Premium Deep Dive: Author Style Sheets

Did you know there’s one tool—one simple little document—that can make your writing not only easier but better, and most authors don’t even think about it, much less use it?

Did you know that this secret knowledge, this forbidden jutsu of authorial wisdom, is something you can start now and it will travel with you throughout your entire author journey?

I call this mythical resource a style sheet.

Okay, I know “style sheet” isn’t a romantic term, and if you’ve ever used or made one before, you might not immediately think it’s this magical artifact I’ve introduced it as.

But give me until the end of this Dabble Premium Deep Dive to convince you otherwise, and I promise you’ll come away with the knowledge and understanding you need to actually up your author game.

In this deep dive, I’m going to cover everything you need to know about style sheets, including:

• What a style sheet is and where it comes from
• Why it’s essential for your author toolkit
• The critical components of an author style sheet
• Best practices for maintaining your newfound power

And because this is a Dabble Premium Deep Dive, you’ve earned yourself a free downloadable resource just for showing up (and because all our new Premium content is free for everyone this month). This time around, you get the Dabble Premium Style Sheet Template.

Just click that link to grab your copy as we explain how you can use this versatile tool.

What is a Style Sheet?

It’s a name that strikes fear into the hearts of grammar rebels and writing anarchists everywhere. A style sheet is a document that outlines the specific guidelines and rules an author follows to ensure consistency and coherence throughout their writing.

That’s the meat of it, anyway. A style sheet acts as a reference tool for both the author and their editorial team—which might include critique partners, beta readers, and editors—covering elements like character details, plot points, language usage, grammar exceptions and choices, and formatting preferences.

A style sheet takes all the details of not just your story but your unique writing style and voice and keeps them all in one handy place. 

Where Did Style Sheets Come From?

The concept of the style sheet has its roots in traditional journalism and publishing houses, where maintaining a consistent editorial voice across multiple writers and publications was essential. 

Newspapers and magazines often employ style sheets or their own style guides to ensure that articles adhere to a uniform set of standards regarding grammar, punctuation, and formatting.

As the publishing industry evolved, the use of style sheets expanded beyond journalism. Fiction and non-fiction authors began adopting style sheets to manage the complexities of longer works, including novels, biographies, and academic texts.

The advent of self-publishing and digital writing tools has brought a significant change in how authors approach their work and the resources they keep in their toolkits. With the ability to publish independently, authors have needed to take on roles traditionally managed by publishing houses, including editing and formatting. 

Style sheets have become invaluable for self-published authors to ensure professional-quality writing not just within a single book or series, but across their entire published library.

Today, style sheets have become more sophisticated, aided by digital tools and software that allow for easy creation and management. Programs like Dabble offer features that help authors build and maintain detailed style sheets—including the free template that comes with this deep dive. 

You can use Dabble and your style sheet to enable seamless collaboration between authors, editors, and beta readers, ensuring that everyone involved in the writing process is on the same page—literally and figuratively.

Why Style Sheets Are Essential for Authors

As an editor, I’ll admit that I love style sheets more than most. But my passion for this reference document started before my editing career, back when I wrote my first book and worked with an editor on it.

So now I want to prove to you why you want to create and maintain this document.

Here are the biggest reasons why you need a style sheet.

Consistency in Tone, Voice, and Language

The tone of your story and your unique voice as an author are both crucial in making your story not just compelling but yours. And it’s your story fans will follow you to the ends of the Earth for. 

A style sheet gives you an opportunity to track the things that make your voice and tone one of a kind. From the use of figurative language to pacing to something as seemingly nebulous as the “vibe” of your writing, a style sheet gives you a place to track all that info to help keep you on course, even during scenes that test your tone.

Just as important, a style sheet gives you a place to track all your quirks and choices in language. 

Consistency in language and vocabulary is important—nay, essential—especially in works that include specialized terms, invented languages, or dialects. I’m looking at all the fantasy and sci-fi authors out there. 

A style sheet lists specific words or phrases used in your story so you know they are spelled and used correctly every time. 

