The Writer’s Guide: How To Create A Character Profile
At the centre of every great story is a cast of characters that convince you to read on, that almost become your friends. They have motivations, arcs, development and personalities that are understandable, deep and unique. However, as a writer creating these kinds of characters isn’t easy. You need to know them inside and out, understand what makes them tick and how they will respond to events and overcome the obstacles that you throw their way.
Creating a character profile isn’t for everyone (we all have to find what works for us after all), but for those writers struggling to answer questions such “as do my characters have depth?”, working through the steps to create a character profile can help fill and round out your characters bringing them to life.
In this article, we take a look at what a character profile is, what makes a good one, and the steps to take to create one that’s actually useful.
What is a character profile and why should you create one?
In short, a character profile is a detailed biography of a fictional character. It should cover everything from the person's age and physical appearance to their likes, dislikes and even their relationships.
While filling out a character template may feel like a bit of a waste of time, especially for less important characters, it’s essential for authors to have a complete grasp of who their characters are and why they are behaving in the way they do.
For example, a villain that is evil simply because the plot needs a villain is going to be weak and two-dimensional. But, a villain who has suffered a loss and will do anything in their power to right their past - even if they’re misguided - well this villain becomes understandable.
By working through and answering the questions in a character profile authors can better understand how their characters will react in certain scenarios, their overall motivations, and their function within the story. This will help you create unique engaging characters a avoid common tropes.
Authors need to understand their characters like the back of their hands, even if they’re not going to reveal a lot of the details, even if the audience only gets to see 10% of who this character really is. In fact, you shouldn’t try to pack in every detail, doing so will likely result in an “info dump”. However, having the details there, referencing them and revealing them when they are relevant to the story is essential if you want your characters to feel well-drawn, flawed and real.
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What makes a good character profile?
A good character profile is one that helps you gain a complete understanding of a character, their past, motivations, likes and dislikes as is relevant to the context of the story.
As such, the character profile should have three parts to it. The surface, the body, and the core. Not all of your characters will need each of these sections to be built out to minute detail. As we mentioned above though, you do need to fill out what is relevant to the story.
The surface
These are the features that are immediately obvious. Things like their physical appearance, the way they speak, and how they interact with those around them.
The body
Characters don’t exist in a vacuum. They are shaped by their past experiences, by the people and events of their lives. The body then is about the formative influences and relationships that have made them who they are today.
The core
Who is your character in their heart? Who do they want to be? The core is all about how the character perceives themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, goals and motivations. This will form a central pillar, informing how your character will navigate and interact with the story you’re creating.
If you’re already familiar with this skip ahead to the part you want to hone:
Part 1: The Surface
The Basics
Name
Age
Place of birth
Current location
Nationality
Education
Occupation
Income
Physical Appearance
Eye colour
Hairstyle
Build
Distinguishing features (tattoos, scars, etc.)
Clothes and fashion (what do they normally wear?)
Accessories (do they wear glasses, smoke, carry a walking stick, necklaces, hats, etc?)
Grooming (are they well presented, or dishevelled?)
Obvious mannerisms (do they have a lisp, a tic etc? For example, people who are anxious often touch their face)
Current health (are they healthy or sickly?)
Their walk (are they confident, brisk, lazy, distracted or nervous?)
Speech and Communication
Posture
Stiff, military
Slouched or hunching
Casual and relaxed
Other?
Gestures
Never
Only when agitated or eager
When making a point
Compulsive “hand-talker”
Other?
Speech
Accents
Do they speak a lot?
How do they speak?
Style (eg. educated, slang)
Mannerisms
Are they confident or anxious?
What’s their laughter like?
Do they smile a lot or not at all?
How emotive are they?
Do they wear their emotions on their sleeve?
How easily can others to read them?
Do they get visibly upset or angry easily?
Part 2: The Body
The Past
Growing up
Name of their homestown
Their favourite place growing up
What type of childhood did they have (sheltered, neglected, etc.)?
Describe their education and their experience at school.
Describe their childhood friends
What ambitions and dreams did they have?
What jobs have they had (if applicable)?
What was their dream job as a child?
Did they have a role model or idol growing up?
The memories that shaped them
Their greatest regret
Their earliest memory
Their saddest memory
Their happiest memory
Their most vivid memory
What were the major turning points in their childhood?
What bad things (if applicable) have they done in the past?
Do they have a criminal record?
Family
Father
Age (if living)
Occupation
Relationship with your character
Mother
Age (if living)
Occupation
Relationship with your character
Siblings
How many?
What are their names and ages?
Relationship with your character
Children (if applicable)
Age (if living)
Occupation
Relationship with your character
Extended family
Grandparents
Uncles and aunts
Cousins
Other
Other
How wealthy or poor are their family?
How often do they see their family in a year?
Other Relationships
Friends and enemies
Who are their closest friends now? Describe them.
Other significant friends?
Enemies? Describe them.
How are they perceived by others:
strangers in the street
acquaintances at a work function
colleagues in the office
authority figures
friends in their friend circles
children
the opposite sex
extended family
What’s their role in a group dynamic?
Leader
Joker
Parent
Hype man
Mooch
Other? If so, explain.
Who do they depend on for:
practical advice
mentoring
a wingman
emotional support
moral support
Relationship ambitions
What do they want from a relationship?
Do they have a significant other?
If not what are they looking for?
Who is their significant other? Describe them.
Part 3: The Core
Psychology
Are they:
Street-smart or book-smart
An optimist or pessimist
Introverted or Extroverted
Personal facts
What kind of music do they like?
Do they have a favourite place?
Are they a city or a country person?
What secrets are they afraid of people finding out?
What are their flaws?
What are their strengths?
What are they afraid of?
What is their prized/ favourite possession?
What makes them angry?
What makes them sad?
What are their life ambitions now?
Do they want to be remembered? What for?
What are their career goals?
Who do they idolise now?
What makes them happy? / What is their idea of happiness?
What is their greatest accomplishment to date?
How do they approach:
Ambition?
Love?
Change?
Flattery?
Morality
What are their concepts of good and evil?
What would they refuse to compromise their morality for?
What or when specifically are they willing to compromise their morals? (eg. To save the life of another? To prevent their secrets from being exposed?)
Can they be bought?
How have their desires changed?
Describe the character’s “bucket list” ages 15, 20, 30 etc.
Other questions
What is the best compliment that someone ever paid them?
In an elevator, do they push the elevator button more than once?
What would they want their tombstone to say?
Goals and Motivations
Understanding your character’s motivation and key goals is essential if you want to create a three-dimensional character that your readers can relate to. Ask yourself, what does your character want, why do they want it, and how far are they willing to go to achieve it? This is critical information that, should your characters seem to stray off course, you can revisit to remind yourself, and them why they are doing what they’re doing.
What is their story goal? (answer in a single paragraph)
What is motivating them (why do they want it)? (answer in a single paragraph)
Final Words
If an author wants to make their stories irresistible after publishing them then they need to make their characters believable, then they need to fully understand what drives their characters, how they will react in particular situations and what their motivations are.
Not having answers to these basic questions, or worse, ignoring them can often result in characters acting out of, well, character. It makes it harder for readers to connect and can result in a jarring reading experience where the character appears to be simply doing what they’re doing because it’s necessary to drive the plot forward.