I am a person who loves to plan. For me, it’s hard to not have everything planned out and sketched out for my stories. I like everything to be organized.

For each character I make, I try to create some kind of character chart/description to use for my reference on that character’s personality and appearance. Character charts help me to understand my character better, and they help me remember my character’s personality better so that I can stay consistent with their personality throughout the book.

So here are some templates you can use for your character charts. I included a very basic one, and I also included a very extensive one that is a lot of work to fill out but defines every single detail of your character. You can choose either one to use.

NOTE: All of the example character charts are from a story that I’m writing with some of my friends about girls who can control the elements. It is in progress currently, but I will definitely post when we publish it!

Basic Character Chart

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Personality:
Backstory:
Goals:
Family:
Looks:
Other:

Example of Basic Character Chart

Name: Audra Brynn Windsoar
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Personality: Brave, bold, not shy, energetic, overall happy, quick to anger, doesn’t think before she acts, fairly social, serious most of the time, but she likes to tease her twin sister.
Backstory: She’s a princess, but her mother died after giving birth to her and Ember. She lives with her father and twin sister in the palace of her kingdom, Glenstar. Her father is really strict and requires that she be married before she takes his place and rules the kingdom. Her father makes her meet all the princes in the world so she can decide which one to marry. She has wind powers, which she tries to hide from the world, and only her father, a few of the servants, and Ember know about them.
Goals: To rule the people of Glenstar with wisdom
Family: King Baron Windsoar (father), Ember Alinta Windsoar (twin sister), Eleanora Van Ruben (deceased, mother)
Looks: Super long wavy auburn hair, white skin, small mouth and nose, doesn’t like to wear dresses and when she goes riding she wears boys clothes, goes barefoot most of the time since she can’t find any men’s shoes that will fit her feet, and princess shoes are too restrictive.
Other: She is two minutes older than her twin, Ember, and so is the heir to the throne. Everyone wants to marry her, but she doesn’t want to get married EVER. She is also addicted to chocolate.

Detailed Character Chart

Name:
Meaning of Name:
Do they like their name?:
Nickname(s):
Birth Date:
Age:
Age they appear:
Gender:
Nationality:
Speech (accent):
Height:
Weight:
Build:
Hair:
Eyes:
Glasses?:
Skin:
Health Issues:
Unique Physical Abilities:
Clothing:
Opinion of Self:
Intelligence:
Temperament:
Happiness:
Attitude:
Most at ease when:
Ill at ease when:
Habits:
Mother:
Father:
Step-Parents:
Siblings:
Lives with:
Other Family:
Friends:
Colleagues:
Birthplace:
Backstory:
Education:
Hobbies:
Skills:
Unskilled at:
Class:
Profession:
Possessions:
Wealth:
Wants:
Hopes:
Fears:
Motivations:
Memories:
Resentments:
Regrets:
Humor:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Traits:
Optimist or Pessimist?:
Favorite Color:
Least favorite color:
Favorite Music:
Least favorite music:
Role Model:
Favorite Food:
Favorite Book:
Favorite Movie:
Favorite Activity:
Best Friend:
Enemies:
Spouse:
Boyfriend/Girlfriend:
Favorite Expressions:
Mode of transportation:
Bold or Shy?:
Talkative or Taciturn?:
Cat or dog person?:
Favorite Sports:
Most important childhood event:
Biggest Accomplishment:
Darkest Secret:
Home:
How would they fill in the blank, “My life is ___”?:
Other:

Example of Detailed Character Chart:

