Do You Really Need a Character Reference Sheet?
Aspiring writers are often told they need to create detailed character reference sheets before they start writing. You’ve probably seen the templates: long lists asking for everything from eye color and favorite food to birth order and blood type. The idea is that by knowing all these details, you’ll better understand your characters and write them more convincingly.
Such documents—half tax return, half psych evaluation—are supposed to help you understand your characters. MFA types will tell you to fill out a template that covers every aspect of every important player in your tale. The idea is that having enough metadata to anticipate your characters’ pizza orders will make their stories write themselves.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with taking notes. In fact, every working writer worth his salt keeps a pocket notebook handy for when inspiration strikes. The problem comes when templates meant to streamline composition turn into distractions from actual storytelling. In general, documenting your character’s favorite childhood toy won’t do much to help your plot move forward or make your dialogue stronger.
Full disclosure: I do not use charascter ref sheets. It’s too easy for scope creep to turn them into busywork.
From what I’ve seen, too many new writers treat keeping character ref sheets like DMV workers treat filling out forms. They validate procrastination, creating the illusion of productivity while the real work of writing goes undone.
That said, most genre fiction authors do use some form of reference, but it’s rarely the trivia list pushed by writers’ workshops. Here are the essential character details that working authors actually keep on hand:
Name and Age – Sometimes with notes on pronunciation or origin
Physical Traits – Just enough to keep continuity from scene to scene
Personality Overview – Lighthearted, dour, driven, greedy, compassionate, you get the idea
Motivation and Conflict – What concrete goal is the character seeking? What is he trying to avoid?
Archetype/Role – How the character fits into the larger story (mentor, rival, love interest, etc.).
That’s usually enough. Your readers don’t need to know everything about the character’s back story. They care more about what the character does and how those actions affect the book.
Often, the best way to get to know your character is by writing him into difficult situations and seeing how he responds..
If you find that jotting down notes helps keep details straight, go for it. Just make sure your character information serves the story, not the other way around. Remember: A story is a character striving against opposition in pursuit of a concrete goal. Your job as an author is to write the story, which means not writing anything that’s not the story.
Because character is revealed through action. The reader won’t care what your villain’s first pet was unless his flushed goldfish shows up as a kaiju terror on page 201. Showing what your character does tells us who he is.
In short: if reference sheets help you write, use them. If they’re slowing you down, set them aside.
What’s important is that you keep moving forward.
So, if you’re a new writer who’s sweating over a fifty-question character template downloaded from Reddit, let me save you some time. Take that creative energy, and spend it writing your scenes. Put your characters in desperate situations, and let them surprise you. Specifically, write three vignettes, each about a different situation:
A scenario in which the character must follow his core ethos in the face of opposition to win
Another scenario, in which the character must act against his personal ethics to win
And a thid scenario in which the character must make a change in perspective or understanding to win.
This exercise will teach you more about your character than five pages of personal metrics ever will.
And if you still can’t get by without a ref sheet, keep it lean. And make it earn its keep.
Because the goal isn’t to know your character, it’s to make your reader care about the character’s story.
And no one ever cared about a character’s blood type.
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Dark fantasy minus the grim plus heroes you can relate to battling vs overwhelming odds
