It may be used more by fiction writers, but any writer in any field can benefit from understanding the art of character sketching. Character sketching encourages observation, a writers most powerful asset.

Writers are also readers and as readers we have perhaps read our fair share of good (and bad), fiction. The stories that had the most impact on you, the ones you enjoyed most and remember best, are the ones which had a great plot, memorable characters, or a combination of both. To professional authors, the value of a good character sketch is priceless. It is the difference between being published or being shelved.

So how would you use a character sketch in every day article writing? Quite frankly, the possibilities are endless. Take for example the world of affiliate marketing. There is a billion dollar trade happening online on a daily basis with buyers, suppliers and middlemen chasing business. Who are these people? The top echelon have had their names splattered all over the net for many years, but what do we really know about them?

There, in itself, is an untapped niched for writers. Internet celebrities like these could be interviewed, observed, and personality, or human interest, articles posted for our reference. You may say this is just another way of writing a biography, but a character sketch involves much more. Following is a rundown of just a few key questions a character sketch could cover:

Physical Appearance

Age, sex, height, weight, build, hair and eye colour and such, including personal appearance (dress manner, grooming etc).

Speech

Do they speak with confidence, demurely and in a high or low pitched voice? Are they masters of the language they are using? Do they use slang?

Personality

What is the character’s self opinion about themselves. How do you or others perceive the character?

Do they have any peculiarities or certain traits or habits that set them apart from others? How about body language, stance and demeanour?

These are just a few points, but great fiction writers keep strict records of their characters. Many have pre-printed Character Sketch Forms that an author uses to bring fictional character to life. A copy of this can be found on my blog. Feel free to copy/download and use as you wish. All copyrights are waived.

It is all well and good to have an understanding about, SEO tactics, AdSense, AdWords, Keywords and the like, but without an injection of personality, the human touch, you are just another affiliate marketer gambling on catching a sale. Speak about real life people and you begin to create a human interest story, the most popular and easiest selling article type in the magazine/newspaper world.

A well prepared character sketch can be used as a reference point when interviewing personalities in any kind of medium. It gives the interviewer and interviewee direction. Not to mention that during writers dry spells, re-reading character sketches can invigorate the mind and direct the writer to a new story. With a decent character sketch at hand you can write about your subject with confidence.