The first rejection letter I received labeled my characters cardboard. And cardboard they were, so one-dimensional a sigh could have blown them over. I quickly learned to flesh out characters in the planning stage of a book and to give them far more dimension than would ever appear in the book.
One of my favorite tools for developing characters is the chart I put together for myself a couple of decades ago. It is simple and flexible and can be used for primary and secondary characters. My completed charts can be five to ten pages each for the hero and heroine and shorter for important secondary characters.
One of the bonuses of using my chart or a similar one is that once completed, you have the internal and external conflicts established and the goals and motivations for the major characters. With so much of the background determined, it is easy to get busy writing the action.
There are many variations of the character chart and they can be tweaked to fit the type of book you are writing. I generally add a few lines of dialogue to show the manner of speaking each character will use. If you aren’t working with a character chart, give it a try. Be specific and thorough on each point, start to develop the mood and tone of the book at this stage, add some descriptive lines you will use later. Your characters will live and you will know them better than your best friend.
If you find this chart helpful, let me know. If you have some tips to share or have a particular challenge in developing characters, please post your comments. Let’s stamp out cardboard characters.
Character Chart
1. Name
2. Age
3. Height
4. Weight
5. Birth date
6. Birthplace
7. Hair – color
8. Eye – color
9. Unique mannerisms, gestures, expressions, sound of voice.
10. Scars or handicaps (physical, mental or emotional)
11. Educational background.
12. Work background.
13. Best friend; other friends, men/women.
14. Enemies and why.
15. Parents/siblings & relationship.
16. Present problem or crisis.
17. Complications
18. Strongest and weakest character traits.
19. Self image.
20. As seen by others.
21. Sense of humor and kind.
22. Basic nature.
23. Ambitions
24. Philosophy of life.
25. Hobbies
26. Music, art and reading material preferred.
27. Dress
28. Favorite colors.
29. Pastimes
30. Description of home (physical, mental and emotional atmosphere).
31. Most important thing to know about character.
32. What trait will make character live and why?
33. Why is character worth writing about?
34. Why is he/she different from other (similar) characters?
35. Why do I like/dislike this character?
36. Why will readers like/dislike this character?
37. Why will this character be remembered?
38. What does he/she admire in women/men?
39. What quality does hero/heroine react to most?
40. How does character react in extreme circumstances? (guilt, rage,fear,doubt,pride)
41. How does character sees his/her own faults?
42. How character grows.
43. How faults change.
44. Is character self-contained or influenced by outside forces?
45. How character has been educated in worldly things.
46. Character’s experience with men/women.
47. Financial status.
48. Feelings about wealth or lack of it.
49. If not major character, how does he/she advance the plot?
50. One line description.
Meaghan says:
I like to consider myself an artist and a writer. I tend to draw a simple frontal pose of my person with absolutely no personality so I can see what they look like. Then I go and look around the internet for poses and just kinda zone out on that. If I see one that makes me think of the character, I pick it and move on. Using that, I put on music and see in my mind how that person would react to the lyrics of that song.
That’s where I come to GREATLY appreciate your and everyone else’s character charts because I can take all of that and throw it into a chart or in written form.
That’s my rant of a way to say thank you for putting this up and I am hoping to use it real soon! 😀
Andrea says:
Occasionally I sketch a character but mostly for a fix on the outfit they are wearing. I like to tear pictures out of magazines when I find those that fit my idea of the character. A picture is worth a thousand words, or maybe a hundred thousand, when we are creating a story around them. I do hope you find the chart useful and that the words flow for you.
Amelia says:
I am trying to get back into writing and I found this extra helpful; can’t wait to try it this weekend!
Andrea says:
Amelia, I do hope the character chart gives a boost to your work. It has always proved a strong, simple tool for me. Good luck with your project and do let me know how it’s going.
Lilybet says:
That’s quite an extensive list of character traits! Do you really find all of them useful? I tend to have a rough idea of my character in mind and wait and see if he/she is still around after a week before I start arguing with them to see what makes them tick.
Check out my blog for my ideas on writing: A Writer’s Guide
Andrea says:
Thanks for your comments. I know we all approach creating characters differently. I find using this chart gives me a character’s motivation and key plot points for the story. I might not use every trait listed for every character but it has always served me well. I encourage writers to add to it or abbreviate as is useful for them. Thanks again for taking a look. I’ll pay your blog a visit.
Nicole Rushin says:
I remember this from years ago and I actually meant to ask you for it recently. A friend of mine was working on some cartooning and I suggested this for him to plot out his character. Good stuff. I am sure it will valuable to your readers! I thought of this the other day, ‘All writers read but not all readers write.’