengths and weaknesses help determine where that point is.
Think of yourself; what or
who would you lie for? Steal for? Kill for? Now delve deep into your own
history, emotions, experiences and morals, now conjure up some of your lifetime
experiences and use them to get inside your character’s head.. Even the most
reasonable, moral, law abiding, church going do- gooder can have her moral
compass go south. The trick to good writing is to know what it would take for
this to happen and to do that you have to know your characters.
Character worksheets are helpful
if you have to put your writing away for a while and pick it back up later. You
will have an easy reference for all of your characters so you don’t have to reinvent
them or search through your entire manuscript for the details. I also find
character worksheets helpful during my revisions when I realize I made a
mistake on let’s say, page 233 by giving a minor character chocolate colored
eyes when they are actually hazel (or have been throughout my book). You get
the point.
For a basic template that
is useful for recording the minimal amount of information needed for your
characters, Tabitha, has a great one that you can download or her blog Writer Musings. You will also find other interesting and
helpful articles that are writer related. Check out her blog. http://tabwriter.blogspot.com
The most detailed character
chart or worksheet that I have discovered belongs to Charlotte Dillon. She
offers a free download
Here. Charlotte writes mostly romantic fiction, but
her character worksheet works for all genres. I am using it now and I love it.
Visit her blog to read other informative post at www.charlottedillon.com
I recently downloaded
another character
worksheet generated by Pamela Dowd. This
is also detailed and works for major and minor characters. I especially like
the format.
Do you have a magic set of
questions or a form that you use? Please
share.
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