After I posted a screenshot of the character sheet template I use to
a Facebook writers group, editor and author Jodie Renner asked if I
might provide a bit of my thinking behind using this tool. This article is the
result.
When developing the major characters of my stories, I can’t help but
draw upon my experience both playing and running tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). In
such games, character creation is extremely important to the game. The players
are the main characters in the collaborative story they will be experiencing
together. Even when first coming up with their characters, they are already
adding them into the narrative.
- Who are
they?
- What do they
want?
- Where do
they come from?
- When did
they become the type of person they are today?
- How do they
mesh with the world around them?
- Why are they
here now?
This is a lot of information. Much of it, especially the technical
aspects, is put into the character sheet template for whatever game we might be
playing.
I use a similar approach for the characters in my stories. What
follows is a description of how we can explore, decide, and capture a
character’s character for a work of fiction in this way.
The
Whole Iceberg
Premise: A reader wants a story that progresses believably with interesting
and relateable characters. For that we need depth.
We might not want to detail a character’s whole life, their
relationships, and all their decisions and goals in our actual story, but we
need that insight to best understand how they will interact.
“What’s my motivation in this
scene?”
To create a story, or to even write a scene in a story, we need to
know our characters. We need to hear them talking, to see their body language,
to know when they would tackle a problem and when they would run from it. We
need to know:
- What they
look like, sound like, and act like
- Why they are
different from all the others (of the same archetype/stereotype)
- Where they are
from, and where they are going
- How they
change during the course of the story (and why)
As we generate this information, we will start to feel the need to
organize it, to categorize it, to make it easy to reference. This is where our
character sheet template comes in.
Using a
Character Sheet Template
For each of our characters, we can complete a character sheet template
in order to capture our understanding of them as a whole entity.
But first, it’s important to recognize that the template is just a
tool to get us started. It’s not a rigid recipe or a set process. It’s not an
automatic or automated solution. It’s a set of prompts that helps us define
what we need to know about our character and a place to capture those ideas.
And a great thing about using a template as a tool is that we’re able
to customize it to our preferences and needs. We shouldn’t complete a “found” template
in its original form. We should feel free to re-label, remove, add, etc. as we feel
necessary to make it our own.
In that vein, instead of just providing a template that you might find
awkward, incomplete, or too complete, here’s an outline of the big categories and
some sub-bullets you might want to address. And then you can make your own.
External
Description – How do others see them?
This part of character creation can be very mechanical. This is
where we decide how our character presents themselves outwardly.
- How they look – hair,
eyes, build, distinguishing marks, clothing, etc.
- How they talk – tone,
formality, vocabulary, accent, swearing, catch-phrase(s)
- How they act –
attitude, mannerisms, habits
- What makes them special – skills, abilities, knowledge, experience
- What notable possessions do they have – weapons, tools, accessories, money (or access to), any
special items (eg: ring with family seal). Note: They may or may not have these items on their person at all
times. They may find them in the course of the story (perhaps after losing
them at some point in their backstory).
From this information, we can also distill the one-line introduction
for the character.
Internal
Description – What are they thinking?
This part of character creation is very introspective. Here we
decide how our character thinks and feels on the inside.
- Reactions/feelings –
how they feel/behave when presented/confronted with A, B, or C
- Values/beliefs – how
they make choices/decisions, moral compass
- Psychology – personality
type/traits, likes/dislikes, fears/desires, mental health, sense of humour
- Relationships – feelings
for others, established or blossoming
- Goals/motivations –
why they act the way they do
As we put together the above details, we will find ourselves
thinking “they wouldn’t do that” for X, or “that’s *so* how they would react”
to Y.
Why,
it’s Backstory Time
The last part of character creation is the development of the
character’s backstory. This is the “why” of our character. When combined with
the above, this information is what will ultimately make our poor woodcutter (friendly
witch, staunch sea captain, enigmatic gunfighter, [insert-your-archetype])
unique and compelling to write about.
- Early years – where
the character came from, family members/situation, what shaped or
influenced the character’s beliefs and values
- Recent past – what/who
has influenced them to be where they are now, what are their immediate
goals
This information will help flesh out our setting, identify
additional characters and events, and enrich our story with plot threads.
How
Much is Too Much?
“I want to write the story,
not fill out all these character sheets!”
I hear you! In this article, I am sharing what information I would
include when fleshing out a major character in a lengthier story. We don’t need
all this information for every character. For shorter stories or lesser characters
(shapers, influencers, supporting characters, and encounter characters), I even
use a different version of the template with scaled-down the scope and detail.
So how much is needed depends on you and what you are writing.
At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that each
character is the main character in their own story. We might not be telling
that story, but minor characters should still interact with, affect, shape, and
influence others as real people. Knowing some details about them can help us
make those interactions feel more authentic.
It is also important to note that a character sheet is not just completed
at the beginning of our writing effort and then set aside to only be referenced
occasionally.
What character springs to our mind fully formed and flush with
details? We will capture what we can at the beginning. Then, as our writing
progresses, we will learn more about them as choices are made, information is
traded, relationships change, etc. – inspiring ideas in us which might become
critical to our plot or serve to give it colour.
In summary: A character sheet is a great place to keep track of all
these thoughts as our characters grow and evolve through our writing,
especially if we feel a series coming on!
About
Trevor Atkins
Also, visit http://silverpath.com and subscribe for news about Trevor’s upcoming
‘pirate-y’ historical fiction that tells the
tale of a young girl as she learns the ways of the sea, bonds with her fellow
shipmates, and then has to save everyone from a cursed pirate treasure!
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