For novelists and short story writers
Character Sheet & Profile Template
One page per character: what they want, the wound that steers them, how they sound, and who matters to them. Built for fiction writers.
June Adeyemi
Protagonist, 17. Debate captain in Columbus, Ohio.
- Want
- Win state finals and the scholarship that comes with it.
- Need
- To say what she believes, even when it loses.
- Wound
- At twelve she told a teacher about her father's drinking. A year later he left, and the family blamed her.
- The lie
- The truth costs you your family.
- Fear
- Being the reason her family breaks again.
What you'll get
Want, wound, voice and relationships on one page
- One page per character: want, need, wound and fear
- A voice note, plus a line only they would say
- Three key relationships, and where each one is tense
Before and after
Your notes in. One full page out.
June Adeyemi, 17, debate captain who can argue any side but her own. Narrator of a YA contemporary set in Columbus. Lives with her mom and her little brother Tobi. Her dad left the year after she told a teacher about his drinking. Best friend Priya is her debate partner and is quietly applying for the same scholarship. June says "respectfully" right before every insult.
Want: Win state finals and the scholarship that comes with it. Need: To say what she believes, even when it loses. Wound: At twelve she told a teacher about her father's drinking. A year later he left, and the family blamed her. The lie she believes: The truth costs you your family. Voice: Fast, precise. Says "respectfully" right before every insult. Relationships: Priya. Best friend and debate partner. Tense: she is quietly applying for the same scholarship.
Every fact you gave stays. The rest is a suggestion: keep what sounds like your character and rewrite the rest.
Why it works
What is a character sheet for writers?
A character sheet for writers is a one-page profile of what a character wants, needs and fears, and how they sound. It also records who matters to them. Together, these are the things that drive their choices on the page. This template keeps only the fields that shape what a character does in a scene. Want and need sit side by side, following K.M. Weiland's guide to character arcs: the want is usually external, and the need is the truth that answers the lie your character believes.
It all fits on one page: want, need, wound, the lie, biggest fear, voice, three relationships, a look in three details, and how they change. There are no star signs or favorite foods, so every answer ends up in your draft. Voice gets two lines, a note on how they talk and one line only they would say. Each relationship row names where things are tense, because tension is what puts a pair on the page.
Click Edit with AI and the sheet opens blank. Tell River about your character, a name and a job or a page of backstory, and it fills every field as a first pass you can change. No character yet? The character generator invents one from a line, and the character name generator finds the name. A sheet builds one person; to keep a whole cast consistent across a long book or series, move the fixed facts into a character bible.
What lands in your doc
What's on the sheet
- Want and need
The goal they chase and the truth they have to accept, side by side. - Wound and the lie
The past event and the hurt it left, and the false belief it taught them. - Biggest fear
One line, so you know what pressure will crack them. - Voice in two lines
How they talk, plus one line of dialogue nobody else in your book would say. - Three relationships
Who, what they are to each other, what this character wants from them, and where it's tense. - Look and change
Three details a reader notices first, and who they are at the start and at the end.
How it works
From a name to a whole person
Open the sheet
Click Edit with AI. Your character sheet opens in River with every field in place.
Describe them
Optional. Say who they are and what they do in your story, or paste the notes you have.
Get a first pass
River fills the want, wound, voice and relationships in specific, plain language.
Add the next one
Ask River for a sheet for each main character, then track recurring facts in your character bible.
Questions authors ask
Common questions
What is a character sheet template?
It's a fill-in page for building one character around whatever drives their choices. Start with what they want, what they need, the wound behind their behavior and the false belief it left. Then add their biggest fear, how they talk and their key relationships, plus a few details a reader would notice. Leave out trivia like star signs unless it changes a scene.
Is a character sheet the same as a character profile?
Mostly, yes. Writers use both names for a page that captures who one character is. A character bible does a different job. It keeps every recurring character consistent across a book or series, logging fixed facts like eye color and what changes from chapter to chapter.
How is a character's want different from their need?
The want is the goal they chase. K.M. Weiland writes that it "will almost always be something external, something physical." The need is the truth they must accept, which she calls "the personalized antidote" to the character's Lie. Your story's tension lives in the gap between the two.
How do I give my character a wound?
Pick a painful past experience that still shapes how your character acts. K.M. Weiland separates the ghost, the wound and the lie: the event that haunts them, the pain it left, and the false belief that grew from it. A specific wound, like a betrayal at twelve, gives you clearer choices than a general trait.
Is this a D&D or tabletop character sheet?
No. This sheet is for fiction writers building characters for a novel, a short story or fanfiction. Tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons use sheets built around stats, classes and equipment, so use the official sheet for your game. Original-character artists may still like the voice and wound fields.
Can River fill it in for me?
If you want. Edit with AI opens the sheet empty. Tell River about your character, from a short description to pages of notes, and it writes a first pass of every field, keeping each fact you gave. Name up to three characters and you get a sheet for each. To record a whole cast from chapters you've written, use the story bible template.
Your next step
More for your book
Meet your character on one page
One page you'll actually use mid-draft. Fill it by hand, or tell River whatever you know about your character.