How to Write a Good Character Profile

Writing character profiles for your novel might seem like extra work until you write them. Keep reading to see why and how I write them, then check out today’s writing prompt at the bottom of the post

Why I Write Character Profiles

1. Creating character profiles helps me understand each character as a solo entity, separate from the overall narrative of the novel I’m writing. And that allows me to give them weird idiosyncrasies, quirks, mannerisms, personality traits, and habits that make them interesting and unique from the other characters in the novel—traits that probably wouldn’t be present if I didn’t write their profiles. 

2. Writing character profiles also saves a lot of time. I never have to scan through pages of drafted text, wasting valuable time, looking for details that I’ve already written about a character in previous sections, which I may have forgotten by the time I get to drafting other sections of the novel later— things like their eye color and height, when they were born, and what their favorite song is, etc. 

3. Last but not least, writing character profiles can be fun and offer you an alternative creative outlet as you’re drafting your novel. Maybe you need a break from writing scenes and outlining the plot of your novel, but still want to keep working on your novel. Creating character profiles offers a great way to do this and might even end up helping you hammer out the other details of your novel as you learn who your characters really are and what makes them tick. 

How I Write Character Profiles 

1. Write a bit of your novel first, so that it begins to take shape before you start working on your character’s profiles, unless one of your main characters is really that vivid in your mind already and you can already write pages about who they are and what makes them tick. Most of the time, I’ve found that it’s generally easier to write a few scenes of a novel before jumping into writing character profiles. However, this isn’t a rule that is necessarily set in stone, and may not always apply to what you’re writing. 

2. Next, I catalog basic demographic information about the character I am writing a profile for: age, location, occupation, marital status, etc. (basically, any information you might need to fill in on a government-issued document). 

3. Then, I download a photo of how I picture the character in my mind so that I can have a static image of them that I can refer to when I write about them in scenes later. I often use images of movie stars or stock photos. You can also use AI to generate images based on how you describe what the character looks like in writing. Don’t be surprised if this step takes longer than you think it will. But don’t underestimate how important this step is either. While it seems like frivolous fun, you are actually working to create a more concrete image of what your character looks like in your mind when you do this, which will save you a lot of time later when you’re writing about them in various scenes. 

4. After I have an idea for what the character looks like, I jot down how they’re related to the other consequential characters in the story I’m writing. Drawing a family tree of sorts can really help with this step, so you can better visualize how each character is related to one another. It will also help you see what other character profiles you might need to create in order to better flesh out your novel (pun intended). Completing this step will allow you to see what each character’s role will look like in the story and will give you a clearer idea of what makes them tick. For example, maybe your main character has an overbearing parent that fuels their anxiety or anger. Or maybe you have a young person who looks up to their mentor. Etc. 

5. Once you have your character’s relationships down, it will be easier to detail their internal and external struggles. Perhaps they have a fear of flying because they were on a flight that nearly crashed on the way to see a distant relative when they were a child. Perhaps they refuse to drink alcohol because their older cousin is an alcoholic. Or they have a micromanaging boss who makes their work environment hostile. And so on. 

6. Next, answer ice-breaker questions on behalf of your character as you complete their profile. I know, most of us hate these, which is kind of the point. Take a moment to consider how your character would respond to questions asked in public like, “If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why?” or “Tell me one interesting thing about yourself,” or “What is your least favorite pizza topping?” etc. Doing this will allow you to get a better understanding of your character’s personality and weird quirks and how they want to be perceived by others, which will also help you better understand their internal and external struggles. 

7. And lastly, write their eulogy. Yes, this might sound morbid, but it works. Write a eulogy for your character so that you’ll know how they will be remembered by others. Write the eulogy from a different main character’s perspective, or from an omniscient narrator’s perspective. This will help you better understand what you want people to remember about your character, what their role is in your piece of fiction, and why they’re valuable to the overall narrative.  

What are your thoughts on writing character profiles? Leave a comment to join this dialogue, and don’t forget to share this post with anyone who might find it interesting so that we can keep this dialogue going. 

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© All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton and Creighton’s Compositions LLC.

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Today’s Writing Prompt