How to Create a Character Sketch Using Scrivener.How do you create compelling characters Nothing is born in a vacuum.Characters dont emerge fully formed.Creating compelling characters is a process of getting to know them and working to make them come to life.Theyre developed through character sketches, through the writing process itself, through lots feedback, and diligent revision.Free Guide Want to write a novelGet our free guide to the seven tools that will help you write and finish your novel.Click here to download your guide instantly.Photo by Kevin Dooley.Modified by The Write Practice.What Is a Character Sketch Think of a character sketch as the rough draft of your character.Its a place where you can freely experiment, where you can tell yourself or your writing partner who your characters are, how they look, and where they come from.You can type out their whole backstory, or just the parts of the timeline that inform your characters identity.Their inner and external conflicts will be crucial to your story, so be sure to include those, too.Most importantly, use character sketches as a tool to discover your characters key motivations and goals, because those are the engine that drives your story forward.How to Use Template Sheets in Scrivener.Scrivener has a template sheets function that makes building out character sketches easy.If you started using one of their document templates, like the novel template that comes with Scrivener, there should already be a Template Sheets folder in the your project document that looks like the screenshot to the right.If not, you can make a Template Sheets folder by creating a new folder in the Binder the left hand column, and then from the top menu selecting Project Set Selection as Templates Folder.Once you have the folder, you can add as many templates as you like Sidenote I reference Scriveners features and include screenshots of the software, but you can still use these methods without Scrivener.Scrivener 1 2 5 0' title='Scrivener 1 2 5 0' />Simply create a separate text file for each character and keep them in a folder named My Story Character Sketches.If youre interested in Scrivener, Joe reviewed it here.Visualize Your Characters Using Scriveners Corkboard.Scrivener 1 2 5 0' title='Scrivener 1 2 5 0' />Now that you have your template sheets folder, you can generate character sketches by creating new files from the template sheets you have.Fortunately, we live in a digital age and Scriveners digital corkboard interface gives us the power of notecards in a way that allows us to drill down from the card view into the character sketch itself.The notecard system is well documented and has been made famous by a dead author, a living author, Writers Digest, and teenagers writing research papers everywhere.Scrivener simply digitizes this time tested method.In the screenshot below, youll see that I have several characters in view.Theyve all been generated from the Character Sketch template sheet we created previously.Whats great about this is that you have a card for each character, with optional visuals or text description.Historique. Bartleby titre original Bartleby, the Scrivener A Story of Wall Street est une nouvelle de Herman Melville lauteur de Moby Dick parue une.Scrivener for macOS and Windows is an Awardwinning writing software for novelists, scriptwriters, academics or anyone working on long texts requiring research and.I go for visuals out of the gate, as it helps me ground my character in an image.Having a visual on hand makes writing about them easier, at first, because the photos jog my imagination.Once Im really entrenched and know my characters i.Scrivener 1 2 5 0' title='Scrivener 1 2 5 0' />I dont need to look at the visuals at all.Youll notice that some characters dont have photosI added those characters during the story and didnt bother going back to find photos for them.Thats OK. One of the most important things to remember about your planning or pre production phase to borrow a film term, including character sketches, is that none of it is set in stone.Your story will evolve, and so will your characters. Colombia Virtual Extreme Edition 2011 Mustang . For the images Ive picked a few actors and photos I found on Google Images.To add a photo to a Character Sketch in Scrivener, click on the characters card, open the Notes column on the right hand side, and drag your image into the image area where the instructions are To insert a photo inline with the text, first click where you want the photo, and then go to Edit Insert Image from FileIndividual Character Sketches.Heres a screenshot of an individual sketch of one of my characters This sketch was created using the character sketch template that comes with Scrivener.Ive since abandoned Scriveners defaults in favor of my own compilation, which follows.An Alternative Character Sketch Template.As you learn more about character sketches, youll probably want to customize your character sketch template and make it your own.Personally, I find Scriveners default sketch sheets superficial.When sketching characters, I like less structure, and less prescriptive fields around the characters physical appearance and personality.If youre just starting out and you dont have a character sketch template, heres one I put together based on my own experimentation.This is what my character sketch template looks like in Scrivener And heres the full text, which you can feel free to use or modify as you see fit photoFULL NAMEOne Sentence Synopsis This character in a single sentence.Summary This is a paragraph summary of your character.Include physical attributes, habits, mannerism.Sketch your character.Motivations Goals What do they want Conflicts What makes them human Narrative What happens to them in the storyWhat else is important Why Character Sketches Work.There are practical reasons to do character sketches.For one, developing characters is a process.Paving the way with character sketches, along with setting sketches in the following article, are a great way to give the gel of the story time and space to set.Yes, theyre extra work, and yes they can be difficult.But thats part of the process.If you feel like you really know the character and can write the story, run through this checklist to make sure before you move on What is your characters primary motivation What are their hopes and dreams How does your character change in the course of the story What does your character look like How do they act around their parentsTheir friends Their boss How does your character act under stress What is your characters weakness, their kryptonite What will your character die forWhat is your characters biggest hypocrisy If you can answer all of these questions with confidence, congratulations, youre probably ready for setting sketches, which well cover next week.Does your method for sketching characters line up with how I do things What are your tricks for helping bring your characters to life Share in the comments section.PRACTICESet aside a block of time no more than thirty minutes to one hour to sketch some characters in your latest work of fiction, whether its a short story, a novel, or a ten book series.No characters coming to mind Try sketching some of these characters and see how it goes A disciplined, medal winning Jui Jitsu practitioner whose sister just died.A mother of three on a Thursday morning.A soldier who has returned home after being a prisoner of war in Iraq.A journalist covering the derailing of a local train that killed four passengers.Naming them is just the beginning.Dont be afraid to get personal with the characters you create.When youre finished, share a few paragraphs about one of your characters in the comments section below.Wed love to see who you come up with Happy writing Download the step by step guide and learn the best tools to help you write a novel today.
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