How to Do a Character Reference Sheet

Designing Your Own Reference Sheet

Write or draw a rough sketch of a character. Before you start your character sheet, write or draw a rough sketch of your character. The best character sheets tend to be specific to one particular story or person. Spend a bit getting acquainted with the character you want to outline in your sheet before writing it down. You may work on 1 character sheet at a time or work on multiple sheets simultaneously, which may be beneficial if you want to map out character relationships at the same time. Who is your character and what world does he or she exist in? A character sheet for a 28 year-old lawyer living in modern day Manhattan is obviously going to look vastly different than one for a 45 year-old wizard living in a fictional universe of your creation. Is your character male or female? What are the character's most notable physical characteristics? Does he or she have a family? A spouse? Friends? Draw a short picture if you're a visual learner or if you're doing a graphic novel or comic. This can help you get acquainted with your character. Keep in mind, this does not have to be terribly extensive yet. This is more of a brainstorming session to help you figure out what about the character would be helpful to know. Jot down a paragraph or two and consider what about the character needs further exploring.

Figure out the basic events of your work. A character sheet should explore how your character has responded to past events. It should explore how he or she's been shaped by life. Spend some time figuring out the major events in your work. You do not need to have the entire plot of your novel outlined before making a character sheet. However, it might not be a bad idea to have some idea of what has happened to your character before the beginning of your story. Draft a short, personal history for your character. Keep in mind nothing is set in stone at this point. You can always change or adjust things down the road. Interpersonal relationships are also a huge part of your character's history. What kind of relationships has this person had with friends, romantic partners, family members, mentors, and more? Having a skeletal idea of the major relationships in your character's life can help you draft a solid character sheet.

Fill out the basics. Make the first part of your sheet that asks for basic information. Things like name, age, and occupation are a great place to start when writing your own reference sheet. Start with the basics, such name, age, occupation, and physical description. Push yourself to be detailed about description. What is your character's style? What does their voice sound like? What sort of habits and mannerisms do they display? Then, focus on your characters basic qualities on a deeper level. What are your character's likes and dislikes? What is their marital status? Do they have children? Family? What is their occupation? Age? Are they introverted or extroverted, a leader or a follower?

Ask more complicated questions. As you progress through your sheet, ask more complicated questions. Allow yourself to branch out freely and expand upon existing ideas. From here, push yourself to go more in depth. What conflicts does your character face? How has he or she reacted to events in the past? How have certain events shape your character? For example, say you're writing about a 58 year-old widower named Robin Leland with two kids. How is he affected by the death of his wife? Does this affect his present relationships with his children or other family members? How did he cope when his wife died? How does he cope now? How long has his wife been gone? What was their relationship like? As you can see, you can focus on one aspect of the past and branch out from there. Talk about interpersonal relationships. All characters have relationships with one another and the world that affect how they move through life. Focus on the major relationships your character has and ask questions specific to that relationship. For example, say Robin has a daughter named Rose who bears a striking resemblance to his late wife. How does this resemblance affect how Robin interacts with Rose? If Rose is, say, in her early teens how does Robin handle talking to her about puberty, dating, etc.? Do these topics make him uncomfortable? If so, why? Is Robin a more conservative man? As you can see, you can learn a lot about your character's personality by focusing on their relationships. Talk about underlying motivations. What drives your character and why? What is their main motivating factor? All good characters have something they want that drives their story. Talk about wants and needs. What does Robin want and why? Say his wife was killed by a drunk driver. Maybe Robin is taking initiative in his home town to reform drunk driving laws. But go deeper than that. Is Robin ignoring his grief by taking on this crusade? Is this a distraction from allowing himself to mourn for his wife?

Ask questions specific to your work. As stated, a good character reference sheet is as specific as possible. There may be some questions that are specific to your story. Make sure to include these in your sheet. If you're creating a fantasy world, this is particularly relevant. If, for example, there are supernatural elements to your story you might need to include what powers your character has. In some stories, fighting and war is central to the plot. You might need to focus on things like the weaponry and fighting style of your character.

Using a Pre-formatted Sheet

Find a reference sheet that works with you. If you don't want to form your own sheet, you can find many pre-formatted sheets online. Pre-formatted reference sheets can save you a lot of time and may ask about information you wouldn't have otherwise considered. Choose a reference sheet that works for your project. If you're writing flash fiction, which is fiction that's generally 1,000 words or less, you may need a shorter reference sheet. It's easy to find reference sheets specifically formatted for works of flash fiction. They generally ask for basic information on physical appearance and personality. Short stories, which have a higher word count, will ask for more information from a character reference sheet. They'll generally ask for some back story and mannerisms in addition to the basics of physical description and character traits. Character sheets for novels and novellas are generally a lot longer as more information is required. They'll go into depth in regards to things like backstory and will also ask for information on religious beliefs, possessions, education, and more.

Fill in the sheet with more information than you need. You may feel certain aspects of a character reference sheet feel irrelevant. Some aspects of your characters back story, for example, may not make it into the plot. However, it's better to have more information than you need. Knowing your characters well can make for richer writing. Even if you do not directly reference a particular aspect of your character's backstory or religious beliefs, they will show up in subtle ways in the subtext of your writing.

Skip irrelevant parts of a reference sheet. However, keep in mind not every part of a reference sheet will be relevant in your story. For example, details about a character's clothing may never make it into the writing. Some sheets may ask for information about a character's weaponry and special skills, in case you're writing a fantasy, but if you're story is realistic this is not applicable to you. While you should strive to fill out a reference sheet as fully as possible, skip sections that have no relevance to the work you're writing.

Using Reference Sheets

Push yourself to include a lot of information. A character reference sheet is important to a work of fiction. It allows you to get to know your character in as much detail as possible. Fill out your reference sheet with as much information as possible. Spend a few days coming back to your character sheet and adding new tidbits and facts about your character as they come to you. Allow yourself to get lost in the world you're creating.

Keep reference sheets in a safe place to consult later on. As you begin the actual writing of your work, you'll need your reference sheet. Keep it on hand so you can consult it later on. It's a good idea to keep your reference sheet near the area where you usually write or work. It might be a good idea to get a specific folder to keep reference sheets so they don't get misplaced.

Use pre-formatted reference sheets with care. Pre-formatted sheets are tempting because they save you some work. However, it's sometimes better to make your own sheet. This way, your reference sheet is specific to your story and will be as useful as possible to you. Some of the questions pre-formatted referenced sheets are somewhat vague. They often do not contain enough white space for you to really expand in too much detail. You want to make sure you don't oversimplify your characters by using a pre-formatted reference sheet. Certain questions on pre-formatted reference sheets may be irrelevant to your story. For example, if you're writing a screenplay intended to be acted out you only have so much control over what a character looks like. Very specific information about appearance is not really important. There is a lot of flexibility involved in a reference sheet you create yourself. As outlined above, one question branches into another and then another. This allows your story and character to grow organically.