THE BOOKWORMCARD
A character punch card · input. output. cycle.
READ ME FIRST. Your character. Carry it to seminars, keep adding. Scan back into seminarschools.com/bookwormcard/ or seminarschools.com/bookwormcard/, or reprint to share. You don’t need to answer every question. Only what feels relevant to your character. Some questions have three difficulties. BEGINNER is concrete, INTERMEDIATE deeper, ADVANCED asks what your answer leaves out. Pick what fits today.
WRITE CLEARLY!
Block letters, dark ink.
Character Dossier
APPEARANCE
The form of the smashed-up character. Proportions, surfaces, what stands out. What someone meeting them sees first.
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Portrait
Card 001
What does their face look like?
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WILDCARD
The thing that does not fit any other category. The detail that makes the smash specific.
ITEMS CARRIED
What they keep on their person regardless of where they are. RAINBOW (carries across books) or Consumable (one book only).
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WHAT THEY WANT, AND ARE BAD AT GETTING
A real want. The kind that follows them around even when they try to put it down.
BIRTH DATA
Year |
Month |
Day |
Hour |
Place of birth |
TOKEN
One small object the character carries. You (the bookworm-author) know its precise weight, feel, or contents. Nobody else at the table does. Anchors the character against being puppeted, against getting lost in nested dimensions, against having their interior spoken-over. Mrs Jones's pocketbook is a token. Roger could not hold it the same way.
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THE OBJECT
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WHAT ONLY YOU KNOW ABOUT IT
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Optional. Fold under or write on the back. DM may know the token exists, not its content.
HOROSCOPE· AI
Ten cosmological grids over the birth event. Ask the AI to compute each from your birth data. Each tradition retains its irreducibility. The character is the concrescence of all readings.
Chinese zodiac |
Western tropical |
Hellenistic decanic |
Mesopotamian |
Mayan tzolkin |
Tibetan element-animal |
Celtic tree |
Egyptian decanic |
Burmese mahabote |
Aztec tonalpohualli |
Temperament
| Calm |
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Intense |
| Careful |
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Reckless |
| Quiet |
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Loud |
| Anchored |
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Restless |
JOURNEYS THE PLAYER BRINGS
Real trips from your life. The ones that left a mark. Read each as a question: have you taken one of these? The character starts with what you bring.
| To a city they did not know |
To the sea |
To a mountain |
| To mourn |
To find someone |
To leave someone |
| Across a border |
Into the wilderness |
Home, after long away |
| Other: |
CHARACTER VOICE
Three things this smashed-up character might actually say. Out loud, to another person. Not their inner monologue, not their theme song. Lines you could quote.
ONE GESTURE
A distinct physical thing this character does. The way they sit when they are listening. What their hands do when they lie. The walk. The pause before they answer. One specific gesture. Other bookworms should be able to picture it.
PRIVATE WORLD
Where the character is when no one is watching. Their room. Their pocket. The five minutes of their day they tell nobody about. A smashed-up character is recognizable as much by what they do alone as by what they do in public. Sketch it short.
MOMENT OF DECISION
A choice the character has already made that they cannot take back. Not the smash that made them. A specific decision inside their character-history they would defend if pressed, even though pressing reveals what it cost. Three difficulties.
| Beginner | One sentence: what did they choose, and what did they leave behind to choose it? |
| Intermediate | Two sentences: the choice, and the moment when they realized the choice was permanent. |
| Advanced | The choice as a question: if the same situation happened again, would they make the same call? Why is the answer not "yes" automatically? |
THE UNSAID
One thing this character will never say out loud. They might think it. They will not speak it. Write the line anyway. Other bookworms read this and know what the character is carrying around silence-wrapped.
THE DEBT
Something they owe and cannot repay. The debt does not have to be money. Could be a kindness someone showed them, a sentence they did not speak when they should have, a death they did not stop, a promise. Write what is owed and what it would take to be even.
WHAT BOOK STARTED THIS
One book that, when read, made this character possible. Not their favorite book. The book without which the smash would not have held.
| Beginner | Title and author. |
| Intermediate | Title, author, and one sentence on what the book did to the character. |
| Advanced | The book the character is afraid to re-read. Why. |
WHAT MAKES THEM LAUGH
Not what they pretend to laugh at. What actually makes them laugh out loud when no one is watching. The shape of their humor is a fingerprint.
Inner Life
What a character believes about themselves. What they will and won't do. What they keep coming back to.
What rule will your character never break?
| Beginner | A rule they keep, even when nobody is watching. |
| Intermediate | A line they will not cross, even when crossing it would help them. |
| Advanced | The principle they organize themselves around. If your character has no such rule, why? What does the absence of rules mean to them? |
Your character's flaw.
| Beginner | A bad habit they have. The one their family or friends would name first. |
| Intermediate | The fault that gets in their way. They know about it, or they don't. |
| Advanced | The flaw that is also their strength. The same trait that hurts them is the trait they could not survive without. Name it. |
Your character's oath or motto.
| Beginner | A saying they live by. Something they would put on a sign over their bed. |
| Intermediate | A positive principle. Different from the rule they won't break. This is the rule they will follow. |
| Advanced | If your character refuses oaths, why? What does refusing tell us about them? |
What is your character working on right now?
