Character Spread
What color was her hair? How tall is my main character? What would my character sound like if they were happy? Furious? What does their name mean? It’s easy to lose track of character details in a story - especially an epic fantasy. When your characters all start to blend together, you need a way to keep their details straight.
Enter: The Character Spread
Do you ever feel like you’re trying to keep track of an army of characters and you just can’t recall small details for every single person? Same. It’s easy to forget details about a character, or to make sure your cast members differ enough from each other that you don’t end up with clones.
Tracking Character Traits
Let’s meet Thea, the main character of Call to Fire. She is a Kitsi thief-turned-diplomat who loves her partner Tobi, is quick to anger, and is loyal to a fault. Her eyes are green - er, no that’s Tobi. Her eyes are amber and her straight hair, I mean, curly hair is dark brown. Trying to track all these details without writing them down can quickly become problematic. Use the Character Spread to track how your characters look, speak, act, use magic, and more.
For this spread, I have two designs for you. One is my preferred, utilitarian method, which is essentially a detailed list. The other is a more artistic approach with boxes and washi tapes. Was this an excuse to use a bunch of my washi tapes? Yes.
The key to this spread is to make it work for you, your story, and your characters. Maybe your world doesn’t have magic. Or maybe your character doesn’t fight - or they can’t. Simply don’t include those sections. Instead, you could include things like:
Character Relationship Bios [more details on their relationships]
Aspirations [what do they want in life?]
Story Development [how do they grow and change in your story?]
Literally anything you want, it’s your BuJo, Writer - do what brings you joy
The sections I included are…
On the Left…
Name Meaning: All of the names and words in this story matter, a lot. For reasons. I need this section to help me keep track of why.
Physical Description: I’ve gotten some feedback that early readers think Thea is an actual fox. She is not. She is a Kitsi, which is a nomadic race descended from fox spirits. Thea does have pointed ears and a tail, true. But she looks significantly more human than I think she’s being received. This section of the spread and I will be spending a lot of time together in revisions so I can make sure her description comes across correctly.
Personality: Thea is so different than I am. She’s confident, quick on her feet, clever, and has morals that are questionable at best. This section helps me visualize how she would act because she approaches things differently than I would.
Voice & Tone: In this section, I outlined how Thea speaks. How she sounds. What happens when she’s furious; she speaks in her mother tongue. I love this section the most because it keeps her voice from blending in with everyone else.
On the Right…
Job: Thea is one of two characters who has this section in their spread. Her job does matter to the story; so does the other character’s. But everyone else does work that isn’t as critical, or isn’t seen as much in the story.
Magic System: The magic in my world is *drumroll* not strictly elemental. Thea can call the wind and water. Other characters with different bloodlines and traits can call different types of magic. [Tobi for example is redacted and can call on influence and persuasion. Curious.] This section helps me track who can do what - or not.
Weapon Proficiency: How does your character fight, if at all? All of my characters have different proficiencies, and I use this section to outline their preferred and “option B” fighting styles.
Character Web: I love this section so much. It’s a visual web of how characters interact with each other and what their relationships are to each other from this character’s perspective. Thea knows that Lurin and Ilvana are an item, so their relationship is noted. For items that I know as the author, but Thea doesn’t know [or doesn’t know yet], the web doesn’t show the relationship.
When you’re writing, you can use this spread as a reference document. No one but you knows the intricate descriptions of your characters, and this spread is ideal for list makers who like all their data in one place.
What do you think?
Tracking character traits can be an arduous and difficult endeavor, and I hope this spread is an extra tool in your toolbox to organize your story. I’ve found it incredibly helpful to organize my main characters in Call to Fire. If you found this spread helpful - or if you have feedback or questions - I’d love to hear from you. DM me on Instagram @RowanTheWriter_ or send me an email.
