Mary-Sue: Who is She?

How to Review Character Sheets

Describe a little of the setting: time period, what’s the main news (war, famine, etc.), is it the normal Real-World universe? What's different from the normal Real-World universe, if there’s a difference?  

Names plus Aliases: This is a given, but it should look something like, John "Jo" Doe. I don't list why I chose the name, because most of the time I don't have a reason; I choose it by random within reasonable boundaries.  The aliases can have some information attached to it, like if it’s a superhero name or something of more importance than just a nickname.

Species or Nationality: This is pretty much a given. If the person is a human, list the nationality. If the person is not a human, put down what his species is. This goes well with shinigami, vampires, etc. If the vampire, shinigami, or any human-like creature has a nationality, you can put that in.  If I decide that a human becomes a vampire, I don’t put that down because it’s part of the actual story telling.  Character sheets are about the universe and the character, not the plot.

Age: List the exact age.  If the character is immortal, tell the age range the character looks like.

Height: Feet, inches, centimeters, meters, just whatever measurement under a mile (unless the character is over a mile tall).

Weight: Whatever measurement that works well. You can use pounds, kilograms, etc.

Skin: The Fitzpatrick Skin Tone Scale would be great if people knew of it, but people can use the roman numerals, and describe the color of skin.  If the character isn’t exactly human, therefore has a bizarre skin tone, than you can just say what color the skin is.

Hair: Is it curly, wavy, or straight? What is the color? What is the length? In addition, what style is it usually in?

Eyes: What are the color, and whether or not the character needs corrective lenses?  If the character needs corrective lenses, what kind of glasses does the character have?  Is it thick, thin, for reading, or everyday vision problems.  Is the character near or far sighted?

Clothes: What kinds of clothes does the character have and likes? If the character is some sort of superhero or villain, what is the outfit?

Family: Who's deceased, who's alive, and who of their blood relatives is the character living with or often visits?

Friends: What's the name, and how long has the character known them. If the character doesn't have any friends, that is an option too.

Intended Partner:  You don’t have to answer this, especially if you don’t want to give anything away.  This is optional. If the story is within a fanfiction, and the intended partner is a canon character, then all that is needed is a name unless the fanfiction is an alternate universe. If the story is original or an alternate universe, then just put down the character’s name along with how the character would come to know him or her during the story. If there's going to be a love triangle, square, etc. and the author doesn't want to give away anything, list the characters as you would if it's fanfiction or original/alternate universe.  Keep note, if the intended partner is just one character, it can still change during the writing process—a creator’s mind is often filled with different paths.

Weapons: I'm referring to physical weapons like knives or bombs, not magic, psychic powers or martial art styles. This one is not always needed especially in the normal universe, so it is optional. If the character doesn't have any weapons, just put “None”.

Hobbies: On the character's spare time, what does he or she do?  It doesn’t necessarily have to be anything he or she is passionate about or is good at, it’s just what the character does when they have time.