Character Sketch and Outline
My first character sketch was not designed for developing a character, but for remembering the characteristics I had for an existing character. It worked/works great for secondary characters that don’t change much and tracking infrequent characters. I have made a couple of tweaks and hopefully it is better.
I have also created a new character outline to be used in conjunction with event pages. This outline is for creating a well rounded character and, should you choose, tracking that character’s development through the events of the story.
There is a marker box before each field on the character outline meant to be used with an additional page, Influential Events. You put a number in the marker field to specify an event that modifies or changes the character, then add an Influential Events page and put the same number by an event. You then describe what happened and how it affected the character.
If used properly, you will be able to see what the character looks like at the beginning of the story as well as track the changes that happen to the character throughout the story. You can also use the Influential Events page to set up events which occurred before the story that have shaped your character.
For example:
Ralph starts out atheistic. That is what you put in the “Religion” field. However, part of this story has to do with Ralph meeting God, so there will be an event that changes this attribute. Put a number in the event marker box next to “Religion” on the outline. For my example, this will be the third event, so I will put 3. Then, on the Influential Events page, I will write down the “Character” – Ralph, and “Event #” - 3. I will then fill in the fields except possibly “Chapter/Page” – this I can only fill in after I have written the scene.
That’s it; you can look at the outline and clearly see the characters position at the beginning of a story, what will change (if there is a number in the box), and see how/when that change occurs by looking at the influential events page. Not only can you track how a character changes, but you can also plot the changes and use this tool in your storyline planning.
Here’s what available now:
- I have added mannerisms, political leanings, and the point of introduction to the one-page Character Sketch.
- The full Character Outline includes everything from the sketch plus: aliases, nicknames, fears, abuses, indulgences, passions, temperament, background, event marker for each field, and the fatal flaw.
- Beyond the character sketch and outline, I have some additional pages that can be used for Address History and Employment History as well as Events that have positively or negatively influenced the character.
Writing challenge:
- Describe all of your minor characters using the Character Sketch
- Develop you main characters using the Character Outline and Influential Events page
