Every good story starts with an interesting main character – take Harry Potter or Percy Jackson for example! Those characters were created by normal people just like you. Today I’m going to help you do just that, because in reality, it’s not as hard as it may seem. In this activity, you will use the provided Character Sheet template to brainstorm a fictional character of your own creation. By thinking about how your character thinks, acts, and feels, you will have a better understanding of your character and be able to write them better. You will be able to freely use the character you build in this exercise for any future writing projects you may have, or any other fun projects. This Character Sheet will be great to refer back to when writing a novel, comic, film/video script, short story, or when playing in a D&D campaign!
STEPS:
1. Finding inspiration from others. Think about what characters you enjoy in media. What appeals to you about them? Is it their personality? Their wit? Perhaps their quirks? Write a list and think about what you’d like to use as inspiration for your own character.
2. Character description. Consider about your character’s physical qualities/appearance. Write what you believe they should look like. This can include hair color, height, age, etc.
3. Draw your character. Picture your character in your mind and draw them! It doesn’t matter how good of an artist you are, just draw something that you feel represents them.
4. Strengths. What are your character’s strengths? How do they stand out? Maybe they’re smart, or very good at talking to people.
5. Flaws. Like people, characters have flaws. Don’t be afraid to add some to your character- it will make them more relatable to your audience.
6. Motivations. What drives your character? What causes your character to make the choices they do? Is it the bonds they have, like their family and friends? Is it their wish to see good in the world? Their wish to succeed? Whatever it is, decide how it will drive your character’s story.
7. Characteristics. What makes your character tick? What do they act like?
8. Backstory. Your character has lived a life, and it’s up to you to decide what that life looked like! What has influenced your character to become who they are today?
9. Notes. You can add any additional notes you’d like to add about your character in this section.
Character Sheet Template: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FfUdzK_fTk4TrYTbzsCNTivPp8AU7p9T/view?usp=sharing
Here's a completed example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jZ4lvY4LXQy1IaKVJuW-K63uw0aTv7zm/view?usp=sharing
Here's another, more simplified character sheet you can fill out:
TIPS & RESOURCES:
More in-detail Character Sheets:
Character development tips:
By Lauren Clevenger
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