Extremely detailed character sheet template

[Malice Alice I]

-Saves form into computer-
I only fill out character forms whenever I plan for NaNo [Hey, one can never be too prepared]. I sometimes use them for my other novels, but I never save them because these just help develop my characters. I've been using the same one for ages, so thanks for a more detailed one. C:

~iBailelizabeth

[Bayesian Mimicry]

I have only two words to type in regards to this: well s**t.

That thing has to be the mother of all character sheets. I'm saving this. It always helps me personally when I fill one of these out, because it really brings the Sue traits out.

So that's more than two words, but what the hell, this thing deserves it.

[Ashley-Damei]

Wow! I'm impressed! This is a pretty detailed chart! I'll post mine in my journal when I'm done.

I also do way too detailed character charts. You could also add: Nationality, Ethnicity, Casual wear, Formal wear, Languages Spoken, Overall wealth, Phobias, Manner of writing, Manner of speaking, Manner of walking, Social Status, Places in their schooling they excell(ed) at, Health Problems, Where they've travelled to, How they deal with stress, etc. heart

[Moyayuki]

Let me try! There will be A LOT of blanks, but this is just to see how much I know about my character so far. This will be for a story I'll write in the near-future, so nothing is set in stone yet. xp So, everything here is what I know as of now:

****************

Character Chart
Character’s full name: Val Eckhard
Reason or meaning of name: [No reason. Just two names I found on the internet and liked.]
Character’s nickname: None
Reason for nickname: [N/A]
Birth date: [N/A]

Physical appearance
Age: 36
How old does he/she appear: Roughly his real age
Weight: [Forgot, but I wrote it down!]
Height: 6'00"
Body build: Light/medium
Shape of face: Light, with a square-ish jaw and high cheekbones.
Eye color: Gray-blue
Glasses or contacts: [None]
Skin tone: Slightly pale.
Distinguishing marks: None
Predominant features: I'd say his eyes. They're pretty severe.
Hair color: Dark brown
Type of hair: Straight
Hairstyle: Almost always wears it slicked back. I'd also consider the stubble on his jaw to be a hairstyle since he never clean-shaves it; he leaves it like that.
Voice: I imagine him with a firm, gruff voice.
Overall attractiveness: He's attractive if you're into the tall, rugged, badass types!
Physical disabilities: None, though he does have lung cancer . . .
Usual fashion of dress: Not too neat, yet not sloppy. Usually is seen wearing his usual Ebon Guard outfit.
Favorite outfit: His Ebon Guard outfit, which comprises of a long, high-collared black trench-coat, bullet-proof vest worn over a buttoned-up gray shirt, gray pants, high, buckled black boots, fingerless gloves, and a visored cap. Very militaristic! Ah, yes, and can't forget the pistol in the holster hanging by his utility belt. The belt can be worn either on his coat or around his waist without the coat.
Jewelry or accessories: The only accessories he wears are the patches which designate his rank and the Ebon Guard sash worn around his left arm (like the Nazis!)

Personality
Good personality traits: Dedicated, cares for and misses his deceased wife.
Bad personality traits: Violent.
Mood character is most often in: "Don't bother me or you'll just piss me off!"
Sense of humor: Um, Val has a sense of humor? Yeah, right . . .
Character’s greatest joy in life: When his wife was still alive.
Character’s greatest fear: [Haven't created one yet]
Why? [N/A]
What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil? Well, it sort of already is, but if his new lover was to die . . .
Character is most at ease when: He is smoking, and sometimes when he's with his lover/girlfriend.
Most ill at ease when: He is stressed or something conflicts with his morals/conscience. He smokes during those moments.
Enraged when: Someone angers him. [not too good, huh?]
Depressed or sad when: He remembers his dead wife.
Priorities: Follow his orders and exceed rank as quickly as he can. Also, not to get into any serious trouble.
Life philosophy: Don't get killed!
If granted one wish, it would be: To have his dead wife alive again.
Why? He loved her, and her death really messed-up his life. It's why he's so angry and stressed.
Character’s soft spot: [Not sure, unfortunately]
Is this soft spot obvious to others? Whatever his soft spot is, I'm not sure it would be.
Greatest strength: [Not sure]
Greatest vulnerability or weakness: [Not sure]
Biggest regret: It'll happen near the middle/end of the story, but it's when he allows a conniving politician to persuade him to take a unit of Ebon Guard officers and go and kill the current leader of the USRS and his family. This event really triggers his conscience!
Minor regret: [Not sure]
Biggest accomplishment: [Not sure . . . Maybe reaching the rank of Captain.]
Minor accomplishment: [Not sure]
Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: [Not sure]
Why? [N/A]
Character’s darkest secret: [Not sure]
Does anyone else know? [N/A]

