I'm trying to be more systematic in my writing, and so I thought it might be fun to create community character card for writing.
What is character card? Pretty much ap rofile of a character, having information that should inform your writing. Those of you who play D&D know the stuff.
Here are the fields I have in the card I'm currently using:
MC
Name:
Race:
Skills:
Level:
Stats:
Personality:
how they resolve conflicts, how they talk, general stuff
Likes:
what kind of ppl/things/actions they like
Dislikes:
same as likes
Weakness:
things that change him, also how he reacts to his weakness (as in if someone shows them a spider do they smack them or do they run away)
Strength:
what are they good at
Neutral:
things that don't fit in strength and weaknesses, but still are important, or whether they are strength of weakness depends on situation
Desire:
Speech pattern:
For example: overuses "for example" in their descriptions,
How others perceive them:
they stink, are big, look scary, sound xyz, useful for writing other POVs
I like it. I use Scrivener when I write, and it comes with a character sheet that's not as good. Might want to add age as well, half the time I forget how old my main character, and secondary characters, are and have to go back and find it lol.
One of the fields I've seen in some cards is something like "need" (also described in some lectures about writing), but I'm not a big fan of that. Who am I to say what my character needs? Well.. I'm the author, but still, I also know what my life looks like, I have no idea what people need.
One of the fields I've seen in some cards is something like "need" (also described in some lectures about writing), but I'm not a big fan of that. Who am I to say what my character needs? Well.. I'm the author, but still, I also know what my life looks like, I have no idea what people need.
Needs/Wants(perceived needs) create drive. Without drive, your character has no reason to do anything less you're having something else act on them and push the plot that way.
As the author, you need to know what drives the plot.
interesting idea about the character card. I like your thoughts, that does help characterize the character a lot more. for me, i just bullet point, although i have tried making a very simplistic character outline too to keep my story ideas a bit more organized.
One of the fields I've seen in some cards is something like "need" (also described in some lectures about writing), but I'm not a big fan of that. Who am I to say what my character needs? Well.. I'm the author, but still, I also know what my life looks like, I have no idea what people need.
Needs are usually pretty apparent when you take the whole character into perspective.
For example...
Wants: To impress her mother, to prove she's the best
Needs: Someone to tell her she's enough. To realise that her mother will never care for her, give up on her and pursue her own values.
Wants: To win X's love.
Needs: To overcome the belief that he's an unlovable monster and that X not loving him proves that.
Sometimes it's a while into a story before you can piece that need together, though.
Interesting. I don't often make character sheets like this (mostly because I don't usually track numbers and levels like in an Isekai) but one other field I've added in the past is "How does the character perceive themselves?"
Its one thing to describe how other see them, both physically or personality wise, but knowing how the character sees themselves often helps me crystallize how they react in different situations. The difference between an "Ice Queen who thinks themselves more conscientious than everyone else" is a totally different character than the "Ice Queen who is afraid they won't come off as worth talking to if they soften."
I like it. I tried something similar before but I never ended sticking to it, since there was too many tiny things cluttering the list.
I do, however, use some self-made guidelines to making characters that aren't projections of myself.
Here's what I try to pay attention to now, without making notes.
1. What defines the character currently
1.1 Any important details about their habits?
1.2 Any important details about their philosophy to life?
1.3 Anything they are passionate about?
1.4 Anything they hate?
1.5 Anything they are good at?
2. What led the character to being this way? (usually a "behind the scenes settings" thing)
2.1 Any experiences that left a deep impact on them? (preferably with references to 2.2 - 2.4)
2.2 Any people they admired?
2.3 Any people they loved but didn't take as an example?
2.4 Any people they hated?
3 Actions that are characteristic of the character when interacting with others (3.1-3.4 involve no consequences to the actor)
3.1 What would a person do when the have the power to severely affect the life of someone they hated.
3.2 What would they do with conditions of 3.1, but to a person they don't know/care about?
3.3 What would they do if 3.1 was reversed?
3.4 What would they do if 3.2 was reversed?
3.5 Would they compromise with an enemy?
3.6 Would they repay a favor to an enemy?
3.7 3.6 but with someone they feel neutral about.
3.8 How much would they sacrifice for others out of good will?
3.9 How far would they impose their values on others.
3.10 How much would they need to forgive someone
3.11 How much would they need to start hating someone
4 Their will to improve
4.1 How lazy are they usually?
4.2 How dedicated are they to things they are passionate about
4.3 How open are they to things that are different from their original cognition
Prime minister of Trelos-Agapi
1.1 Acts swiftly and decisively, always neat and clean, makes pauses in the middle of sentences.
1.2 Loyal royalist, hailing from a long line of Prime Ministers. Loves his country more than anything, respects the Sages (Grand Mages) over the King but never shows it. Has a hatred for war. An elitist who thinks that people who don't do well at life don't work hard. Deeply religious.
1.3 Has a personal passion for economics, collects books and manuscripts about it. Frequently invites professors from various academies and philosophers for discussions about economics. An avid reader of classic literature, his home library has a count of 300 books from many different genres.
1.4 Hates culinary arts, his sense of taste is very poor. Can't stand flowers and fine arts, doesn't understand the more modern art movements and completely despises most modern music (due to rapid magic development, Trelos-Agapi's cultural development is similar to ours to some extent. There's rock, hip-hop and pop genres-lookalikes too)
1.5 Good at talking, a very eloquent speaker. Good at arguing, he does a lot of research into his opponents and prepares dozens of counterarguments to whatever might be thrown at him. A surprisingly good artist, with a refined taste
2.1 Has participated in a war with wild tribes far north during youth. Despite being a somewhat high-ranking officer at the time, he has still witnessed toouch bloodshed. Has had to put down several deserters on his own. The sight of dirt and blood traumatised him, causing a deep obsession with cleanness and a desire to stay away from such sights, and the cruelty of barbarians made him associate anything not noble with negative imagery, making him a staunch elitist.
