Also available are a four-page Character Brief and a two-page Character Sketch for secondary and incidental characters.

Long, long ago, an acquaintance who belonged to a writers’ group showed me a tool they’d developed to give some structure and guidance to the process of inventing and developing a character.

It was . . . a mess. People had added to it haphazardly over the years until it had become a disorganized, nearly unusable pile of redundant and random questions. I pruned duplications, organized related elements, and structured the whole into thematic sections that followed in a logical progression.

This is the third incarnation of the Character Builder, designed specifically around the idea of typing responses directly into the PDF file. Of course, it can be printed out and written on the old-fashioned way, too, if desired.

It’s intended to be completely freeform: There’s no requirement that every blank be filled, or even that the form itself be used; it can serve simply as a source of suggestions and ideas for what one should ask oneself about the character. If writing a completely new document seems indicated, do it! After all, one may find that the form provides way too much space for one question, but not enough for another.

That said, the most important sections are up front, in the first six pages. The four pages after that are recommended only if the character’s going to be more than a secondary figure. The last couple of pages are optional, intended primarily for the most important and fully developed characters.

Authors aren’t the only folks who can get use out of it. Anyone who creates and develops characters may find it handy, such as artists and participants in role-playing games.