When creating a character, there’s a lot of questions you ask yourself. Whether it’s an original character or one you’ve been playing for a long time, using a character sheet to get to know your character better can always be a nice idea. With it’s help, you’ll be able to think about things you didn’t necesarily thought about, and ask some important questions to yourself that might activate your character’s voice, or help you to get your muse back with them. Everyone has their favorite character sheets, some people prefer to have a lot of questions, some others like it a bit more vague, so here’s a masterlist of the character sheets I found on various websites and found quite interesting, plus some other things that could be used to help you see, for example, how other character view yours.
- Blank Character Sheet (+370 Questions)
- Abridged Character Sheet (100 Questions)
- Big-Ass Character Sheet
- Character Creation Form
- Character Sheet by Jody Hedlund
- Creating a character Bio Sheet
- Character Analysis Worksheet
- 100 Character Development questions for writers
- Create a Character Profile
- Character Development Worksheet
- Original Character Bio-Sheet
- Character Chart for Fiction Writers
- A Character Chart By Charlotte Dillon
- Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
- Detailed Character Sheet
- Character Sheet Template
- Character Twenty-Question Worksheet
- In-Depth Character Sheet
- Character Worksheet
- Character Interview Sheet (First Person)
- Background Questionnaire (First Person)
- Characters Perceptions (How do other people perceive your character?)
With these sheets, you could also try to find your character’s Jung and Enneagram Type or use the Moral Alignment tool. All of these things can be really useful to get a better grip on a character.
Then, if you’re trying to create a character, and do not have many ideas, or get stuck, I’d suggest for you to roam around TVTropes, which gives you a lot of tropes used for character creation. Maybe you could try to mix a few of these and create an original character?
Or, if you’re a skillful writer and know how to make your character different from another, make a list of characters in fiction you happen to find interesting and why. Try to keep it short. Then, maybe, try to mix and match things from two or three characters, take a character and change their backstory, to see what would change. Play with them to inspire yourself and create something new, original and truly yours.
Oh, and here’s a little guide to Mary-Sues and OCs, just in case you want to make sure your character isn’t going to become a Mary-Sue or a Gary-Stu
And last but not least, this article about building fictional character definitely seemed interesting to me, and is full of many other links that could guide you during the creating of your character and help you file one of these sheets.
I have a terrible habit of not tagging my shit. You've been warned. It might change someday. Probably not.
One problem everyone runs into at one point in another in trying to make an RP, keeping one active, or even just writing in general is that sort of “what next” moment where you pretty much run out of plot ideas. So I’ve compiled a list of resources you could use to help move things along.
HATCH’S PLOT BANK- 2000+ scenarios that could be used as minor or major plot lines
MORE NOVEL BY THE WEEK: FREE PLOT IDEAS TO RUN WITH- basically plot skeletons
A TWIST IN THE TALE- plot twist generator
PLOT SCENARIO GENERATOR- plot generator that provides a secondary conflict
TELLINGSECRETS- a website where people have submitted their secrets/confessions
SCIENCE FICTION STORY IDEAS- 1000+ story starters
QUICK STORY IDEA GENERATOR- self explanatory
WRITING GENERATORS- pretty much a masterlist within a masterlist, but theres some useful stuff here
Sordid Fairy Tale: How do I just start writing this damn scene already?
Okay, so I’ve been struggling to rewrite the opening of one of my older novels for a year now. And that’s not hyperbole. It’s a common problem, too: sometimes there are entirely necessary parts of stories that we find ourselves unable to write. Here are a few of the finally-fed-up-measures I’ve been using to get this thing underway:
- Toss the chronological timeline out the window. The scene absolutely has to include this frustrating beginning. Fine. It’s your novel; it’s your judgement call. But that doesn’t mean the scene has to start at the beginning. Skip to the part you want to write, most likely the exciting part. Write that. Then jump back. Maybe you return to the very beginning, maybe you don’t. Jump forward again; pick up where you left off. Or don’t: show the character finally out of the situation and looking back on it. Bottom line: write the part of the scene that grabs you, no matter where it is. Skip around however you like. (Maybe you’ll even end up leaving the scene organized that way.)
- Completely change what your character was going to do. Often, you’ll find yourself stalled because your inner storyteller’s gut knows better than to let you move forward. Something here, the way you have it, just isn’t working. So step back and let your characters throw a curveball. Let them take hold of the scene, flip it on its head, and give it a couple of kicks to the stomach. Let everything go wild. At least something’s happening. Even if it’s all a little too extreme for your story, you may stumble upon a thread of action that can be watered down for a more appropriate edit.
- Change the location. Put your characters in the same basic situation, but shift them to a more dynamic location. If they’re sitting in a room talking to each other, put them on a crowded bus instead, or in a classroom during an important exam. Whatever they’re doing, put complications in their way. Make it more difficult for them. Have an aggravated stranger pick a fight with one of them while they’re unloading from the bus. Force them to track the teacher and whisper in order to communicate. Again, the scene may not end up being left in this exact form; just focus on getting yourself writing.
- Write from a different character’s perspective. If the person isn’t alone in the scene and you’re not writing in third-person-omniscient, dial in on someone else. Get their thoughts; observe the main character as they act rather than as they think. How do their actions look from an “outsider’s” perspective? Also, what is this new POV character of yours doing in the scene? What do they know about what’s going on, and what’s beyond their knowledge? Gain as much story information as you can, and then skip into a different head.
Romance is a popular genre, but it’s often handled quite badly. Relationships that would be unhealthy - even abusive - are frequently treated as normal, even desirable. So, here’s a list to help you avoid some common pitfalls.
Make sure the characters have something in common.
Infatuation (AKA “love at first sight”) is great for drawing people together, but it’s not what keeps them together - there will come a point when basking in each others’ beautiful presences just won’t be enough. Make sure your characters have some interests or goals they share - eg, Marie and Pierre Curie shared a passionate love of science and enjoyed working together.…But don’t make their interests exactly alike.
Make sure your characters have some interests they don’t share, and indeed enjoy doing apart. Having lives that completely revolve around each other is rather unhealthy.They should act comfortable around each other.
Unless they’re early in their relationship, they should not be afraid to just be themselves, nor worry too much whether they’re saying the “wrong” thing in front of the other. If your characters are practically at the altar, yet one of them is fretting over whether what xe said will go over badly, there’s something wrong.They should not ignore friends from before.
Sure, new relationships will take up some time, but don’t have your characters completely or almost completely stop hanging out and doing things with old friends.They should not feel particularly jealous or threatened when the other talks to or hangs around with someone else.
I had a dream last night about one of my teeth being loose to the point of nearly falling out - as in, I had to physically push it back in. When I woke up I remembered something about dreaming of your teeth falling being significant, so I looked it up:
*Attachment Issues (trying to hold on to something)
*Fear of letting go to something that was part of your life for a long time.
*Afraid of failing
*You dread the feeling of embarrassment
*You may feel a lack of control in your relationship
* Is it possible you set your goals to high and they are crashing down?
*What are you afraid to lose?
*Are you trying to cover up something?
*Afraid of losing your money or the feeling of being abandoned.…huh.
It could easily be more than one of those, actually.Sorry Odec, for putting you through tooth loss just to make myself feel better. Those dreams are really weird though, right? I can remember the feeling of having to push my tooth back in, and, urgrhgrhgrg
It’s always a good day when a Dy shows up on my dash. I always get really excited when I see them!
I’m sorry you’re having such an odd dream, though… I rely a lot on the meaning of a dream, probably because I don’t have them often.