A current project, study, or practice. Where their attention is going this season. What they are trying to get better at.
A signature line your character says.
A line of dialogue. The way they talk. A catchphrase. The phrase they always end with. We will recognize it as theirs at the table.
Panel II · The Catchphrase
Catchphrase
What do they always say?
When your character realizes they were wrong about something important, what do they do?
Check any that fit.
| Defend the old position |
Change quietly |
Change loudly |
| Ignore new information |
Get curious |
Get angry |
| Leave the room |
Apologize to whoever was right |
Other: |
Personality Traits
Pick your character's traits.
| bold |
careful |
kind |
| sharp |
restless |
stubborn |
| gentle |
sneaky |
loud |
| quiet |
generous |
suspicious |
| hopeful |
tired |
funny |
| serious |
fierce |
dreamy |
| practical |
strange |
brave |
| anxious |
warm |
cold |
| patient |
impulsive |
loyal |
| free |
your own: |
Pick two of your four adjectives that seem to contradict each other. How does your character hold both at once?
Real characters have contradictions. So do real people. The contradiction is where the character lives.
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Panel III
Outfit
What do they wear?
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Cognitive Diagram
Mark a dot on each axis. The shape is your character.
| Alone |
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In a group |
| Reasons |
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Instincts |
| Plan |
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Improvise |
| Details |
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Big patterns |
| Cautious |
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Daring |
| Holds back |
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Speaks up |
Optional · a typology that has stuck to you. MBTI, Enneagram, Hogwarts house, zodiac, anything.
WEATHER & SEASON
What weather are they? What season?
| Bright sun |
Overcast |
Light rain |
Heavy rain |
Snow |
Fog |
| Wind |
Storm |
Dawn |
Dusk |
Midnight |
Heatwave |
| Spring |
Summer |
Autumn |
Winter |
The threshold between two seasons |
| Their own: |
A thing you do that no one taught you.
A trait you saw in someone else and decided never to carry.
A trait only now surfacing, that you do not have a name for yet.
Where the thinking actually happens.
What They Believe
What is sacred. What is repeated. What loses respect. The shape of a character's ethics under pressure.
What does your character keep safe from anyone else touching?
| Beginner | A person, a place, an object, a memory. |
| Intermediate | What they treat as off-limits, untouchable, worth protecting at any cost. |
| Advanced | What does your character hold sacred, and what does sacredness mean to them? If your character believes nothing should be off-limits to anyone, why is that their answer? |
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Panel I.a
Treasure
What would they never let anyone else hold?
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Panel I
Hands
What are their hands always doing?
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A practice your character keeps.
| Beginner | Something they do every day, every week, or every year. The kind of activity they would miss if they couldn't do it. |
| Intermediate | A repeated act that anchors them. A walk, a prayer, a meal, a writing practice, a ritual. |
| Advanced | If your character keeps no practices, why? Is the refusal of repetition itself the practice? |
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What makes your character lose respect for someone?
| Beginner | The kind of behaviour that, once they see it, they cannot unsee. |
| Intermediate | What they consider the worst kind of failure in a person. |
| Advanced | In their eyes, the worst sin a person can commit. Not what the law says. What they say. |
A SUPERSTITION OR SMALL RITUAL THEY KEEP
Knock on wood. Salt over shoulder. Step over a crack.
The conviction that would lose them friends, said anyway.
A belief held privately, no longer defended out loud.
A belief they suspect is wrong but have not let go of.
Three Dilemmas
Your character faces these. Write what they do. We return to them in seminar.
DILEMMA I · THE FRIEND
Your character's close friend is doing something that is harming themselves but not anyone else. The friend has not asked for advice. Does your character speak up, or trust the friend to figure it out?
DILEMMA II · THE STRANGER
A stranger asks your character for shelter for the night. Your character has no reason to trust them, but no reason to suspect them either. Do they let the stranger in?
DILEMMA III · THE WITNESS
Your character sees something wrong happening, and could stop it, but stopping it would expose something secret about themselves. What do they do?
WHAT THEY ORDER, WHAT THEY PACK
Small choices that say a lot.
| What they order at a diner at 2am: |
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| What they pack first for any trip: |
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| The song they hum without realizing: |
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| What is on their bedside table: |
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Origin Story
Where the character is from. What they would protect. The shape of how they became who they are.
Your character's backstory.
| Beginner | Three sentences minimum, more is better. Where they grew up. The event that mattered. What they brought with them into the present. |
| Intermediate | Tell it as a small story. The shaping moment, the people in the room, what was won and what was lost. |
| Advanced | Tell it as a genealogy. Your character is the inheritor of which lines? What are they passing on, and what are they refusing to pass on? |
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Panel V
Sigil
What mark do they leave?
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Panel V.b
Companion
What walks beside them?
