The character grid

Writers have many ways to get to know their characters.  Some writers create the character's whole life history before they start to write about them.  Others interview their characters and find out what motivates them.  A third way to get at their essence is to create a character grid.

On a sheet of paper create a grid of 5 x 5 squares, or if you really want to imagine a lot of detail about your characters, a 10 x 10 grid.  Label the squares down the left hand side with categories you want to explore.  You might want to know about the types of food your character likes, so make that one of your categories.  If it's important what your character wears, you could create a category of clothes.  Hobbies and friends are good categories too, or you might like to explore your character's secrets.

Once you've decided on your categories, your task is to fill in the rest of the grid.  In the process you might be surprised to find that your character has an unusual hobby, or that they hate curry.  

Using a character grid forces us to get beyond the usual description of dark-haired, slim, and young for our characters and to tap into something deeper in them.  It allows us to move beyond the obvious physical description of our character to discover what motivates them, what scares them, what they believe in, and what they'll fight for.

Try it next time you're struggling to bring a character to life. You might be surprised what appears there.