Can’t remember if it’s a y or an i in that word you made up ten chapters ago? Style sheet.

Are you supposed to capitalize that particular term you introduced in Chapter One? Style sheet.

A study showed that typos on a website can lead to twice as many people leaving (and they leave faster, too). Think about how quickly a reader will drop your book—a thing that is only words—if they keep seeing errors in how you spell or capitalize things.

Spoiler: it’s speed-of-light fast.

Streamlining the Feedback Process

Your first draft is never your last draft. In fact, your first draft goes through a heck of a lot of changes once you’re done.

Revisions. Feedback from critique partners. Beta readers. Editors.

There are a lot of eyes that look at your work before it reaches your readers, and thus, you receive a lot of feedback. If there’s any way you can make that process more efficient (and more accessible for the blessed souls helping you out), you should take advantage of it.

Oh, look, that’s what a style sheet does.

Here are a few ways a style sheet will make getting feedback way easier.

Establish clear guidelines - A style sheet provides editors and proofreaders with clear guidelines on how you, the author, want various elements handled. This puts in a lot of the legwork to reduce ambiguity and ensures that everyone involved in the editing process is on the same page, literally and figuratively.

Efficiency and speed - With a comprehensive style sheet, editors and proofreaders can work more efficiently, which means they can focus on content and quality rather than guessing if you made an error. This not only speeds up the editing process but also reduces the number of revisions needed, saving time for both sides.

Consistent feedback - When editors and other feedback providers have access to a style sheet, they can provide more consistent and targeted feedback. This will help you understand specific areas that need improvement without messing with the core elements of your style and voice.

Benefitting Your Reader

If you’re writing a book, you’re creating something that’s going to be read by people. Real people. Real people who pay you money for the experience.

So, let’s reward their hard-earned dollars and passion for your work by making our stories the best we can for them, right?

A style sheet keeps your readers engaged by providing them with a smooth experience. No jarring inconsistencies, fewer careless errors, and a more coherent story and cast of characters.

To that latter point, a style sheet ensures that characters’ traits, behaviors, and development remain consistent throughout the story. Similarly, it helps keep plot points and timelines clear and coherent, preventing plot holes and continuity errors that can disrupt your reader’s experience.

All of that adds up. When readers notice that an author pays attention to detail and maintains consistency, it builds trust and credibility. This attention to detail enhances the overall reading experience and makes your readers more likely to recommend your work to others and come back for more when the sequel is ready.

Key Components of a Style Sheet

Alright, now that I’ve (hopefully) convinced you of the power and necessity of a style sheet, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of what makes up this authorial Holy Grail.

Want me to tone down the hyperbole? Never.

But, on a serious note, what follows are what you can include in your style sheet; some sections might not be relevant to you, while others could be rarely used. This is also geared towards authors, specifically. A publisher or marketing company style sheet wouldn’t include things like character profiles (though they may include personas, but that’s a whole different can of worms).

All that to say, take what will be helpful and leave what won’t be. I’ll make note along the way of sections that might seem like the latter but are actually the former.

Character Profiles

While I strongly encourage you to have detailed character profiles in Dabble, including jot notes in your style sheet for your characters can make referencing them even easier. We’ll only be including the most essential elements that you need to be consistent with.

Names and Aliases (Must-Have)

Keep a record of your characters’ full names, nicknames, and any aliases they might use. This ensures consistency, especially in larger casts or when characters are referred to differently by various other characters.

Physical Descriptions (Must-Have)

Track eye color, hair color, height, distinguishing marks—everything that makes your character visually unique. This way, your protagonist won’t mysteriously change eye color halfway through the book.

We’ve all been there.

Backstory and Development (Must-Have)

Include key points of each character’s backstory and their development arc. Note their goals, motivations, and significant changes they undergo. This helps maintain consistency in their behavior and reactions.

Speech Patterns and Idioms (Must-Have)

Record the specific speech patterns and dialects for each character. This is one of the easiest ways you can set your characters apart from one another, and having it here ensures you’re remembering that.

