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Please help me improve this character sheet to recommend to writers who want/need them.

Name/nickname/whatever the writer calls them:

Significance to story:

What they do:

Why they do it:

Obstacles:

Additional notes:



I am leaving out backstory and will always leave out backstory as part of the character sheet. Not all characters have them.

Here is a situational character sheet to help with writers block and/or continuity.

Situation:

What they'd to in it:

Why:

Defining important features for the audience (speech pattern, a 'feel' the audience is meant to get from their description):

Other important details:


This can work two ways, either for working backwards and the situation is what you intend to have and you figure out how your character would act the way you want in order to advance the plot that way; or for trying to figure out what actions the character would take, given their personality and experiences up to now int he story.

PS: Thank you Kita-Ysabell for help

I think 'why' covers what they want, but I added 'obstacles'

That certainly wouldn't help a writer. None of that is important to a written character, and adding that would make the character sheet useless to many, while this is supposed to be something for all writers, not matter what the story.

Besides, all of that can just fall under 'additional.'

I considered it, but there are stories where there's just one main character, or relationships aren't relevant.

Darth Vader's significance to story: Second in command of evil totalitarian empire. Ultimate baddie who needs to be stopped.

What Darth Vader Does: While he serves the emperor, he shows hesitation at the thought of killing his own estranged children. He kidnaps Princess Leia, kills an underling who mocks his belief in the force, etc, etc.

I wanted them separate as actions do not denote the part they play in the story (technically, you could write the same story and make him the hero, or a minor character who merely moves the plot forward like in Brazilian Star Wars.) Also, 'does' handles wants and thoughts, while 'significance' doesn't necessarily

However, you do make a good point of how they are interconnected and I do appreciated the post.

I'd use this sheet. It gets the broad idea of the character. The additional notes part would suffice for those who feel they need to add physically descriptions and whatnot.