Character Charts: The Best Way to Get to Know Your Main Character

You know how it is. You walk into a room full of strangers, and start off with small talk. If you're lucky, you discover something you both have in common that extends the conversation a little further. But to truly get to know someone, you'll have to spend quite a bit of time together. Sharing hobbies, shooting the breeze, and going through the ups and downs of life together help you understand another person intimately.

When you're writing a novel, you've got to spend considerable time getting to know your characters in order to make them seem three-dimensional to your readers. It's like writing a biography of a person you've just met.

That's where character charts come in. You build a file on each character. There are questions you probably never thought to ask your protagonist--like what he tends to do when he's nervous, or what is the secret she's never told anyone.

I've found quite a few character charts peppering the internet. Each one is a little different, and you might want to try out a few to see which ones work the best for your characters. Once you've decided on one (or more), sit down and have a cup of coffee with one of your characters. You might be surprised at what they share with you.

Character Charts to Check Out
For the visual oriented writers, here is a fascinating group of 29 pages(Pdf)--everything from character attributes, to the evolution of a character's arc through the story. While there are a few pages I'm not sure how to use, I will definitely print out an make use of several.

A comprehensive chart (you can click on the Pdf download or see it on the webpage), includes a link to an astrological chart for your character.

The folks at Creative-Writing-Solutions have a whole group of charts. If you write fantasy, you may need a chart to help you identify the details of a new race, or a particular creature. They've also got charts for pets, vehicles, buildings, and new lands. You can access all of them here.

Writer's Village University has a free Character Building Workshop, with online quizzes that help you narrow down your character's traits.

Sandra Miller has compiled a list of questions you can ask your character in her character exercises.

PoeWar offers a free character building course.



4 comments:

  1. The link to the 29 page pdf is not working. Is it possible change that? Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm trying to find if that pdf lives somewhere else. I'll let you know!

    ~Debbie

    ReplyDelete

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