Also note any recurring phrases, idioms, or catchphrases used by characters. Not every character needs a recurring line, but seemingly innocuous phrases can go a long way in making characters distinct and memorable.

Character Relationships (Must-Have)

Document the relationships between characters, including crucial interactions, conflicts, and alliances. Relationships inform so much of how a character acts and are such compelling forces for character development that you want to make sure you have a solid grasp on yours.

Consider tracking relationship arcs here, too, for the most important relationships.

Worldbuilding Details

As a lover of fantasy and sci-fi, I’m a bit biased when it comes to how much you should care about worldbuilding. That said, consistency in your setting descriptions and what is available to your characters is important, no matter the genre.

Locations and Settings (Must-Have)

Describe your primary locations and settings, including any significant buildings, landscapes, and unique features. This ensures your magical kingdom, futuristic city, or downtown office building remains consistent throughout your story.

Geography and Maps (Nice to Have)

If your story involves complex geography, consider including maps and geographical details. Note important regions, cities, and landmarks. This is crucial for fantasy and sci-fi genres, where unique worlds are a vital part of the story.

Cultural Notes and Customs (Nice to Have)

Document the customs, traditions, languages, and social norms of the cultures within your story. Things can get confusing really quickly, even for you, the author, so do yourself a favor and make it easy to keep track of all these things you’ve made up.

Plot Lines and Timelines

When you’re deep in the weeds of your story, it’s easy to get lost or off-track. This is especially true when pantsing your way to the end if you aren’t sure where you’re going.

Key Plot Points or Beats (Must-Have)

Track the major events and turning points in your story. These should be the big things that push your story forward or have a significant impact on your characters.

Chronological Timeline (Nice to Have)

This is especially important in stories with flashbacks, multiple timelines, or intricate plot twists. If you mention something that has happened outside of your current story (like in a character’s childhood or past), note it down so you keep an idea of when it occurred.

It comes in handy ten chapters later if you want to reference it again.

Character Arcs (Must-Have)

Note the progression of your character arcs in relation to the plot. This helps track their growth and ensures that their development aligns with the story’s events.

Themes and Symbols

Every great story has important themes guiding its development. These don’t need to be jammed in your reader’s face (in fact, they shouldn’t be), but themes and messages add meaning to a tale.

Recurring Themes (Must-Have)

Identify the themes you want to include in your story or have found that naturally popped up.

Also keep track of the events and character decisions you’ll use to show these themes in action.

Symbolism and Imagery (Nice to Have)

Track any recurring symbols or imagery you use. That way you don’t muddle your messaging by misusing symbols and can reference what imagery means what later on in your book.

Research Notes

This isn’t a place to store pages upon pages of the detailed notes you took for each historical, scientific, or some other reference in your book. But it is a handy place to keep track of the most important details you might need to refresh your memory on more often.

Historical and Cultural Research (Nice to Have)

If your story involves specific historical periods, cultural settings, or technical details, make sure you’re accurate and authentic by keeping them somewhere that’s easy to access.

Sources and References (Nice to Have)

This will almost be exclusively used by writers of historical fiction, historical romance, or science fiction. Keep a list of sources and references used in your research, just in case you need to fact-check or back up your claims.

Language and Grammar Rules

This is what most people who have heard of a style sheet think of when they hear the term (and what excites the editor side of my brain).

I can’t understate how important this is for crafting a coherent story and maximizing your efficiency after the first draft, but I could wax poetic about that all day.

Grammar and Punctuation (Must-Have)

Document your grammar and punctuation preferences, such as the use of the Oxford comma, em dashes vs. en dashes, single or double quotation marks, type of English or other language you use, etc. 

Your editor will love you.

Unique Vocabulary and Terminology (Must-Have)

List any unique words, invented languages, or specialized terms used in your story. This is particularly useful for fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction, where unique terms are typical.

I know you invented some of these words, but you will forget how to spell them at some point.

Stylistic Preferences (Must-Have)

Note your preferences for things like capitalization, hyphenation, and other stylistic choices.