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Who, or what, would your character protect?
| Beginner | A person, a place, an animal, a book, an idea. |
| Intermediate | The one they would step in front of. The one they would lose other parts of their life to keep. |
| Advanced | If your character would protect nothing and no one, why? What did the world teach them to refuse this? |
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THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THEM
Two voices your character still hears. Parents, teachers, strangers, fictional characters, anyone.
| First person: |
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| What they're still saying: |
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| Second person: |
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| What they're still saying: |
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What Scares Them
Your character will be tested. Books test characters. Knowing the fear, knowing the move, gives the test shape.
Panel VI.a
Fear
What do they fear?
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What is your character afraid of, that they would be embarrassed to admit?
| Beginner | Small or big. A spider, a question, the dark, the silence after a question, being seen. |
| Intermediate | The fear they hide because admitting it feels childish or shameful. |
| Advanced | If your character is afraid of nothing, what fear are they covering with that claim? |
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When the going gets hard, what is the move your character makes almost every time?
Check any that fit.
| Get quiet |
Get loud |
Make a joke |
| Disappear |
Take charge |
Argue |
| Help someone else |
Freeze |
Run |
| Hide |
Try to fix it |
Pretend it didn't happen |
| Other: |
What They Could Teach
What does your character know how to do, that they could teach someone else?
Even something small. A skill, a craft, a way of seeing, a way of waiting.
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Panel VI
Toolbox
What's in their bag?
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WHAT THEY WIELD
What do they use when the world pushes them?
| A blade |
Words |
A book |
| A bow |
Silence |
A name |
| A fist |
A song |
A reputation |
| Money |
Beauty |
Charm |
| A map |
A lie |
The truth |
| Time |
Patience |
Speed |
| Their own: |
The Figures They Carry
Your character carries pieces of other people they admire. The collision IS the operation. It produces a character that is none of them but inherits from each. Real people, family, fictional characters, historical figures. The why-column is load-bearing. Skip the words your culture hands you (inspirational, strong, resilient). Pick the actual operation you watched the figure perform.
| No. |
Figure |
Why you admire them · the specific operation, the lived moment, the actual reason |
| 1 | | |
| 2 | | |
| 3 | | |
| 4 | | |
| 5 | | |
| 6 | | |
| 7 | | |
| 8 | | |
| 9 | | |
| 10 | | |
Need more figures? Print another copy of page 8 and continue numbering from 11. The bookworm carries everything you bring. Page 8 is the only page that scales; the rest of the card stays one of each.
The Smash
The figures listed on page 8 are substrate. The smash is the operation that turns substrate into a character. Six questions answered ACROSS all the figures you carry. Each has three difficulties; pick the one that fits today. The character forms at the friction-points where the figures collide, not where they agree.
The character who is none of them. Who carries the pieces taken. Who is yours.
Two or three sentences. The synthesis. None of the figures, all of the takings.
What do you admire about one of them that you do not want for yourself?
Beginner Pick one trait you admire from a distance.
Intermediate Pick two figures, name the trait you reject in each.
Advanced Name a trait you admire that you suspect would damage you if you carried it.
If two of them disagreed about something that mattered, whose side, and why?
Beginner Pick two figures who would clash.
Intermediate Name the disagreement.
Advanced Pick the side that would cost you something.
Where do their qualities contradict each other?
Beginner Name one tension between two figures.
Intermediate Name a tension you yourself hold.
Advanced Which tension is the engine of your character?
Who would you call in a crisis. Who would you not call.
Beginner Name one would-call, one would-not.
Intermediate Explain the would-not.
Advanced What does the refusal say about your character?
What would make you break from all of them?
Beginner Name one breaking-point.
Intermediate Name a betrayal that would cost you the inheritance.
Advanced What would they all do that you would refuse?
The residue. After the collision, what survives that is yours alone?
Beginner A quality that is yours, not theirs.
Intermediate A quality that came from the collision itself, that none of them had alone.
Advanced The one sentence that names your character.
The Bond
Bookwormburrows is read together. Across seminars, your character meets other characters at other tables. Each meeting leaves a connection. A rivalry, an old friendship, a debt, a shared secret, a disagreement that never closed. The bond is what carries forward when the book closes. List your character’s bonds as they accumulate. The list grows as you read with new people. Old bonds do not disappear when new ones form.
| No. |
Their character |
Their player |
The book or seminar |
The connection |
| 1 | | | | |
| 2 | | | | |
| 3 | | | | |
| 4 | | | | |
| 5 | | | | |
| 6 | | | | |
The Face After
Page 1 asked what their face looks like at the start. After the seminars, the smashes, the bonds, draw them again. The face changes when the character changes.
What their face does after the work.
This card is yours. Carry it. Update it. Punch it back into the matrix at seminarschools.com/bookwormcard/ or seminarschools.com/bb/ when full. The character grows as you read. Use any notebook for your seminar journal. Date each entry.
The character is
(adjective sentence will populate from chat data)
Stat Frequencies
What the chat heard, ranked by how often. Higher counts = more times that register fired in your answers.
Quirks
Patterns the chat noticed in how the answers landed. Recorded as descriptors, not faults.
