Character Chart Character’s full name: Reason or meaning of name: Character’s nickname: Reason for nickname: Birth date:
Physical appearance Age: How old does he/she appear: Weight: Height: Body build: Shape of face: Eye color: Glasses or contacts: Skin tone: Distinguishing marks: Predominant features: Hair color: Type of hair: Hairstyle: Voice: Overall attractiveness: Physical disabilities: Usual fashion of dress: Favorite outfit: Jewelry or accessories:
Personality Good personality traits: Bad personality traits: Mood character is most often in: Sense of humor: Character’s greatest joy in life: Character’s greatest fear: Why? What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil? Character is most at ease when: Most ill at ease when: Enraged when: Depressed or sad when: Priorities: Life philosophy: If granted one wish, it would be: Why? Character’s soft spot: Is this soft spot obvious to others? Greatest strength: Greatest vulnerability or weakness: Biggest regret: Minor regret: Biggest accomplishment: Minor accomplishment: Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: Why? Character’s darkest secret: Does anyone else know?
Goals Drives and motivations: Immediate goals: Long term goals: How the character plans to accomplish these goals: How other characters will be affected:
Past Hometown: Type of childhood: Pets: First memory: Most important childhood memory: Why: Childhood hero: Dream job: Education: Religion: Finances:
Present Current location: Currently living with: Pets: Religion: Occupation: Finances:
Family Mother: Relationship with her: Father: Relationship with him: Siblings: Relationship with them: Spouse: Relationship with him/her: Children: Relationship with them: Other important family members:
Favorites Color: Least favorite color: Music: Food: Literature: Form of entertainment: Expressions: Mode of transportation: Most prized possession:
Habits Hobbies: Plays a musical instrument? Plays a sport? How he/she would spend a rainy day: Spending habits: Smokes: Drinks: Other drugs: What does he/she do too much of? What does he/she do too little of? Extremely skilled at: Extremely unskilled at: Nervous tics: Usual body posture: Mannerisms: Peculiarities:
Traits Optimist or pessimist? Introvert or extrovert? Daredevil or cautious? Logical or emotional? Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? Prefers working or relaxing? Confident or unsure of himself/herself? Animal lover?
Self-perception How he/she feels about himself/herself: One word the character would use to describe self: One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: What does the character consider his/her best personality trait? What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait? What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic? What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic? How does the character think others perceive him/her: What would the character most like to change about himself/herself:
Relationships with others Opinion of other people in general: Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others? Person character most hates: Best friend(s): Love interest(s): Person character goes to for advice: Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: Person character feels shy or awkward around: Person character openly admires: Person character secretly admires: Most important person in character’s life before story starts: After story starts:
1. vanilla coke bi or cherry coke bi? 2. smoky eye bi or sharp eyeliner bi? 3. gold bi or silver bi? 4. moon bi or sun bi? 5. walk in the forest bi or walk on the beach bi? 6. milkshake bi or smoothie bi? 7. pastel bi or neon bi? 8. PwP (plot without porn) bi or PwP (porn without plot) bi? 9. pun loving bi or pun hating bi? 10. strong bi-fi game bi or weak bi-fi game bi? 11. cat bi or dog bi? 12. boyband bi or girlband bi? 13. coffee bi or tea bi? 14. dyed hair bi or natural hair bi? 15. romcom bi or thriller bi? 16. matte lipstick bi or glossy lipstick bi? 17. dragons bi or dinosaurs bi? 18. coffee shop au bi or high school au bi? 19. nicki minaj bi or beyoncé bi? 20. history bi or science bi? 21. frida kahlo bi or virginia woolf bi? 22. highkey bi or lowkey bi? 23. bowtie bi or tie bi? 24. selfie bi or candid bi? 25. pizza bi or pasta bi? 26. black nailpolish bi or colorful nailpolish bi? 27. soft and squishy bi or sharp and pointy bi? 28. *NSYNC bi or backstreet boys bi? 29. kinky bi or vanilla bi? 30. playing with people’s hair bi or having your hair played with bi? 31. norse mythology bi or greek mythology bi? 32. velvet bi or cashmere bi? 33. black eyeliner bi or colorful eyeliner bi? 34. book quote bi or tv show quote bi? 35. big city bi or small city bi? 36. rough sex bi or gentle sex bi? 37. melon bi or grapefruit bi? 38. bubblegum bi or breath mint bi? 39. mesh bi or lace bi? 40. vegetable bi or fruit bi? 41. jeans jacket bi or leather jacket bi? 42. sliced fruit bi or whole fruit bi? 43. heels bi or sneakers bi? 44. friendship crush bi or romantic crush bi? 45. desert bi or ocean bi? 46. going to sleep at 8 am bi or getting up at 8 am bi? 47. messy bun bi or ponytail bi? 48. bee bi or bumblebee bi? 49. parks & rec bi or friends bi? 50. faux fur bi or faux leather bi? 51. Extra™ bi or regular bi? 52. acoustic bi or remix bi? 53. message bi or ask bi? 54. board game bi or card game bi? 55. desaturated bi or color porn bi? 56. pop bi or indie bi? 57. painting star constellations on their skin bi or painting animals bi? 58. astrology bi or mbti bi? 59. pride parade bi or celebrating in ur PJs bi? 60. eyelashes bi or eyebrows bi?
In 2006 Ms. Lockwood, an English teacher at Xavier High School, asked her students to write a letter to a famous author. She wanted them discuss the author’s work and ask for advice. Kurt Vonnegut (1922 – 2007) was the only one to write back and his advice is worth reading.
Dear Xavier High School, and Ms. Lockwood, and Messrs Perin, McFeely, Batten, Maurer and Congiusta:
I thank you for your friendly letters. You sure know how to cheer up a really old geezer (84) in his sunset years. I don’t make public appearances any more because I now resemble nothing so much as an iguana.
What I had to say to you, moreover, would not take long, to wit: Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.
Seriously! I mean starting right now, do art and do it for the rest of your lives. Draw a funny or nice picture of Ms. Lockwood, and give it to her. Dance home after school, and sing in the shower and on and on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Pretend you’re Count Dracula.
Here’s an assignment for tonight, and I hope Ms. Lockwood will flunk you if you don’t do it: Write a six line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don’t tell anybody what you’re doing. Don’t show it or recite it to anybody, not even your girlfriend or parents or whatever, or Ms. Lockwood. OK?
Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash recepticals. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what’s inside you, and you have made your soul grow.