Full Name: Audra Brynn Windsoar
Meaning of Name: Storm, Noble strength
Do they like their name?: Yes
Nickname(s): None
Birth Date: 27th of Marchory (the third month in Glenstar), 3041
Age: 17 (almost 18)
Age they appear: 18
Gender: Female
Nationality: Glenstar
Speech (accent): Glenstarian (similar to American with a very slight British accent)
Height: 5′ 7″
Weight: 120 lbs.
Build: Tall and sort of thin
Hair: Waist-length, wavy (not curly), auburn. When she goes outside she braids it, and when she has to dress fancier she usually puts it in a bun.
Eyes: Hazel
Glasses?: None
Skin: White
Health Issues: None
Unique Physical Abilities: She can control wind
Clothing: Likes to wear men’s clothes most of the time, which includes worn-out breeches, a shirt, an oversized belt that has to be tightened all the way, and a dark cloak with a hood. When she has to go to a ball or other sophisticated event, she wears a sparkly greyish-blue dress that goes all the way down to the floor and stops just above her chest with pretty blue sleeves wrapping around each arm.
Opinion of Self: She thinks she is fairly good, but she is not too self-centered
Intelligence: Very smart, though not in mathematics or science.
Temperament: Very quick to anger, though not as much as her sister Ember.
Happiness: Not super unhappy, but not exactly content either. She thinks it’s unfair that she has to get married before she becomes queen, and she really doesn’t want to become queen anyway. She wishes she could live a normal life.
Attitude: Tries to show kindness to those around her, but she gets pretty angry sometimes.
Most at ease when: She’s alone in the wilderness with her horse, Stormy.
Ill at ease when: Her father forces her to do something.
Habits: Going outside for a morning ride, but other than that, nothing.
Mother: Queen Eleanora Van Ruben of Snowdale (deceased)
Father: King Baron James Windsoar of Glenstar
Step-Parents: None
Siblings: Ember Alinta Windsoar (twin sister)
Lives with: King Baron, Ember, and servants
Other Family: Aunt Barryl of Terrien
Friends: None, besides Ember
Colleagues: None, besides Ember
Birthplace: The Glenwood Palace
Backstory: She’s a princess, but her mother died when she was a baby. She lives with her father and twin sister in the palace of her kingdom, Glenstar. Her father is really strict and requires that she be married before she takes his place and rules the kingdom. Her father makes her meet all the princes in the world so she can decide which one to marry. She has wind powers, which she tries to hide from the world, and only her father, a few of the servants, and Ember know about them.
Education: Private Tutor, very educated, though she doesn’t remember most of what she learns
Hobbies: Horse riding, drawing, exploring Glenstar
Skills: Horse riding, swimming, sliding down banisters
Unskilled at: Controlling her temper, drawing (even though she tries to be skilled at it), mathematics and science
Class: Highest Class (Princess, soon to be Queen)
Profession: Being a princess and ruling Glenstar
Possessions: Her sketchbook and pencils, her many, many dresses and tiaras, her horse Stormy, and soon the kingdom of Glenstar
Wealth: Very wealthy and can have anything she wants.
Wants: To get out of her responsibility of being Queen and getting married.
Hopes: That her father will look past the law of her getting married, that Ember can learn to have a happy life with her betrothed or not marry him at all, and that she’ll be able to rule the kingdom of Glenstar wisely.
Fears: Snakes, her father
Motivations: Her mother’s portrait
Memories: Boring palace life
Resentments: King Baron for making her get married
Regrets: None so far
Humor: Not very funny in general, but teases her sister sometimes
Strengths: Anything that has to do with wind or horseback riding
Weaknesses: Snakes, and anything bad that happens to Ember or her father.
Traits: Brave, bold, energetic, overall happy, quick to anger, doesn’t think before she acts, fairly social, serious most of the time, but she likes to tease her twin sister.
Optimist or Pessimist?: Optimist, can be a pessimist if she is very angry
Favorite Color: White
Least favorite color: Yellow
Favorite Music: Harp and Flute
Least favorite music: Violin (too squeaky)
Role Model: Mother, Queen Eleanora Windsoar
Favorite Food: Chocolate
Favorite Book: The Lands Beyond the Maps by Roanel Deserfil
Favorite Movie: None
Favorite Activity: Horse Riding
Best Friend: Ember Alinta Windsoar
Enemies: Prince Vaughn Whitlock, Prince Phillip Whitlock
Spouse: None
Boyfriend/Girlfriend: None yet
Crush: Raiden Hedera
Favorite Expressions: Goodness!, Alright
Mode of transportation: Horse
Bold or Shy?: Bold
Talkative or Taciturn?: Talkative
Cat or dog person?: Dog
Favorite Sports: Isn’t allowed to play very many, but once disguised herself and joined a horse race which she didn’t win but did greatly enjoy.
Most important childhood event: Mother’s death
Biggest Accomplishment: Being able to control her powers
Darkest Secret: That she can control wind
Home: Glenwood Palace, Glenstar
How would they fill in the blank, “My life is ___”?: Special, but not what I want

What methods do you use to keep track of your characters? Do you want to share what you filled out in these character chart templates? Leave a comment below!