To add a photo to a Character Sketch in Scrivener, click on the character’s card, open the Notes column on the right hand side, and drag your image into the image area where the instructions are: Your story will evolve, and so will your characters.įor the images I’ve picked a few actors and photos I found on Google Images. 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. You’ll notice that some characters don’t have photos-I added those characters during the story and didn’t bother going back to find photos for them. about twenty-five percent of the way through the first draft), I don’t need to look at the visuals at all. Once I’m really entrenched and know my characters (i.e. Having a visual on hand makes writing about them easier, at first, because the photos jog my imagination. I go for visuals out of the gate, as it helps me ground my character in an image. What’s great about this is that you have a card for each character, with optional visuals or text description. They’ve all been generated from the Character Sketch template sheet we created previously. In the screenshot below, you’ll see that I have several characters in view. Scrivener simply digitizes this time-tested method. The notecard system is well documented and has been made famous by a dead author, a living author, Writer’s Digest, and teenagers writing research papers everywhere. Now that you have your template sheets folder, you can generate character sketches by creating new files from the template sheets you have.įortunately, we live in a digital age and Scrivener’s 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. Visualize Your Characters Using Scrivener’s Corkboard Simply create a separate text file for each character and keep them in a folder named “My Story – Character Sketches.” If you’re interested in Scrivener, Joe reviewed it here. Sidenote: I reference Scrivener’s features and include screenshots of the software, but you can still use these methods without Scrivener.
Once you have the folder, you can add as many templates as you like! 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. 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. Scrivener has a template sheets function that makes building out character sketches easy. 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. Their inner and external conflicts will be crucial to your story, so be sure to include those, too. You can type out their whole backstory, or just the parts of the timeline that inform your character’s identity. It’s 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. Think of a character sketch as the rough draft of your character. Or you’re ready to purchase scrivener now, you can get the Mac, PC, and iOS version all here:ĭownload Scrivener here » What Is a Character Sketch?
If you’re interested in learning more about Scrivener, read my Scrivener review here.
Having a tool like Scrivener that’s designed specifically for books can save you hundreds of hours and help you write a better book. If you’re working on a book, I’ve found that Microsoft Word and other word processors just don’t cut it. Scrivener is a writing program and word processor designed specifically by writers, for writers. That being said, this didn’t affect my opinion of Scrivener (which I personally use in my own writing). That means if you order Scrivener and use it to write your books, I will earn a few dollars to help me keep writing. What is a character sketch, what is Scrivener, and how can it help you create compelling characters? Read on to learn more!įull disclosure: some of the links to Scrivener below are affiliate links. When you’re going through the character development process, it’s helpful to have some tools at your disposal, and one of the most helpful tools for writers, especially when it comes to working on your characters, is Scrivener. They’re developed through character sketches, through the writing process itself, through lots feedback, and diligent revision. Character development is a process of getting to know your characters and working to make them come to life.
0 kommentar(er)
