Plotting Crash Course, Day 2: Character Sheets and Aesthetics

Today we’ll be talking about character sheets and novel aesthetics, because I started developing a playlist today, got excited about it, and need to share it with you.

Let’s start out with character sheets.

Now, everyone has their own version of the character sheets, and you can find about a thousand, all relatively good, by just Googling ‘character sheets.’ I developed my own this year … pointlessly (more on that later).

Anyway, here’s my character sheet:

Basics:

Full name:

Nickname(s):

Gender:

Reason (for being in the story, like protagonist, supporting character, etc.):

Age in Story:

Birthdate:

Appearance/Physically:

Overall (from unprejudiced viewpoint):

Height:

Weight/Build:

Hair color, length, style:

Eye color and expression:

Details about face:

Skin color:

Other Appearance Details:

Perceives him/herself as:

Others perceive him/her as:

Style of dress/fashion preferences:

Handicaps:

Athletic? Inactive?:

Overall health?:

Past illnesses/injuries:

Family:

Father:

Relationship with:

Mother:

Relationship with:

Brothers:

Relationship with (each brother):

Sisters:

Relationship with (each sister):

Grandparents:

Relationship with (each grandparent):

Aunt/Uncle/Cousins:

Relationships with:

Stepfamily of any kind:

Relationships with:

Other family (such as birth-parents, etc.):

Relationships with:

Background:

Birthplace:

Race/Nationality:

Childhood Religion:

Other beliefs/perspectives from raising:

Important memories from childhood:

Educational background:

Where did the character live in each year of his/her life:

How did any moves during his/her childhood effect him/her?:

Where does the character live at the beginning of the story?:

Where does the character settle in the end of the story?:

Other things that effected the character during childhood:

Adult Life:

What did he/she do when he/she grew up?:

Important decisions made as an adult:

Changes in beliefs/religion/perspectives as an adult:

How did his/her personality change as he/she matured?:

Love interests:

His/Her Own Family:

Husband/Wife:

Past Husbands/Wives (if applicable):

Children:

Stepchildren (if applicable):

Nature and Personality:

Top three words:

MBTI-type:

Strongest and weakest trait:

Who/what is most important to him/her?:

Who/what is least important to him/her?:

What does the character fear?:

How does the character deal with his/her fear?:

What gives the character courage?:

What is the character proud of?:

Outlook on life:

Ambitions:

Dreams:

How does the character see himself/herself?:

How is the character seen by others?:

Friends:

Friends? Why? Relationships with?:

Coworkers? Relationships with?:

Other people that have an effect on his/her life?:

Enemies? Why? Relationships with?

Changes:

How does the character change in the course of the story (if at all) …

Physically:

Mentally:

Spiritually:

Other:

It’s probably not as good as a professional character sheet … but, on the other hand, maybe it’s pretty close, because it’s developed from the bones of several different ‘professional’ character sheets …