Character Ref Sheet

[Isaiah Moretti]

@ Lyvidian:

I did mention two or three times that I understood that not all writers worked like that or thought like that. And here's a few examples of what I meant when I said that name, age and purpose were really the only things necessary:

Name: Pepper Meadows
Age: 18
Purpose: Be the catalyst that allows Main Character to meet his father

Name: Dr. Vince Dunn
Age: 38
Purpose: Introduce the main plotline.

Name: Diana Elizabeth Margaret Tremblay
Age: 75
Purpose: Prevent the Main Character from achieving his objective.


I'll say it again: I understand that not all writers work this way. It is just my opinion that a character doesn't need page after page of information that probably won't have any purpose in regards to the story itself. In regards to creating a good character, here's how my personal outline usually looks:

Name: Luce Cristina Tremblay
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Role: Main Character
Purpose: To tell the story; personal purpose is to gain freedom from grandmother/abusive boyfriend
Obstacles: Personal demons (emotional, psychological), his grandmother, his ex-boyfriend
Additional Information:

Physical Features: Fair bone structure, dark red hair (usually in ringlet curls), slender build, freckles, dark blue eyes
Magical Ability: Natural affinity for botanical magic; medium power level


It depends on the level and maturity of a writer. If you've got something that works for you, great - it is just my experience that most people think that extensive character sheets are set in stone and shouldn't be changed or just used as personal references. I am not in any way saying that every single person who uses a character sheet will have immobile, sterile characters, and I apologize if that's how it came across.