How fiction writers approach character generation

[JustKim]

Not only do I think that is somewhat over the top, I think going into that much detail at the outset might actually be detrimental to your game. (I do note that the form specifies that all fields are optional.)

Detrimental to fiction, too. The worksheet reads like a medical chart and seems very conductive to unraveling a character in all sorts of boring and pointless directions.

 

[The Shaman]

Am I alone in thinking that this goes a little bit too far?

If you were to go through and answer all nine pages (!) of questions, perhaps, but as a tool for inspiration rather than rigorous, methodical, exhaustive description, I can see the utility of it.

As I was reading through the questionnaire, I was answering them in my head as they apply to a character I created last week. First, I was able to answer many of the questions, based on the sketchy background I scratched out earlier - this in itself was interesting to me, because while I didn't write down very much about the character, those fast, broad strokes allowed me to fill in the details as I was confronted by the questions, which is exactly how I do it in actual play, working from a general background down to specific actions and reactions.

Second, a couple of the questions opened up some doorways to my character that my broad outline neither addressed nor informed as readily as it did most of the others.

Together this let me know that while I had a good handle on my character for purposes of roleplay, there were some interesting personal paths for him to explore in the future as the character develops.

So, there's that.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

What a tool like this helps you do is find narrative angles that you might not otherwise think of because you're doing it with time as opposed to in the heat of the matter.

For example, if you as a writer are planning a plot twist, having a reference to the inner workings of all your characters let's you know which characters would be motivated to cause the twist...and more importantly, it lets you know which would be the most or least believable as the twist's catalyst.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Have you never seen the Mother of all Character Questionnaires?

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Have you never seen the Mother of all Character Questionnaires?

Heh! I find it amusing that that's the brief version.

 

[jmucchiello]

I would think the best way to use this form is as something you go back and update from time to time. When you first create the character you only fill in the stuff that you KNOW. As you learn more about your character (and as he develops "in story") you open the file and add what you now know. Then when you get stumped over what he might do in a situation, you can use the form to flesh him out and figure out what he will do and now you have more knowledge of the character. Most "characters", even well-known characters, should never end up with a completed form. But using the form as your "character bible" could be useful.

 

[The Shaman]

What a tool like this helps you do is find narrative angles that you might not otherwise think of because you're doing it with time as opposed to in the heat of the matter.

I would think the best way to use this form is as something you go back and update from time to time.

I think it's for continuity, to help a writer keep track of details so she doesn't inadvertently introduce contradictions down the line.

 

[Set]

YES!

A handy tip: if you have old-school copyediting skills and/or a copier or scanner, get your hands on some old Champion/HERO rulebooks. The character sheets in those books have athletic silhouettes in heroic poses that you use as templates- you can draw over them to create images of your characters, even if you don't have much artistic talent.

If you do comics, the Handbook to the Marvel Universe or DC's Who's Who series can be awesome for this as well. Once the outline is traced, it's totally easy to draw the armor, weapons, gear, etc. that you want to use, even for dudes like me who can't draw a stick figure man normally.

On the other hand, I no longer do character art, since it seems to be a rule that whenever I complete a character portrait, the character dies in the next session.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I think it's for continuity, to help a writer keep track of details so she doesn't inadvertently introduce contradictions down the line.

Yes, that too is a major factor.

 

[Vikarr]

Speaking as a fiction writer and a gamer, that thing scares me.

Speaking as someone who has played D&D with almost everyone I've met, I could see the use of a much more limited version of that, [In fact I'm about to go write one].