Using Character Sheets in Fiction Writing

Writing fiction is a bit like baking a cake. You need the right ingredients in the right amounts, or it’s going to turn out horrible. For fiction, you need the right mix of plot, action, description, and character development to make your story come alive for your reader.

Character development can be one of the most important things when writing fiction. You want to create a realistic group of characters to move your plot forward, and to do so, you need to get to know them. But how much do you really have to know about them before you start writing?

Well, that depends on the kind of story you’re writing. The length of your story will determine how much character information you’ll need to bring them to life. For the sake of simplicity, I’ve broken down my character sheet into what I use for each type of writing. Your character sheets may vary.

lightning fiction

Writing flash fiction is one of the most difficult types of writing. You have to create a story with the minimum of words and it has to make sense. For most flash fiction, you only need the most basic character information.

Name:

Character body structure:

These should be enough to create a flash fictional character.

short stories

Short stories have a greater number of words, so the characters must be more developed. You have more leeway with your character descriptions and can even give background information, which will make them more real to your readers. Use the information above and add the following:

Character history:

Mannerisms or gestures:

Novels and Novels

Novellas and novellas require the most detailed characters because they are both character-driven and plot-driven stories. Character sheets with a more detailed physical description, personality traits, and extensive backgrounds will go a long way in making your story engage the reader and keep them reading from start to finish. Use all of the above plus the following:

Strongest Personality Traits:

What is your character’s family life like?

You should also have a rough background and timeline for this character, from childhood to the beginning of the story. Divide it into 5-year intervals, unless your character is quite old, then choose 10-year intervals. Finally, have a profile summary, take everything you have for the character, and write a one or two paragraph summary. It’s a good way to focus your character information and could be used in your story.

Series of books

When writing a series of books about the same characters, it is imperative to keep some kind of record of their traits. Do not trust your memory when writing each book. As an avid reader of serial books, it’s amazing how many times a character’s eyes have been dark blue in one book and dark brown in another and then back to blue. While most casual readers won’t catch that kind of error, your dedicated readers will. It costs him nothing to keep a notebook with his character sheets and refer to it when he writes the next book in his series. It will go a long way to keep the continuity of your books intact.

A note on the description of the clothes. Unless the change of clothes is crucial to the plot of your story, limit your descriptions to fashion. You don’t need to tell every item of clothing your character is wearing. A basic idea of ​​your attraction is enough for most readers.

Your characters are just as important to your story as your plot. Developing them will help bring your story to life, but taking the time to plan them out before you write them is a great way to make them real for you and your reader.