Making a good “cast of characters” page

Discussion in 'Authors' Hangout' started by wilparu, Dec 12, 2019.

  1. wilparu

    wilparu Really Really Experienced CHYOA Backer

    Hi, I have a page on my story for the cast and setting but I’ve always been unhappy with it. The formatting and layout is just ugly to me, and I can’t think of a way to do it properly.

    Do any of you have any examples of well laid out ‘cast’ pages I can use as inspiration? In my head I want almost like a simple table with a column for the character name, a short bio, and then a small photo for some of them. But when I tried to do one it just looked sloppy, with some names and then the photo just plopped below or which I find less than ideal so I gave up and ignored it. ;)

    Any suggestions welcome!
     
  2. RicoLouis

    RicoLouis Really Really Experienced

    I took a look for your bio for the story for My Daughter's New Boyfriend.

    I have occasionally added pictures for the girls in my story but not really a bio.

    I think putting the characters name in bold would help. followed by their picture and then Bio would help to organize it a little better. That's just my two cents worth but I hope it helps.

    Heather Knapp, née, Powell

    [​IMG]

    The oldest child to Anna, 25 years old. . Shorter than the rest of her family at 5'2", wears glasses, even bustier than Megan but often wears clothing that hides the fact. Moved to west coast with her husband out of college, no kids. Prone to anxiety as a child, grew into a hardworking but seemingly less-than-happy adult.
     
    daciasdesire and wilparu like this.
  3. wilparu

    wilparu Really Really Experienced CHYOA Backer

    Oh wow that’s a good idea, much better looking layout and so simple I’m embarrassed it never occurred to me.

    I’ll definitely do that to improve it as is. Thanks!
     
  4. gene.sis

    gene.sis CHYOA Guru

    Have you tried to create the table by using Markdown?
     
    wilparu likes this.
  5. wilparu

    wilparu Really Really Experienced CHYOA Backer

    No, no I sure haven't. I have never even looked at markdown, I just use the simple editor. I guess I'll check it out, thanks!
     
  6. gene.sis

    gene.sis CHYOA Guru

    Some Markdown syntax can be used in the standard editor.

    I just tested if tables work as well but they don't.

    If you want to use them, you would have to deactivate the rich text editor on your Settings page (before opening the edit page of a chapter)

    Code:
    |Title| |Text|
    |---|---|---|
    |Row 1| |Text|
    |Row 2| |More text|
    (In the chapter, the table will look like a real table)
     
  7. Zekar

    Zekar Really Experienced

    I avoid cast pages, mostly because it requires updating and I can't be responsible enough to go back and do that.
     
  8. Dansak

    Dansak Really Really Experienced

  9. wilparu

    wilparu Really Really Experienced CHYOA Backer

    That's good advice, and your current setup for American Fox in London is fantastic already. Having multiple smaller images laid out horizontally is a really good idea, thanks!
     
    Dansak likes this.
  10. Xenolan

    Xenolan Really Experienced

    If I may toot my own horn a little (no, not like that), I’m pleased with the way my “Cast of Characters” page turned out in this story. It doesn’t look great on a mobile device, but it works on a PC. I’ll share how I coded it if it’s not apparent.
     
    wilparu likes this.