Formatting Standards

This section is more about how your work looks across your books. They don’t have to look identical, of course, but consistency helps when a reader is familiar with your work.

Chapter Headings and Sections (Nice to Have)

Define how you want chapter headings and sections to be formatted. This includes font choices, spacing, and any unique stylistic elements you prefer.

Text Layout (Nice to Have)

Note your preferences for text layout, like indentation, alignment, and spacing.

How to Create Your Style Sheet

For as magical as a style sheet is, it unfortunately doesn’t magically appear fully fleshed out. That’s where we lose a lot of people because creating this tool (and maintaining it) means yet another thing added to your to-do list.

And I don’t know about you, but my to-do list is already too long.

That said, I want you to use the template provided here, what you just read, and this section of the deep dive to kickstart your style sheet so it can start working for you—and keep working for you throughout your author career.

Start With the Basics

Begin by outlining what you need from your style sheet. Consider the complexity of your story, the number of characters, and the depth of your worldbuilding. This will help you determine which sections and details to include.

An epic fantasy will have a lot more secondary characters with their own arcs and backstories to include than a closed-room interrogation mystery. It will also include a lot more unique terms and languages than a mafia romance.

Then choose your format. If you’re using the template we’ve made for you, it will launch in Dabble so you can transfer your project over or copy the relevant elements into your existing manuscript.

Gather the Initial Information

Next, gather up all the big-picture information your story needs. This includes:

1. Main character info - Their names, physical descriptions, and key personality traits. Pop those in the character profiles.
2. Worldbuilding elements - The primary settings, geographical locations, and cultural details.
3. Plot points and timeline - Outline the major events and plot points of your story. Create a basic timeline to track the sequence of events.

Develop More Details

Now, it’s time to circle back and fill out some of the finer details. Say it with me: you don’t need to get everything right away.

Your style sheet is going to grow and evolve with you. It’s going to be revised and constantly added to. Don’t think you need to get 100% of the details right now.

That said, consider adding some notes to the following:

1. Character profiles - Add backstories, relationships, and key points to their arcs.
2. Setting descriptions - Add more details to your settings. Focus on sensory details you might forget about in the middle of a writing sprint.
3. Language and grammar rules - Note any specific grammar choices, vocabulary, and stylistic preferences.
4. Dialogue and voice guidelines - While part of the character profile, this isn’t one you want to skimp out on. Define the speech patterns and voices of your characters. Include any recurring phrases or idioms to maintain their unique voices.

Now I know what you’re thinking: Doug, that’s not even close to the whole style sheet.

You’re right! Which is why we’re going to talk about maintaining this new tool of yours. Embrace the ongoing nature of this document so you don’t overwhelm yourself with too much work.

Three Tips for Maintaining Your Style Sheet

Finally, I want to give you some tips on how to maintain your style sheet to maximize your new author tool.

Incorporate Changes Immediately

To be clear, I’m not saying you should review your style sheet every day. That would be silly.

However, it’s a great idea to get in the habit of adding to it as soon as you write something worth including. In an ideal world, you spend three minutes at the end of a writing session reflecting on what you wrote. Ask yourself:

Have I introduced any new characters or developed existing ones further? Did I add any new details about their physical appearance, background, or personality? Did any of their relationships with other characters change or evolve?

Did I describe any new settings or provide additional details about existing ones? Have any new locations been introduced that need to be documented? Did I describe any significant changes or events in existing settings?

Have there been any significant plot developments or events? Did I introduce any new plot points or twists that need to be tracked? Did any timelines or sequences of events change that need updating?

Did I use any specific language, terminology, or invented words? Are there any new terms or unique vocabulary that should be added to the style sheet? Did I make any specific grammar or punctuation choices that need to be documented?

Were there any notable pieces of dialogue or character interactions? Did any characters use new idioms, catchphrases, or speech patterns? Are there any important conversations or interactions that impact character development?

Have I added any new thematic elements or symbols? Did I introduce any new themes or motifs that need to be tracked? Are there any new symbols or pieces of imagery that play a significant role in the story?