Goals
Drives and motivations: [Not sure]
Immediate goals: [Not sure]
Long term goals: [Not sure]
How the character plans to accomplish these goals: [N/A]
How other characters will be affected: [N/A]

Past
Hometown: [Don't know]
Type of childhood: [Don't know]
Pets: [Don't know]
First memory: [Don't know]
Most important childhood memory: [Don't know]
Why: [N/A]
Childhood hero: [Don't know]
Dream job: [Don't know]
Education: [Don't know]
Religion: [Don't know]
Finances: [Don't know]

Present
Current location: [Don't know. Still need to create the galaxy!]
Currently living with: His girlfriend/lover. She's not at all a fiance.
Pets: None
Religion: Most likely none.
Occupation: Ebon Guard captain. (The Ebon Guard is a militaristic police force which is entrusted by the government of the USRS to keep tabs and control over politicians, civilians, and military leaders.)
Finances: [Don't know, but I bet he's paid well by the government!]

Family
Mother: [Don't know]
Relationship with her: [N/A]
Father: [Don't know]
Relationship with him: [N/A]
Siblings: [Don't know]
Relationship with them: [N/A]
Spouse: He had a wife, but she's dead now.
Relationship with him/her: I don't know any details, but I'd assume they had a good relationship if her death affected him so deeply.
Children: None.
Relationship with them: [N/A]
Other important family members: [Don't know]

Favorites
Color: Black and blue.
Least favorite color: [Don't know]
Music: [Don't know]
Food: [Don't know]
Literature: [Don't know]
Form of entertainment: [Don't know]
Expressions: [Don't know]
Mode of transportation: [Don't know]
Most prized possession: [Don't know]

Habits
Hobbies: [Don't know]
Plays a musical instrument? [Don't know]
Plays a sport? [Don't know]
How he/she would spend a rainy day: [Don't know]
Spending habits: [Don't know]
Smokes: Cigarettes.
Drinks: Some alcohol, but not much. He's definitely not an alcoholic. Just a casual drinker.
Other drugs: None.
What does he/she do too much of? Smoking! That's why he's got lung cancer!
What does he/she do too little of? [Don't know]
Extremely skilled at: [Don't know]
Extremely unskilled at: [Don't know]
Nervous tics: Smokes when he's nervous.
Usual body posture: Straight, but with slightly hunched shoulders.
Mannerisms: [Don't know]
Peculiarities: [Don't know]

Traits
Optimist or pessimist? Most likely a pessimist after his wife's death.
Introvert or extrovert? [Don't know]
Daredevil or cautious? Probably more cautious than a daredevil.
Logical or emotional? [Not sure]
Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? [Not sure]
Prefers working or relaxing? [Not sure]
Confident or unsure of himself/herself? Probably confident.
Animal lover? Probably not.

Self-perception
How he/she feels about himself/herself: [Don't know]
One word the character would use to describe self: [Don't know]
One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: [Don't know]
What does the character consider his/her best personality trait? [Don't know]
What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait? [Don't know]
What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic? [Don't know]
What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic? [Don't know]
How does the character think others perceive him/her: Someone to be feared.
What would the character most like to change about himself/herself: His nicotine addiction, I believe.

Relationships with others
Opinion of other people in general: [Don't know]
Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others? He usually hides his true feelings, though when the politician persuades him, he first objects.
Person character most hates: The politician, whoever he is. [Need to invent that character!]
Best friend(s): [Don't know]
Love interest(s): Currently, his girlfriend.
Person character goes to for advice: [Don't know]
Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: [Not sure, but most likely himself]
Person character feels shy or awkward around: [Don't know]
Person character openly admires: [Don't know]
Person character secretly admires: [Don't know]
Most important person in character’s life before story starts: His wife.
After story starts: Himself.

Whew! That took a long time! sweatdrop

[PAnZuRiEL]

I am inclined to agree with Jile, Nis and Kain that filling out character sheets like this one is ultimately a pointless waste of time that detracts from time you could have spent writing the story. Many of the details listed here (perhaps even most of them) are irrelevant and your story would not be hurt in any way by omitting them -- it may even be better off.

