Every great story is built on relationships. The tension between characters, the alliances and betrayals, the love triangles and power struggles—these are what make readers turn pages. But as your cast grows and your plot webs become more intricate, keeping track of who knows what, who loves whom, and who secretly wants to destroy whom becomes a serious challenge.
That's where character relationship mapping comes in. Visual story planning tools let you see your entire character web at a glance, revealing connections you might have missed and plot holes you need to fill.
Why Visual Character Mapping Works
Writers have always used visual tools—index cards on corkboards, story webs on whiteboards, character sheets in binders. Digital relationship mapping takes these analog methods and supercharges them:
- See the whole picture. Zoom out to view your entire character web. Are there isolated characters who need more connections? Is one character the hub of too many relationships?
- Track complex relationships. Label connections precisely: "mentor to," "rivals with," "secretly in love with," "betrayed by." These labels become a story bible.
- Organize by type. Color-code protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, and background figures. Instantly see the balance of your cast.
- Multiple boards for multiple purposes. One board for character relationships, another for faction politics, another for the timeline of events.
Use Cases for Writers
Novel Writing
For novelists, especially those writing series or books with large casts, relationship mapping is essential. Map your POV characters in the center, then branch out to secondary characters, showing how each one connects to the core cast. As your story develops, add new connections to track how relationships evolve.
Pro tip: Create a "relationship arc" by noting how connections change. A node labeled "Sarah → Mark: colleagues" in Act 1 might become "Sarah → Mark: lovers" by Act 3.
Screenwriting
Film and TV writers need to track relationships across scenes and episodes. Which characters have never met? Where are the dramatic opportunities when enemies are forced to work together? Visual mapping reveals these opportunities at a glance.
Fantasy and Sci-Fi Worldbuilding
Worldbuilders face the most complex relationship challenges. You're not just tracking characters—you're tracking:
- Factions and organizations - Who leads them? Who opposes them? What are the internal politics?
- Locations - Which characters are associated with which places? What happened where?
- Historical events - How did past events shape current relationships?
- Magic systems and artifacts - Who knows what? Who possesses what?
A single board can map an entire fictional universe, with node types for characters, factions, locations, events, and artifacts all interconnected.
Game Masters and RPG Campaign Planning
Dungeon Masters and Game Masters running tabletop RPGs need to track NPCs, factions, quests, and player relationships. Investigation boards let you:
- Map NPC relationships before the session
- Track what players have discovered vs. what's still hidden
- Plan how factions will react to player actions
- Keep a visual record of campaign history
How to Map Character Relationships
Here's a practical approach to mapping your story's relationships:
Step 1: Start with Your Protagonist
Place your main character in the center of the board. This is the sun around which your story's solar system orbits.
Step 2: Add Core Relationships
Who does your protagonist interact with most? Add these characters as nodes, connected to the protagonist with labeled relationships. Be specific: not just "friend" but "childhood best friend" or "reluctant ally."
Step 3: Build Outward
For each secondary character, ask: who else are they connected to? Your protagonist's mentor might have a former student who's now an antagonist. Your love interest might have an ex who's about to complicate things.
Step 4: Identify Clusters and Gaps
Step back and look at your board. Do you see clusters of tightly connected characters with few bridges between them? These isolated groups might need a connection character. Alternatively, gaps between clusters can represent the central conflict of your story.
Step 5: Map the Timeline
For complex stories, create a second board that maps events instead of characters. Connect events to show cause and effect, and link characters to the events that shaped them.
Real Examples
Consider how these famous stories would look as relationship maps:
- Game of Thrones - Houses as faction nodes, characters within, alliance and rivalry connections between houses, plus marriage and blood connections between individuals.
- The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship as a tight cluster, with connections spreading out to the various kingdoms, factions, and historical figures.
- Murder mysteries - The victim at center, with every suspect connected, their alibis, motives, and relationships mapped out.
Why Use Investigation Board Software for Writing?
Dedicated writing software like Scrivener excels at managing text. But when it comes to visualizing relationships, nothing beats an investigation board. The spatial arrangement, the visible connections, the ability to see everything at once—these are uniquely valuable for understanding complex character webs.
Redstrings is built for exactly this kind of visual thinking:
- Node types for characters, locations, events, and more - Color-code your cast
- Labeled connections - Track exactly how characters relate
- Multiple boards - Separate character maps from timelines from faction politics
- Local files - Your story ideas stay on your machine
- Murder board aesthetic - Because every story is an investigation
Getting Started
If you're a writer struggling to keep your character relationships straight, or a worldbuilder drowning in your own lore, try visual relationship mapping. Start with your main character, add their closest connections, and let the board grow organically as your story develops.
You might be surprised what patterns emerge when you can finally see how everything connects.