Lightseer wrote:I dump everything into a single document in Google docs. This is the easiest thing to do for me because I can check my cross references quickly and I find it convenient to have one file open as a sort of master reference.
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I format the character names, place holder or otherwise, into a header. The headers are automatically formatted into an outline at the side, which makes a list of character names that can be clicked on to see the specific profile.
This is basically what I do as well. The outlining capability in google docs is super useful. I also use it for the actual script of my game.
Having everything in one document keeps things simple - and with the automatic outline, it's very easy to quickly get to the character you want to get to. I'd recommend this method.
Reading this thread is amusing, I can see many styles of how to organize it.
I always divide the information about my characters based on these aspects:
1. Personal-basic information -> anything down from birthday, tastes, physical form
This one is required to make the character as a "person with physical attachment" to the story.
2. Personal-emotional information -> their train of thoughts
it's important to define how they will react upon an event. It's also useful for generating emotional conflicts throughout the story.
3. Personal-skill information -> what they can do, what they can't do, which one is developable in the future and which one will be lost;
this way I can illustrate how their developments go. Having a stagnant character is only interesting for supportive characters only, so I always try to develop my key characters (or make them worse) if possible. This part is also useful to see if your character is too perfect or lacking too much.
4. Interpersonal-group information -> their social groups, workgroup, and romance
I can predict their encounters easier this way. It's useful for stories involving large scale conflicts like war or elections.
5. Explanations
Sometimes my stories uses new terms/names when it involves fantasy. If the terms are not available to search on internet, I always add their descriptions here.
I see that my method to organize is a complicated. However, I find it useful because I can easily forget everything easily. Rather than losing the quality, I always find making them complicated as preferrable.