Reading through the list, I had never even thought of most of those attributes. They had never crossed my mind for my own characters, nor for any fictional character I have read about. And I wouldn't care about knowing them, either. It's pointless. They bring nothing to the story. Besides, characters are largely defined through their words and deeds, which is to say, the story itself; beyond words and deeds, no other traits are necessary. Even a name and a physical description can be dispensed with.

There's nothing wrong with your character acting in a contradictory manner. Real people do that too. So "trying to keep the character consistent" is not an excuse for this sort of time-wasting activity. Just write the story. Who cares about all the minuscule details? I know I'm sure as hell not going to read the forms that have been filled out.

[The Real Kain]

Babii_Brunette

Wow! I'm impressed! This is a pretty detailed chart! I'll post mine in my journal when I'm done.

I also do way too detailed character charts. You could also add: Nationality, Ethnicity, Casual wear, Formal wear, Languages Spoken, Overall wealth, Phobias, Manner of writing, Manner of speaking, Manner of walking, Social Status, Places in their schooling they excell(ed) at, Health Problems, Where they've travelled to, How they deal with stress, etc. heart

Well s**t. You forgot some of the more important facts of life!

How many times does s/he strike his/her wife after drinking too much, how much strain do they have when the take a dump on Thursday nights, how often do they lie and say they're allergic to condoms, do they enjoy the burn of a good bladder infection, how many tumors in their colon, do they have aids, did they get aids from your mother, do they know their way around town like the back your head, do they enjoy slitting their wrists while dry humping another patient in the mental ward, do they take a s**t in the middle of the floor because they think it's mysterious, would they ever consider having sex with Chuck Norris,would they kill themselves if I gave them a wire hanger at a baby shower, do they have the clap and think it's a new trend, do they ******** with Techno Viking, do they drink alone because they smell bad, are they retarded enough to have studied the Soulja Boy dance on YouTube just so they can look like a jackass at a nightclub, are they stupid enough to have enjoyed an Anne Rice novel, when they're stressed do their heads look like a ruffles potato chip, how many times a week do they masturbate to Lanzer?

******** it.

Just add those and you're good.

[Bayesian Mimicry]

PAnZuRiEL

There's nothing wrong with your character acting in a contradictory manner. Real people do that too. So "trying to keep the character consistent" is not an excuse for this sort of time-wasting activity. Just write the story. Who cares about all the minuscule details? I know I'm sure as hell not going to read the forms that have been filled out.

As I've read once, though, characters aren't real people. Characters, unlike real people, have to make sense. If a character behaves in a way that is inconsistent with prior characterization, it just looks incompetent.

Writing the story definitely helps, but for those who do worry about characterization, filling out forms like this brings to light certain things about characters. Sue-traits, for example. Or even little things that don't seem important now but find a niche as something significant later in the story.

Although I admit: I'm not reading other people's char sheets, I don't care enough to do that.

[Scarlet Jile]

Ezra Minne

PAnZuRiEL

There's nothing wrong with your character acting in a contradictory manner. Real people do that too. So "trying to keep the character consistent" is not an excuse for this sort of time-wasting activity. Just write the story. Who cares about all the minuscule details? I know I'm sure as hell not going to read the forms that have been filled out.

As I've read once, though, characters aren't real people. Characters, unlike real people, have to make sense. If a character behaves in a way that is inconsistent with prior characterization, it just looks incompetent.

Writing the story definitely helps, but for those who do worry about characterization, filling out forms like this brings to light certain things about characters. Sue-traits, for example. Or even little things that don't seem important now but find a niche as something significant later in the story.

Although I admit: I'm not reading other people's char sheets, I don't care enough to do that.

A character can make plenty of sense without filling out twenty minutes of bullshit paperwork.

Back in the old days, we did this thing called proofreading.

[Bayesian Mimicry]

Scarlet Jile

Ezra Minne

PAnZuRiEL

There's nothing wrong with your character acting in a contradictory manner. Real people do that too. So "trying to keep the character consistent" is not an excuse for this sort of time-wasting activity. Just write the story. Who cares about all the minuscule details? I know I'm sure as hell not going to read the forms that have been filled out.

As I've read once, though, characters aren't real people. Characters, unlike real people, have to make sense. If a character behaves in a way that is inconsistent with prior characterization, it just looks incompetent.

Writing the story definitely helps, but for those who do worry about characterization, filling out forms like this brings to light certain things about characters. Sue-traits, for example. Or even little things that don't seem important now but find a niche as something significant later in the story.

Although I admit: I'm not reading other people's char sheets, I don't care enough to do that.

A character can make plenty of sense without filling out twenty minutes of bullshit paperwork.

