How to Write a Character Sketch for a Fiction Story

If you know and understand the characters in your fiction story, you will be able to make your reader identify with them better. The better your reader can connect with the characters, the more enjoyable the reading experience will be for him or her. While you will not use all the details in the story, the information you create in the character sketch will give your characters depth and make them more believable. This article gives you eight parts of a solid character sketch.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A good imagination
• A word processor
• Some time to write
• More time to reflect

1. 
    
   Physical Description

   Start with a PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION of your character. Does he or she have any unique identifying marks, tattoos, scars, etc.? Nail polish color is part of the description, as is hair style, type of clothing and accessories the character wears. Don’t forget the bling! What kind of jewelry is your character wearing?

2. 
    
   Voice

   Describe the kind of VOICE your character has. Is it whiny, nasal, high or low pitched? What kind (if any) of accent does he or she have? Does your character talk like someone who is educated or someone who likely did not finish the third grade? Voice tells the reader a lot about the character, so be sure to pay a lot of attention to this part of the sketch.

3. 
    
   What is your job?

   What does your character DO FOR A LIVING? Is he or she old enough to have a job? What kind of job? Is he or she happy with the job? If your character is a child, what does he or she pretend to be during play? My six-year-old granddaughter thinks she is a cat, in fact the other day she told me she was part cat, part human, and part duck.

4. 
    
   Ahh, Life!

   What are your CHARACTER'S THOUGHTS ON LIFE? Does he or she go to church? Vote? What party? How far did he or she go in school? What does he or she think about the current state of affairs? (This should coincide with the time frame in which the story is set.)

5. 
    
   Interaction

   How does your CHARACTER INTERACT WITH OTHERS? Do others like her or him? Why or why not? Think of both work and personal relationships here. Is your character well loved at work, but a tyrant at home?

6. 
    
   Your Main Influence?

   What are your CHARACTER'S MAIN INFLUENCES IN LIFE? Who does he or she trust with secrets or sensitive information? Who does the character look up to for inspiration, support, or advice? Why?

7. 
    
   My neighborhood

   WHERE DOES THE CHARACTER LIVE? Not just the country, state, county, city, but also the neighborhood, the street, what kind of house? Does the character pay rent? Have a mortgage? Live with his/her parents, spouse, children, roommates, or live alone? Are there pets?

8. 
    
   Are You Grumpy?

   Finally, determine WHAT KIND OF PERSON THE CHARACTER IS. Is he kind, mean, or grumpy? Does she like herself? Is he confident, is she driven or laid back?

9. Once you have written your character sketch, sit back and think about the character, get to know him or her in your mind so when you introduce him or her in the story, you are introducing someone you know very well.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a detailed character sketch for each of the characters in your story.
• Relate the characters to each other in the sketches.
• Use a ‘show me’ don’t ‘tell me’ approach to introducing your characters. Instead of saying, “she had green fingernail polish on” say something like this: “She ran her index finger down the page, the green nail polish clashing eerily with the orange paper.”
• Do NOT use all the character sketch information in detail in the story. Let the reader ‘infer’ things about your character based on the details you share.

[LorilynFarms]

on 1/19/2009 This is an excellent in depth character study! Good words to follow!

[Scarlett9284]

on 1/12/2009 What a great article! My characters become my friends although I think that they might disagree sometimes - their lives can become quite topsy-turvey when I interfere! 5*****

[sunshine11219]

on 1/7/2009 very well written

[Elander]

on 1/7/2009 Great tips. Too many writers don't think out their characters before writing, and the whole thing becomes very 2D. 5*

[Inkling]

on 12/11/2008 Thanks for such a good description for giving a character -- character.