# Character relationship map

> Make a character map for a novel, a TV series or a game: every character, every tie, colour-coded by kind, with a timeline that follows the plot. Free.

Source: https://netgraf.isik.co/uses/character-map
Updated: 2026-09-24

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.

## 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.

## 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.

## Example maps

- https://netgraf.isik.co/m/game-of-thrones
- https://netgraf.isik.co/m/breaking-bad
- https://netgraf.isik.co/m/succession-roys
- https://netgraf.isik.co/m/the-office