Use case

Character relationship map

A character map shows every character in a story and how they are related: family, alliance, romance, rivalry. Writers use one to keep a large cast straight; fans use one to follow a long series. In Netgraf you colour ties by kind, add the episode or year they change, and play the plot back on a timeline.

Updated · Netgraf

For writers

A cast of forty is hard to hold in your head. A map shows the problems a list hides: a character tied to nobody, two factions with no one between them, a protagonist who is not actually central. Open Insights on your draft and check that the people the story is about are the ones the network is about.

  • Use the subtitle for role and first appearance ("Innkeeper, ch. 3").
  • Use conflict ties for rivalries so the tension shows as colour.
  • Keep one map per book or season, and copy it forward rather than editing the old one.

For fans

Date each tie with the season or year it starts and ends, and the timeline slider lets a reader scrub through the plot without spoilers for later seasons. The tour turns the map into a guided recap: each step frames a group of characters with a caption.

Mark the map as fictional. Every Netgraf map states whether it is about real or invented people, and fictional maps are labelled as such wherever they are shared.

Example maps

Open one to explore it, then press Edit a copy to make it yours.

Questions

Can I share a character map on social media?
Yes. Every map has a view link that unfurls into a picture of the map on WhatsApp, X, Slack, Discord and elsewhere, and you can download a PNG. Publishing to the Netgraf gallery is optional.
Is there a character map template?
Open any of the example maps below and press Edit a copy. You get the whole map, ties and tour included, as your own editable starting point.

Draw your own

Free, no account, and private by default. Start blank, import a spreadsheet, or describe the network in words.