I don't like character sheets. Yes, they're useful, as you say, for reminding the little details like eye color. But they feel so... bland to me. So empty. They're a list of attributes, not something that lets me get to know someone. They don't have personality. They don't make me feel anything, they don't make me pity the character, they don't make me look up to them, or envy them, or love them, or hate them.

When a new character pops up from my subconscious and manifests on the screen, it's only a silhouette. He has a name, because he needs one. He's also a he, apparently. Let's make him do something. He throws a bracelet into the garbage. It's old and tarnished. Must be something he's had for a long time. Maybe it represents something he doesn't like. Hey, I know, his father gave it to him. Why did he throw it, though? His dad gave him the bracelet. Well, this guy is angry because his dad is dying. That's not reason enough, though, unless he has some daddy issues. Maybe Anguy isn't angry at his father, but the father that the bracelet represents. Oh, you know what? I know! It's a degenerative disease, so his father has become the shadow of the man he once was. He's become frail, he's become older. More bones than flesh. His skin is yellowish and stained, and he lies in a dirty bed. He stinks of shit, vomit, and sickness. Anguy isn't angry at his dad, JLefish, you moron! He's angry that he's dying. And now, when he thinks of him, he sees the shriveled man who shat himself, and he can't bear himself to see that. So he throws the thing that reminds him of that. There's also sadness in Anguy. It's his dad, dammit. And he's dying. And Anguy can't go be with him, because he's afraid of the thing he's become. Ok, so he's afraid of that. And he's also sad, of course.

I know I just threw this off from the top of my head, but... how do you fit that in a character sheet? I mean, sure, you can strip that paragraph apart and condense the important information into bullet points. But I just can't reduce the extent of their emotions, of their reactions, and of their pains, into a footnote. If I'm writing Anguy, I need to gosh darn feel like Anguy. And I'm not gonna get in the mindset by reading a list. I'm gonna get in the mindset by reading that paragraph and living that scene. Then, and only then, I know Anguy.