Build Style Sheets to Keep Track of Your World

A Style Sheet is a useful thing to have handy. This is true whether you are writing a short story, a novel, or a 17-volume series.

How many books have you read where a character’s name is given incorrectly or changes halfway through the novel? A style sheet would have prevented that problem.

What is a style sheet? It’s a cheat-sheet for writing. They remember all those tedious dates and odd name spellings that are so easy to get wrong.

Your style sheet will remember for you, and it will also remember for your editor. Editor likes style sheets attached to the story they are editing since many questions come pre-answered, and they don’t have to stop their work and nag Writer (that’s you) to enlighten them.

This is one of those things that are easier to do than to describe, so let’s build one. Style sheets, by the way, are much easier to construct as you move forward with your story, rather than after the fact.

On a sheet of paper, make space for each letter of the alphabet, along with – if your story demands it – spaces for numbers and typographical characters. You can build your style sheet on paper or on your computer. If you build your style sheet on notebook paper, expect to rewrite it a few times as you add and change and correct.

On your computer, give yourself two columns, A to Z.

As you write the story, list every character’s name in the story. For given names and family names, you may want to list the name twice, once for the first name and then once for the last name. If your character is named “Pauline” list her twice. Under P list her as “Pauline (Whitman)” and under W, list her as “Whitman (Pauline)”.

It seems like overkill, but it makes it easy to tease apart multiple members of several families.

This dual-entry method also lets you identify characters by their relationships. Thus “Pamela (Pauline’s maiden aunt) (Abraxas)” provides you both the family relationship and the fact that “Pamela” doesn’t have the same last name as “Pauline”.

More importantly, having all your characters listed means that if you have to set the manuscript aside, when you return to it, you’ll know that your heroine’s name is “Pauline” and not “Penelope” or “Paulette”. It’s especially important with secondary characters, which are easier to forget.

Keep Characters Identifiable

Style sheets can also help reduce confusion with names. As you add names, you’ll see at a glance how many characters have names starting with “P”. This could confuse the reader. If you see ten names starting with “P” and no compelling reason to do so, your style sheet will nudge you to choose names from elsewhere in the alphabet. If you do have a compelling reason to have Peter, Paul, Paula, Patty, and Prince, you can make it clear in the story why you’re doing this – say, there’s a huge inheritance at stake if they were named that way and zero inheritance if they don’t — and you can select names that look as different as possible on the page while still starting with “P”.

All done?

You just got started.

Record Other Proper Nouns

Next, list all the street names, town names, country names, planet names, etc. If there are several towns with streets in each, list the names similarly.

That is, “Chocolate Avenue (Hershey)” under “C” and then under “H”, you list “Hershey (Chocolate Avenue)” followed by “Hershey (Cocoa Avenue), “Hershey (Granada Avenue)” and so forth.

Just as the overall list is in alphabetical order, the entries under each letter should be in alphabetical order.

Are you using specialty words? Foreign slang? Made-up words? Words used in an unusual way (i.e., a word normally not capitalized but you always use it with a capital letter to indicate it has a different meaning)? Do any of your words include accent marks over the letters? List those too.

Having your specialized vocabulary, foreign slang, and made-up words in a convenient list ensures consistency in your spelling and keep the Editor from harassing you because you need your characters to say “humuhumunukunukuāpua`a” instead of “Hawaiian Trigger Fish” (it’s true; look it up).

While you’re at it, throw in pets, species, named weapons, and anything else unique to your story.

After that come numbers and specialty characters. Is the dotcom venture capital firm that Pauline is investigating named “%Doom”? Are you writing about the band *NSYNC or country singer k.d. lang? Your style sheet needs a section for this too. Do your characters send text messages using emoticons? If they’re chatting via AOL with each other because your story is set back in 1995, you need to list what they use so Editor doesn’t change what you want into something incorrect for the story’s time period.

Your style sheet answers whatever questions could come up in the revision stage.

So that’s your style sheet for your short story or novel.

Style Sheets for Series

For a series, you may want to consider using two style sheets: a master sheet that cover all your books, and a style sheet for each book. Entries are created using the same format as above, but master style sheets are arranged differently so you can remember in exactly which book Penelope (Pauline’s secret twin sister) first appeared.

As with your novel sheet, start with two columns: from A to Z. Pauline will be listed twice: both as Pauline (Whitman) and as Whitman (Pauline). At this point, add the books this character appears in, such as “Pauline (Whitman) (Pauline’s First Peril)”.

Pauline is our major character so she won’t need much more. A minor character, like Penelope, needs a list of each appearance along with the book in which she becomes a major character. Thus, Penelope (Zimmerman) (Pauline’s First Peril) is followed by (Pauline and the Hideous Discovery). This title is the one where Penelope gets to shine in all her villainous glory. This is her main story, although Penelope, true to her nature, keeps coming back for more. She’s the mastermind behind so many other schemes, even if she doesn’t put in a personal appearance.

As you write your series, you’ll be constantly updating your master name style sheet.

Your series master style sheet will have a page just for locations. You know how to spell Paris? True! But your master style sheet will say Paris (Pauline’s First Peril) (Pauline and the Hideous Discovery) (Trapped in the Seraglio) etc., etc. Every time a location appears in the series, add that location name to the master style sheet with a notation as to which book it appeared in. Then, later on, when you insert new novels into your series, you’ll have a fighting chance of keeping track of the sleazy nightclubs and seedy bars that Pauline frequents. Readers notice continuity errors such as when “The Bearded Clam” dive bar which was located in Ocean City suddenly relocates to Kansas City.

This location master style sheet is critical for a huge fantasy or science-fiction series that ranges across space and time. Don’t count on remembering all those tiny details. Let your master style sheet do it for you.

Your series master style sheet, just like your individual novel style sheet, will also include pages for magic weapons, pets, mystical words, techno-babble jargon, and anything else specific to the series. As with names and locations, list the novels in which
each term appears, with a notation (if needed) as to first appearance.

Your style sheet is a living document. You’ll be updating it every time a new character makes an appearance or walks down a dark street in the seedy neighborhood or develops a new martial arts technique that needs a cool name. Each novel written in a series will add to your master style sheet. If you set aside your manuscript or your series for a few years, your style sheet will remember all those pesky details for you.

When you’re finished with your manuscript, check it over with your style sheet to ensure no character changed names in mid-stream by accident. This is also your last chance to decide you’ve used too many names starting with the letter “P”. Make your changes and corrections as necessary. Then, when you forward the clean manuscript to Editor, send your style sheet along with it.

Editor will thank you for your style sheet. You’ve made Editor’s job easier, just like you kept your manuscript clean of easily made but not always easily corrected errors.