Q&A for How to Create a Detailed Character Profile

Anyone who is outside of the realms of what readers already know will be more interesting to them. Very often, we see the same types of characters in particularly stereotypical roles. You don't necessarily have to avoid writing the character altogether, but try to think about how you can make the character different from what readers may be used to. Look at what has been done before and what stereotypes exist already in order to change or twist them.

This would only be pertinent to mention at all if it somehow affects her character - such as if she's self-conscious about having a small chest or uncomfortable by the attention she gets due to a large chest. However, unless it's directly relevant to the story (and in most cases it won't be) it's probably best to leave this out and let the reader imagine the character's figure on their own.

Yes, and this method would still work. You would have to account for animal years in age, and make sure you set your story in a place the animal is native to.

A character biography, which you can write if you wish, is a story explaining the complete history of a character. It can be brief, in great detail, or it can even be a simple bullet-point chart of significant life events.

Anything you think is important. Age, birthday, gender, physical features, personality traits, fears, dreams, loved ones, weaknesses, strengths, and if you want; you can even go into the nitty gritty about the character's favorite food and other minor details.

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It depends. If you want, go ahead and make one for every character in your story. If you like to keep things simpler, then only write them for main characters and secondary characters that have an impact on the storyline.

Of course. A lot of stories have main characters that are children, and they still need a detailed profile to make the reader become more attached to them.

A religious person's personality is about more than just the religion they follow. Obviously if you aim to create a detailed character profile, things like their values will most likely be influenced by their religion, but most likely their strengths and weaknesses won't revolve around their religious beliefs, nor their physical appearance, etc. Focus on traits they may have regardless of their religious identity, because if you're finding that everything you write regarding the character comes back to Jesus, then you may be creating a very stereotypical Christian character.

You could say that she is happy around people and at social events but alone she cradles dark thoughts and deep feelings.

Characters in a novel need to be dynamic, engaging, and relatable so your readers can connect with them and feel like they're real. You can make your characters more well-rounded by coming up with a background story that includes details such as where they're from and what their childhood was like. Spend some time envisioning what they look like, how they behave, and how they serve the story of your novel. Use this information to help guide your character creation.

An example of a flat character would be a background character that doesn't change or evolve over the course of the story. They can often be a stereotypical character to help move the story along. For example, a school bully that never learns or changes in a story about a track star who overcomes adversity is an example of a flat character.

A stereotypical character, also known as a stock character, often imbibes cultural stereotypes of behavior, attitude, dress, and other characteristics. They're usually background characters who don't really influence the main plot of a story. An example of a stereotypical character would be the mean gym teacher who tries to make the sensitive, artistic hero climb up a rope to humiliate them in a story.

Perhaps create a bit of a backstory, but you do not need to plan their life from birth if they are only a child. Chances are, their greatest moments are still to come.

There are good movies and books to take some inspiration from. Your Name is a good movie, and it is about how a boy and a girl swap places, so you can look at how they react.

Yes! That is a good name. Writing is meant to be fun so don't worry. It doesn't matter if your story is cliche and childish as long as you like it.

Yes, you can. If you don’t have a biography or description of a character, it can be a great writing exercise.