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Character Development Sheet - 11/19/2008 2:04:21 PM
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Ganheim
Posts: 130
Joined: 4/25/2008
Status: online
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I've been using this for a while, I found this on the internet a few years ago and after a bit of resorting for better categorization it's been extremely useful. I don't use all of it, but it brings up a lot of questions that can help flesh out your characters. I have the document saved as a Rich Text Format, if anybody would like it through an email. If you have any comments, important items you think are missing (or here and irrelevant), please feel free to say so.
NAME:
Nickname:
Meaning/History:
Notes:
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Gender:
Age (True):
Age (Apparent):
Age claimed:
Birthday:
Hair color:
Length/Style:
Eye color:
Vision:
Skin tone:
Marks (freckles, birthmarks, tattoos, scars):
Height:
Weight:
Build/Body shape:
PERSONALITY:
Mannerisms:
Character's Best Trait (to character):
Character's Actual Best Trait:
Character's Worst Trait (to character):
Character's Actual Worst Trait:
Character's Motto (to character):
Character's Actual Motto:
Hopes/Dreams/Desires:
Religion/Philosophy:
Politics:
Temperament:
Actions while Angry:
Actions while Happy:
Hates:
Reaction when presented with above:
Loves:
Reaction when above are threatened:
Vices:
Type of Self Rewards and When:
Type of Self Punishments and When:
Biggest Regret & Why:
Reaction to Adversity:
Reaction to Triumph:
Manners Alone:
Manners Around Same Gender:
Manners Around Opposite Gender:
RELATIONSHIPS AND BACKGROUND:
Parents & Siblings:
Birthplace:
Religion:
Feeling About Childhood:
Childhood Trauma:
How trauma affects character today:
Education:
Best/Worst/Favorite subject:
After school activities:
Biggest influence/Mentor:
Friends/Teachers/Relatives/Pets from past that could influence plot (includes invisible friends/dolls/bears):
Childhood habit hardest to break and how it affects character today:
What did they want to be when they grew up?
Special childhood abilities:
Childhood hideout:
Event that will affect plot:
Past relationships that affect plot:
Last relationship:
How did it end & why:
RESIDENCE:
Country:
State:
County:
City:
Street:
Type of Home:
Condition of Home:
Reason/History of Home:
Time in this Home:
Roommates/Housemates/Guests/Family In Home:
Grounds:
Outside Upkeep Habits:
Interior Design:
Furnishings:
Inside Upkeep Habits:
CURRENT INFORMATION:
Time of Story (past, present, future, era):
Occupation:
Occupational goals:
Occupational "lingo":
Awards/Recognition:
Emotional reaction to work:
Notes on "Work Personality":
Skills:
Income:
Income goals:
Saves or spends:
Favorite thing to purchase:
Wants to purchase:
Hobbies/Leisure pursuits
Biggest accomplished achievement in life:
Awards/Recognition (non-work):
Current Relationship:
Relevant Friends:
How the character relates to each:
Current relationship with family members:
Politics:
ETCETERA:
The most bizarre thing about your character:
The very best thing about your character:
The very worst thing about your character:
_____________________________
Writer on Fiction Press, Fan Fiction, Deviant Art.
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RE: Character Development Sheet - 11/19/2008 8:47:29 PM
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Dancre
Posts: 1307
Joined: 4/12/2005
Status: offline
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I took classes from Patty Hickman and I learned so much about characters. Somethings she said was:
Your character has, a secret. What is it? (When I discovered my characters' secrets it changed the entire story, making it more suspenseful.)
Who knows the secret? How do they know the secret? Are they using it to manipulate the character or help them?
What does the character truly want from life? security? to belong? What?
Is this belief integrated with either an inauthentic or inaccurate assumptions/beliefs about herself? what is it?
Does theis current belief give her what she needs? Why or why not? What does she truly need?
Is she hanging onto a memento b/c it's a story that only she knows? What is it?
When she touches it, do memories rise from it? What are they?
Does the memento provide a scene that resonates with the reader? What is it?
Does it provide a key to a later revelation but creates an initial air of mystery?
How does your character thwart her own desires? Explain.
What does she wear?
What kind of car does she drive? Does this car show her money managing? How?
What kind of house does she live in? Is it a sanctuary, a shrine for mementos, messy, orgainzed, why? Did she chose this lifestyle or was it chosen for her?
THat's just a tasting of what I learned from her. I took her notes, added them to my character listing and got 13 pages of indepth character analysis. Patty said that in order to really understand your character, you MUST understand human behavior. What makes us tick? It was fascinating!!!
kim
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RE: Character Development Sheet - 11/20/2008 12:40:24 AM
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Ganheim
Posts: 130
Joined: 4/25/2008
Status: online
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That was an interesting point about remembering character past secrets - every single one of the troop in Life of the Silver Tear hides secrets and is haunted by at least one thing. Of course, there are the occasional characters that don't have any secrets. My book Isle of Dreams includes a character named Med'li, based somewhat on the character Kefka from Final Fantasy 6, he doesn't care about what people know of his past and he makes no secret of his goal for the future: the complete obliteration of splinter factions and every living human being in them.
You're certainly right about needing to know how people tick in order to create believable, multidimensional characters. Fortunately, psychology was already a hobby before I started on my first novel...though as I haven't finished it yet I can't say if it was really helpful.
_____________________________
Writer on Fiction Press, Fan Fiction, Deviant Art.
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