The Comprehensive Notion Character Template Every Writer Needs

Have you ever lost track of your character's last appearance in the storyline? Ever had famous writer's block? It's quite rare not to have at least one while writing your story,  short story, novel, or script.

Well it's all part of that past now, with Notion, you can gather all your characters in one place, and enjoy utmost peace of mind, for you, and your characters. 

This template is an all-in-one gallery for you to browse, update, and edit whenever you feel a bit lost.

Template Overview

The whole template is in the form of a gallery, featuring your characters' images and full names so that you keep a connection with them.

It's so easy to get lost in events and changes and forget some facial details your protagonist is known for.

Every card has 5 main properties:

1. Full name: last names matter too, you know! especially when characters are real, so it's a good practice to keep the full name.
2. Nickname: if applicable, add nicknames. If not, you can delete the property by clicking on it, the 'delete property'
3. Status: Alive, deceased, ... you can add other statuses depending on your story type.
4. Type: Protagonist, antagonist, or deuteragonist. Of course, you can always add other types as you develop more characters here.
5. Image: You can either upload the image from your laptop or via a link. The best sources of free and high-quality images include Unsplash, Pixabay, and Pexels.

Character Development Template

Upon creating a new card, you can either start writing about your character or simply click 'Character template' :

This template has 5 main sections:

1. General description: including features like age, gender, ethnicity, biological parents, occupation, finances, and so on.
2. Physical appearance: if you feel the image you picked is not accurate enough, or prefer working without images, then filling this section is a must. Once you fill in the general features like height and weight, move to the detailed description and elaborate.
3. Personality: first, the character's motivation, pushing them forward in the storyline, then a list of characteristics like 'sociable' and 'creative', scaled from 1 to 10. (you can change them accordingly).
4. Storyline: this section is a crucial element in character development, it describes details like their first appearance date, how they entered, who they encountered, and so on.
5. Relationships Database: in this database, you can link the character's card to others, by naming the relationship type, then selecting a character name. This database is extremely important for novell.

Get Your Free Notion Character Template

This template is 100% free, grab your template now, and enjoy your writing session.

Did you like this template? We have much more, Notion templates crafted specifically for marketers, content writers, and novel writers. Our list is expanding, so if you have a template you'd like us to add, drop a comment below or contact us, and I'll make sure to get back to you in less than 7 business days.

Our top-rated template, loved and used by more than a thousand writers is The All-In-One Notion Template for Content Writers, and it's totally free.

FAQs

Do you need a character development template?

This is a matter of personal preference. However, it's worth noting that using a character development template can be helpful for creating well-rounded and believable characters, as well as keeping organized, as the story and characters develop and grow.

Does using a character development template improve the quality of your writing?

Yes, it absolutely can! Besides saving you time, and keeping everything in one place, using such templates can help you connect with your characters, thus improving your writing style.

How to customize the Notion character development template to fit your specific needs?

Besides using the static character template, you can edit it, add sections, or create a new template from scratch. To edit the template, click on the three dots next to the page name and click 'edit'.

How to use the template to create a character backstory?

To create a backstory, you can either add it in the storyline section or add a new backstory section for each character.

What are the drawbacks of using this template?

Many writers prefer not to use these templates because they believe they limit creativity. This is only a personal preference, and not applicable to all writers. Give it a go, if you don't get much out of it, maybe this tool is not for you...