Schedule and Stick to Regular Reviews

I wish that those few minutes at the end of each writing session are enough, but we need to put in a tiny bit more work than that.

But not an overwhelming amount, I promise.

Here are the five times you should schedule a full look-through (and revision) of your style sheet.

1. After Completing a Draft

Why: Reviewing your style sheet after finishing a draft helps ensure consistency throughout the manuscript and allows you to catch any discrepancies or errors before moving on to revisions. Getting the work done ahead of time, when it’s all still fresh in your mind, will help a ton.

What to Do: Compare the draft against the style sheet, updating any details that may have evolved during the writing process.

2. Before Major Revisions

Why: Before climbing the mountain that is a significant revision, a thorough review of your style sheet can guide your changes and make sure they align with the established details and rules of your story.

This is extra helpful if you’ve taken a good chunk of time off since you finished your last draft or revision.

What to Do: Refresh your memory on character arcs, plot points, and worldbuilding elements to maintain coherence during revisions. You likely aren’t looking for spelling and grammar at this point.

3. When Introducing New Elements

Why: If you decide to add new characters, settings, or significant plot developments, it’s an excellent time to review the entire style sheet so these new elements fit seamlessly into your existing work.

What to Do: Check for consistency with existing details and update the style sheet to incorporate the new additions.

4. Before Sharing with Editors or Beta Readers

Why: Providing a comprehensive, up-to-date style sheet to your editorial team can help them understand your vision and provide more targeted feedback.

What to Do: Ensure all sections are complete and reflective of the current state of your manuscript before sharing. And make sure they make sense to someone who is not living in your brain.

5. Prior to Publication or Submission

Why: A final review before submitting your manuscript for publication or to agents will be the final cherry on top that ensures all details are consistent and polished, presenting your work in the best possible light.

What to Do: Perform a detailed check of all aspects of your style sheet, making any last-minute adjustments needed to reflect the final manuscript.

Keep it Clear and Legible

Finally, your style sheet should be a helpful tool, not a confusing one. Focus on clarity and brevity, especially if you’ll be sharing it with editors and beta readers. 

Here are some tips to ensure your style sheet is easy to read and use:

Use clear heading and subheadings - This is supposed to be a reference document, so it needs to be easy to scan and navigate. Break your style sheet into clear sections with descriptive headings (“Character Profiles,” “Setting Descriptions,” “Plot Points”). This helps you and your team quickly find the information you need. And be consistent in your heading styles and formatting.

Be concise - This isn’t your fifteen-level deep series of subfolders outlining every aspect of your character’s life from birth to now. Aim for brevity in your descriptions. Provide enough detail to be clear, but avoid lengthy paragraphs. Bullet points can be very effective for listing traits, events, and rules. Use bold or italics (choose one and be consistent) to emphasize crucial details.

Consider visual aids - Tables or charts might be helpful for some information, like outlining the names, traits, and relationships of your characters in a simple format. You can consider including maps or sketches of important items. This tip won’t apply to most authors, but it might apply to you.

A Little Work Now Can Benefit Your Entire Journey

When we say this is a Premium Deep Dive, I hope you understand just how deep we get on something that—at least at the beginning of this article—might seem completely innocuous.

Truthfully, a style sheet can be as powerful and valuable as you make it. No amount of my jokes or hyperbole will magically turn five minutes of work into a career-long, evolving document.

But, if you’re serious about your writing and want something that can benefit you for literal decades, a style sheet is your new best friend.

One last time, click here to get our Premium Style Guide Template if you haven’t yet. And be sure to check out our previous Deep Dive into relationships, including a relationship arc checklist for you to download.

If you want to take advantage of more resources like this, Dabble Premium offers monthly workshops, exclusive deep dives, chances at personalized feedback on your work, office hours, and more… all in addition to getting you access to the best writing platform on the planet.

If you aren’t already a Dabble Premium wordsmith, click here to get started.

Happy writing, my friends.

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