Worksheets

C H A R AC T E R DATA S H E E T
Full name of character_____________________________________________________
Age, gender________________________________________________________________
Ethnicity___________________________________________________________________
Religious orientation ______________________________________________________
Sexual orientation_________________________________________________________
Marital status______________________________________________________________
Physical description
Facial details________________________________________________________
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a. Height, weight _____________________________________________________
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Body type___________________________________________________________
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Behavioral characteristics
General temperament (moody, easygoing, neurotic, other) _________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

b. Noticeable eccentricities, tics ______________________________________

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Type of voice (screechy, whining, gruff, sonorous, other)____________
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Speech habits (e.g., stutters, says uhm or you know a lot)_ ______
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Education _________________________________________________________________

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Occupation(s)_____________________________________________________________

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Ambition(s), dreams_______________________________________________________

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Favorite foods, drinks _____________________________________________________

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Favorite clothes ___________________________________________________________

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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

Biggest accomplishments__________________________________________________

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Most serious flaws, fears, or phobias ______________________________________

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Most serious mistakes_____________________________________________________

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Role in the story (novel, memoir) being planned:
Goal in the story_ ___________________________________________________
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c. Underlying motive(s)_______________________________________________
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d. Obstacles he or she faces ___________________________________________
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e. Tentative plans for overcoming the obstacles _______________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

O u t l i n e te m p l ate
Story Title (tentative): _____________________________________________________
Story Premise (one sentence):_ ____________________________________________
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Segment I: Conflict situation (protagonists goal vs. antagonists goal):_____
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Segment II: Backstory; underlying problem leading up to the present
situation: __________________________________________________________________
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Segment III: Unfolding of the present circumstance leading to climax (showdown; revelation): _________________________________________________________
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Segment IV: Resolution, consequences of the final showdown or revelation: _
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

C H A P T E R O B J EC T I V E S P RO MP T S H E E T
CHAPTER ________________________________________________________________
TARGET DATE FOR COMPLETION______________________________________
What is taking place in this chapter_________________________________________
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The principal actors in this chapter and what each intends to do and/or tries
to do and/or actually accomplishes or fails to accomplish __________________
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Ideas, themes, conveyed either directly or indirectly in this chapter_________
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The setting(s) for this chapter (interior, exterior) ___________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

Plot progression: advance(s), setback(s), new complication(s) in this chapter _

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Teaser ending/transition to next chapter___________________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

F I R S T D R A F T C R I T I QU E S H E E T
Working title: _ ____________________________________________________________
Name of reader:___________________________________________________________
Overall strengths of the draft:______________________________________________
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Basic problem(s) with the draft:____________________________________________
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[Specific suggestions for improvement]

Opening segment (snags interest? conflict situation clearly established?)

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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

Characters (fully delineated? behavioral and physical characteristics described in sufficient detail?)
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Setting, internal and external (realistically and vividly depicted?)
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Goal (urgent? vital? challenging?)
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Conflict situation (sufficiently developed? reader interest sustained?)
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

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Concluding segment (conflict satisfyingly resolved? loose ends tied?)
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Mood, tone (lighthearted? serious? satirical? consistent tone throughout?)
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Theme (so what question answered?)
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Style (sentence structure, word choice, paragraphing)
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Other comments:
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

M Y T H -TO - S TO RY WO R K S H E E T
I. Summarize the original myth in one paragraph:_ _________________________
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II. Explain what intrigues you most about the myth:________________________
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III. In a separate paragraph transpose the myth into the modern world. What
will change? What will stay the same?______________________________________
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IV. Profile each of the principal characters in your story (you may want to prepare separate worksheets for this). Consider including comparisons between
each character and his or her mythological counterpart.___________________
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V. State the premise of your myth-inspired story in a single sentence._______
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VI. What lasting theme do you want your story to convey? Is it the same as
that of the original myth? Is it different? ___________________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

D R A F T M A N AG E M E N T WO R K S H E E T
I. Title of the story:_________________________________________________________
II. What the story is about (one sentence):_ ________________________________
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III. Summary of the story (one paragraph):_________________________________
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IV. Outline of the story (openingmiddle/complicationending/resolution) _
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V. Character cast list, their physical and behavioral attributes:
1._____________________________________________________________________
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2._ ___________________________________________________________________
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3._ ___________________________________________________________________
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4._____________________________________________________________________
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5._ ___________________________________________________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

M E M O R A B ILI A P RO MP T S H E E T
(Separate sheet for each object)
Your age:__________________________________________________________________
Type of object:_____________________________________________________________
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Description of the object:__________________________________________________
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How obtained: Gift/Award/Heirloom/Found object/Something I created _ __
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If a gift, who gave it to you? ________________________________________________
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If an heirloom, from whom did you inherit it?______________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

Significance that the object has for you:____________________________________

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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

N OV E L D R A F T M A N AG E M E N T WO R K S H E E T
I. Working title for the novel:_______________________________________________
II. What the novel is about (one sentence):_________________________________
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III. Summary of the novel (one paragraph):_________________________________
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IV. Central symbol(s) if any:________________________________________________
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V. Chapter-by-chapter summaries:
Chapter 1:__________________________________________________________
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Chapter 2:__________________________________________________________
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Chapter 3:__________________________________________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

Chapter 4:_ ________________________________________________________

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Chapter 5:__________________________________________________________
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Chapter 6:_ ________________________________________________________
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Chapter 7:__________________________________________________________
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Chapter 8:_ ________________________________________________________
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Chapter 9:_________________________________________________________
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Chapter 10:_________________________________________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

[etc.]_______________________________________________________________
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VI. Character cast list, with physical and behavioral attributes (brief sketches
here; more elaborate profiles on separate worksheets)
1.___________________________________________________________________
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2.___________________________________________________________________
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3.___________________________________________________________________
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4.___________________________________________________________________
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5.___________________________________________________________________
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Whe re Do Y ou Ge t Y our I d e a s ?

A C heck l i st for G e n erat i n g

a n d D eve lo p i n g Yo u r Ideas
Have I taken a mental inventory of the subjects that interest
me and probed them for possible story ideas?
Have I asked probing questions about the objects, events, and
phenomena I encounter?
Do I routinely peruse newspapers, magazines, dictionaries
of quotations, and the Internet for story ideas?
Did I free-associate enough to generate ideas within an idea
(ideas about characters, incidents, and settings [historical,
geographical, cultural])?
In developing my idea, have I gathered enough background
information about the subject?
Have I considered more than one way of transforming each
of my ideas into stories?
Have I reflected on the thematic implications of my idea?
Did I develop my preliminary idea through listing, mapping,
and outlining?
Have I worked out a satisfying plot based on my idea?
Did I storyboard a sequence of events based on my story outline?
Did I write a chapter-by-chapter synopsis for my novel?
Do my characters come across realistically? Are their physical and behavior characteristics fully delineated?
Is my narrative voice engaging, distinctive?

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