I started Character Sheets for some of my main characters in Ywrite. I have spent roughly about 8 hours putting all this content in the software, I even included pictures. I entered a lot of details, which I am hoping will help me when I actually start to write. I was fearful that all my characters would be similar. Hopefully, I have nipped that in the butt. I did find that it did help me link the characters together better. My question is can you put too much detail in the character sheets? At one point I felt like I was almost writing the story, is there a point when one should stop adding details?
In my opinion, no. Even if you don't use every detail on the character sheet, those details not used may help you decide something that you come across at a later time. The only thing you should really worry about is keeping what makes it in the actual writing under control. You probably won't need every detail. You need to recognize and remember that, and be able to decide what should make it in and what shouldn't.
There aren't a lot of "should"s in art I like to outline the bare-bones of my plots and characters first – my entire "Character sheet" is a Myers Briggs type and a D&D Alignment, that's it – then I start writing, I get new ideas for fleshing out my plots/characters in more detail, and I adjust my outline to see how the new details would change the story as a whole and whether I think I would like these changes or not. I would recommend trying to start writing now and see how far you get, but if you need more details than you already have, then by all means, keep outlining until you're ready to start writing
This totally works for some people, and it works well. @Christina58 I always like to offer a little contrast in these situations because it's important to experiment and find a process that works for you. I don't do any of what @Simpson17866 talks about. I've never filled out a character sheet for any character I've written. I don't outline very thoroughly, usually just a couple lines for direction at the bottom of the document. I just write, and I revise, and sometimes a story doesn't work and I continue to revise until I'm satisfied. So, to answer your question, when it comes to my process, I can put too much detail into developing characters. There's no one right way to do things. If you want to make elaborate character sheets and that helps you get to a final, finished product, that's awesome. If you find your character sheets are getting in the way of the story, then maybe consider an alternative.
Eight hours on character sheets? Wouldn't that time have been better spent actually writing? I get to know and develop my characters in story and while writing. I don't need to know silly details or if I do I feel confident enough that I can think something up pretty quick. All the planning you're doing is fine so long as it leads to actual writing. I'm like @Spencer1990. Never done a character sheet or much planning, and it works for me. Find what works for you. Just don't get lost planning forever and never writing. It seems like that can happen for some people.
In my first closet novel, I ended up rewriting the first three chapters and every bit of dialog through the whole book, with most of 4-5 being replaced. I'm working on my second draft of a new novel, and I've rewritten almost every bit of dialog, everything regarding one character's back story, and ADDED close to 3000 words to the book. If I had done character sheets and sat on them for another week, I could probably have avoided some of that rewriting. What's the old saying? If you have five hours to chop down a tree, it's better to spend the first four sharpening your axe. I'll probably do character sheets next time.
I've found that the more details you add at the onset (before the writing begins) has the opposite effect as you might think. Both the storyline and characters in fact become flatter, more predictable. As Carly and others have pointed out, begin writing and let the cast of characters evolve as you develop your story. Be careful you don't impose yourself on to your characters. You want your characters to have a life of their own.
In my first effort at a fantasy series I did little planning outside of an outline. Now, for my second effort I've done a considerable amount of prep work. That said, on to the question. Yes, I used character sheets for my If Eternity Should Fail series, but I kept the questions story specific. Here's an example from my protagonist's sheet: Character Name Asylyn Describe this character’s flaw (wound, fear, or misconception). Asylyn believes that, when she will grows up, she will become a monster. Describe a major incident in this character’s past when this flaw (wound, fear, or misconception) was severely exposed. Asylyn’s irises are black. When she was around 9 years old, she was told that the ‘eyes are the window to the soul’ and that her soul is black. Since then she has worn her hair down in her face. What self-defeating walls has this character built to protect his/her flaw? Asylyn pushes herself to dangerous extremes. She exercises to the point of injury and performs acrobatic stunts that almost results in death. She studies, refusing to eat or sleep, to the point of mental break downs. She refuses to cut her hair and now it’s a tangle of braids that has grown down to her ankles. She’s so concern about her appearance that she is seen as very vain. How do these walls generate conflict, inner or outer? Asylyn’s extreme behavior alienates her from those around her. She comes across as disturbed and, to some, suicidal. Her behavior reinforces the belief in some that she is evil, and a threat; while distancing her from those who don’t believe this. She will go to extreme acts of kindness while, on the other hand, explode at minor, or even imagined, offenses. Also, there's no reason your character sheet has to be completed before you begin writing. You can answer questions as you write and your characters and story develop. In my opinion, as long as your efforts are story centered, you will benefits because you will use it in your writing. The information from my character sheet went into my plotting and scene creation. I have not referred to them once I began writing the first draft of the book. Godspeed!
The point where you get so bored of that overly detailed character that you just want to move on and start creating another? Character questionnaires can be a bottomless well, really. There's so much you can invent about a person. It's up to you how much time you want to spend on that. Sometimes knowing what your character's favorite movie is might provide inspiration for the plot (they want to see the movie again, so they try to find somebody to watch it with, and that's how they meet their future wife), or it can be complete waste of time if your story is a medieval fantasy set ages before movies were invented.
Thank you ever so much for linking your character sheet. I can now see that I really do not need that much detail and that I can always add more detail as I write when ideas come to me. Using the Character Sheet for scene creation is a good idea. I seem to have a good base for writing, I just need to do it. I guess I am a feeling a bit overwhelmed at this moment, I have so much information, perhaps to much. As the saying goes : How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Prewriting is writing. Or for me it's more like every hour I spend prewriting is basically 4 hours of editing I don't have to do. There is a point, though, where more isn't better, especially when it comes to characters. They seem to take on different personalities after I start putting them in situations so prewriting them is more like a starting point full of histories and motivations and these character sheets get edited, annotated, and sometimes scrapped entirely depending on how the story goes.
As pointed out already, there are many approaches and the nature of this task is one that rarely answers to a clean right/wrong, black/white dynamic. I don't do character sheets. At all. Too confining to my way of writing and thinking. I treat characters like actors, and just like in the making of a film, sometimes you need to fire Shannen Doherty and start again because she's just not working out for the story you want to tell. That's me. All mileages will vary, even in the same make, model, and year of car. Maps, tho... Maps give me a chubby!
Speaking of black/white: Alfred Hitchcock filmed Psycho in 11 1/2 weeks because he put in so much effort working everything out ahead of time
Concerning character sheets, I say you can put in as many details as you want. I mean, it's a character sheet - that's its job. However, when you translate those character details over to characterization, I would suggest caution in not dumping unnecessary details not only on the reader but also on the characterization of the character. It's one thing to know everything about the character as the writer, but it's entirely another to know the character as the reader. My two cents.
I would not try to determine all of your characters traits before you've written anything. Characters' purposes can change as your plot does and you may need to alter their characterizations to make it fit better.
My method is "plan everything, realize it all needs to be changed, re-plan it, have a false writing start, repeat steps 2-4 several times, finally finish it, realize it all needs to be changed again, find something to throw at a wall, return to step 1". Extremely efficient, I know. eta: Oh, anyhow, RE character sheets - As has been mentioned, there's no one right way to do this shit, and if my sample size of one (myself) is any indication, it can take a long time to find the right way for you, and that right way can change over time and from project to project. Are you having a good time doing character sheets? Do'em. If it starts to feel like it's inhibiting your growth as a writer, well, you're the best judge of that!
Eh, I have fairly barren character sheets and everyone praises my characters above all else. I don't think it takes too much. Just write a little about their past and why they are who they are. Maybe a few sparse interests? I mostly use sheets to track minor things I establish in story that could be difficult to remember.