Back in the old days, we did this thing called proofreading.

Some things work for some people, other things work for other people. Proofreading is a wonderful thing, but I like getting some things down before I do the rest.

[The Real Kain]

Ezra Minne

Scarlet Jile

Ezra Minne

PAnZuRiEL

There's nothing wrong with your character acting in a contradictory manner. Real people do that too. So "trying to keep the character consistent" is not an excuse for this sort of time-wasting activity. Just write the story. Who cares about all the minuscule details? I know I'm sure as hell not going to read the forms that have been filled out.

As I've read once, though, characters aren't real people. Characters, unlike real people, have to make sense. If a character behaves in a way that is inconsistent with prior characterization, it just looks incompetent.

Writing the story definitely helps, but for those who do worry about characterization, filling out forms like this brings to light certain things about characters. Sue-traits, for example. Or even little things that don't seem important now but find a niche as something significant later in the story.

Although I admit: I'm not reading other people's char sheets, I don't care enough to do that.

A character can make plenty of sense without filling out twenty minutes of bullshit paperwork.

Back in the old days, we did this thing called proofreading.

Some things work for some people, other things work for other people. Proofreading is a wonderful thing, but I like getting some things down before I do the rest.

I highlighted one important thing in your response.

[Bayesian Mimicry]

The Real Kain

Ezra Minne

Scarlet Jile

Ezra Minne

PAnZuRiEL

There's nothing wrong with your character acting in a contradictory manner. Real people do that too. So "trying to keep the character consistent" is not an excuse for this sort of time-wasting activity. Just write the story. Who cares about all the minuscule details? I know I'm sure as hell not going to read the forms that have been filled out.

As I've read once, though, characters aren't real people. Characters, unlike real people, have to make sense. If a character behaves in a way that is inconsistent with prior characterization, it just looks incompetent.

Writing the story definitely helps, but for those who do worry about characterization, filling out forms like this brings to light certain things about characters. Sue-traits, for example. Or even little things that don't seem important now but find a niche as something significant later in the story.

Although I admit: I'm not reading other people's char sheets, I don't care enough to do that.

A character can make plenty of sense without filling out twenty minutes of bullshit paperwork.

Back in the old days, we did this thing called proofreading.

Some things work for some people, other things work for other people. Proofreading is a wonderful thing, but I like getting some things down before I do the rest.

I highlighted one important thing in your response.

I never know which 'some' will be the right one.

[Faith-Alexa]

thak you for this it is most appreciated maybe now i can fill it in so it wiil help me with my book once againg thanks *smiles* mrgreen

[Trixa Pyswell]

Already got that one. ^^

It's really useful but it takes so long to fill out.

[MajKai Nis is a Ninja Jew]

here's a fact:

characters are only what they do in a story.

here's a fact:

characters only do what the story is.





and there's the period on top of all your "responses" of which i didn't bother reading more than the first sentence. you're not plugging s**t in. you're creating a whole. if you do not accept this as fact, immediately reexamine your process.





do not bother responding to this if you can't come up with something better than "lol ur chrctrs mus suk."

[Naelaina]

shadowalchemist198

The Real Kain

Naelaina

MajKai Nis rides again

wait, i'm sorry.

are we playing D&D, or are we writing some ******** stories?

'cause i thought we were writing some ******** stories, in which case sheets like this are pretty ******** meaningless.

just write the ******** story. everything else is meaningless.

Okay well you obviously have no idea what you're talking about.
Some people need to plan out their stories before writing them. Some people need structure to work out their plots, characters and etc. Outlines are always helpful for most writers. And saying ******** won't make your point come across any better either.

By plan out you mean take a raging s**t on their keyboard? There was only one thing on that list that was actually useful.

Name.

That's it.

The ******** name of the character. Do you know who these 'most writers' you speak of are? ******** Gaia online 'aspiring' writers who will most likely not go anywhere because their stories suck so much d**k the look like an egg.

Seriously guys, listen to MajKai. Write the ******** stories.

You both must have some pretty stupid or shallow characters then, or they constantly contradict themselves. I think you're both idiots. Just because some people don't do things the same way you do, does not mean you can insult them. I'm sure most professional writers have done something like this before, not just run willy-nilly through their stories without having some basic idea of what their characters are like.
By the way, what the hell was up with all those damn spaces. Are you just trying to take up space or force people to look at your dumbass s**t all day?

Well you've taking the words right out of my head. I have nothing more to add. Nor do I wish to argue with anyone about writing methods.
You all do what you want. I know which method is best for me.