A character sketch, or character profile, is an extensive back story, or life history, about your characters. Typically, sketches include physical characteristics like hair and eye color, and also include personality, goals, mission and so on. Sketches can be comprehensive or brief.
I find a fairly comprehensive option to work best, at least for main characters. That way I can figure out how my character interacts with other characters and what role they will play in my story. For a copy of my character template, click below.
What is the purpose of a character sketch?
Much of what you create as the background and intimate details of your characters will not, and should not, end up in the story. So why do we use them? The information guides character interactions and possibilities. How the character is most likely to respond to a stimulus or situation is clear to you as you write if you already know your characters. This speeds up writing and enriches your character interactions.
Developing your characters fully helps to make them feel like real people. If you want your characters to be convincing, you’ll need to know all about their background, motivations, fears, and dreams. Some sketches go so far as to include typical daily routines as well.
Another important reason for developing characters in detail is to maintain continuity throughout the story. If you know your character well, you won’t have to question how they would respond to various situations. Knowing your character deeply can also help with developing plot twists.
Every character has an arch. In other words they grow and change through the course of your story. Having a fully developed character sketch will help you to know how they might change.
If you want an even more robust character profile than the one I provide, you might want to check out this blog post over at Reedsy (https://blog.reedsy.com/character-profile/).