His mother was left alone and forgotten by his father, despite the fact that she dedicated her best years to taking care of their home, making him close his heart and not trust others easily. He also had been a bachelor for a long time and spoiled his children, as well as not setting up their marriages. The children ended up typical young masters, which made him abandon his feelings for his family, and completely devote himself to the country. He doesn't like how he left them, like his father did, so he buries himself in work to numb himself.
2.2 The sages, he admires. He's read dozens upon dozens of tales about them and has almost reverent feelings towards them. Due to her being the youngest, therefore most well-known, he puts Lachersia Luster as the person to take after - someone brilliant and hardworking. The Royal teacher is his model of behaviour in court. His king, Epiplion I is his goal when it comes to being devoted to his role.
2.3 He loved his mother dearly, but her later years left a deep shadow on his heart.
2.4 He hated his father, he hated the barbarians.
3.1 Destroy until they are out of sight
3.2 Nothing
3.3 Try to minimise his sense of existence, act as unharmful as possible
3.4 Try to make them feel favourable towards him
3.5 Yes
3.6 He'd repay, if he was in sight of others for his reputation, but he wouldn't if he knew there would be no consequences
3.7 Yes, he'd try to build a good relationship with them if they had value too.
3.8 He'd lay his life for the country, but he would calmly ignore the plea of its citizens individually
3.9 He doesn't impose his values on others in general, he tries to find a common ground and works from there instead. Mostly because he's quite indifferent to most and he feels he's below those he admires.
3.10 He doesn't take offence easily, so he carries no grudges for most. The only one he really hates is his father, whom he'll never forgive.
3.11 The person would have to have value in his eyes, and then deliberately hurt that which he loves and cares the most - his country (currently). They would also have to come from the inside the country. Currently hates no living person.
4.1 Not lazy at all. He's so hard-working, there were times some of his assistants have collapsed, even if he has several of them at the same time.
4.2 He dedicates a lot of free time to his hobbies, but he only takes free time to enjoy his hobbies
4.3 Very open to new facts, stubborn with his ideas but can easily accept it when others don't share the same feelings
Don't try to self analyse yourself with it though. You are not going to be honest
This is awesome. Very succinct. I'd add a bit more in personality like:
Alignment - with one main alignment, and two alternates ones between which it can oscillate. I think that is large enough movement for characters actions.
Their favourite food on Earth. AND their fav on wherever
Where would their eyes go if they walk into a busy market
A tune they might (or might not) hum when, say, waiting for a train
How do they sit on a chair (cross legs, spread open, leg locked)
What position do they sleep in? Flipped over, with straight arms, sideways, curled up, etc. etc.
All these can come in useful sometimes. Only required for characters you will encounter frequently, so take your pick.
Oh shit, this is actually a very great idea. I constantly forget what my characters are about, so I always revisit past chapters to reread. It's always a pain to reread my own chapters multiple times, so a character card would actually be a fantastic idea.
Problem is, I'm too freaking lazy to stick through it. So I'll definitely fail to do it in the long-term.
Needs/Wants(perceived needs) create drive. Without drive, your character has no reason to do anything less you're having something else act on them and push the plot that way.
As the author, you need to know what drives the plot.
For example...
Wants: To impress her mother, to prove she's the best
Needs: Someone to tell her she's enough. To realise that her mother will never care for her, give up on her and pursue her own values.
Wants: To win X's love.
Needs: To overcome the belief that he's an unlovable monster and that X not loving him proves that.
Sometimes it's a while into a story before you can piece that need together, though.
I assume it depends on what you use these cards for, but for me this type of deterministic need might work in stories that are far more pre planned than what I want to do with web format I guess. As Moonpearl mentioned, I think its something that is better to be "discovered" than planned in advance
This is awesome. Very succinct. I'd add a bit more in personality like:
Alignment - with one main alignment, and two alternates ones between which it can oscillate. I think that is large enough movement for characters actions.
Their favourite food on Earth. AND their fav on wherever
Where would their eyes go if they walk into a busy market
A tune they might (or might not) hum when, say, waiting for a train
How do they sit on a chair (cross legs, spread open, leg locked)
What position do they sleep in? Flipped over, with straight arms, sideways, curled up, etc. etc.
All these can come in useful sometimes. Only required for characters you will encounter frequently, so take your pick.
The sitting part is something similar to what I considered adding, but not included here because of being too specific- physical behaviour. I also didn't include fighting style, because some people don't use it.. but might add it in main in edit. I like the where would they eyes go, I guess it could be described as what they notice first, or what they pay attention to?
Not big fan of alignments, at least the D&D ones, though its personal preference
The sitting part is something similar to what I considered adding, but not included here because of being too specific- physical behaviour. I also didn't include fighting style, because some people don't use it.. but might add it in main in edit. I like the where would they eyes go, I guess it could be described as what they notice first, or what they pay attention to?
Well, even if the character never fights they always sit somewhere! And, yes their eye will reveal a bit about their tastes. It is just a reminder that we need to flesh them out a bit.
I've tried to employ a similar idea for myself before, but it wasn't a very efficient way for me to work. I already end up knowing my characters *very* intimately by the virtue of how I write. The motivations of my characters are the basis on which I write the whole story, and thus all the details related to their role in the story come to me easily. But I do employ just a few basic questions about things that I can easily forget, but which are important to somewhat establish before writing, such as 'What family do they have?' or 'Who do they know before the story?'.
