When you first go to write a book, one of the most important things you need to do before you even start writing is to determine what type of character you are writing about. The main character is the star of the show and the central figure that the entire story revolves around, so you need to choose this one with extra care. That’s where something like a character profile comes in handy. Characters are also an important part of world-building and a vital part to bringing your universe to life. And that’s why I’m going to teach you how to create the ultimate character profile.
What is a Character Profile
A character profile is basically something that outlines and breaks down who your character is. This includes characteristics, physical attributes, relationships, conflicts, etc…
Typically, writers organize character profiles in a series of subcategories and there are a lot of worksheets out there that can help do that. I’ve curated one that I actually use all the time myself, which you can download below.
I’ll also give you the run-down on how to use this worksheet so that you can start creating the ultimate character for your absolutely amazing WIP right away.
1. Character Basics and Overview
The first thing you should consider is the basic components of your character. This is what I would call the “overview.” Simply put, this is where you plan out the more simple pieces of who your character is supposed to be. This includes:
- Their name (first, middle, last, etc…)
- Age
- Gender
- Race/Species
- Place of birth
- Home location/birth location
Don’t feel obliged to finish all of these pieces immediately. Some of them can depend a lot on the genre. For example, some of the countries that you want to write about in your fantasy book might take some time to come up with and you may come up with them as you’re planning later on. Even when you’re writing, you’ll still be world-building actively.
In fact, my next WIP features multiple countries in one world, but I came up with some countries after planning out the story and character. Either way, you can leave anything blank until you’re sure that you have a good idea of what you want for your character.
I’ll be using Azurai from my sci-fi/fantasy series, The Fallen Age Saga, as a reference to give you an example of how you can fill out the character profile. So, for the overview:
- Name: Azurai Galardidiabroka
- Age: Exact number unknown, potentially several thousand years
- Gender: Male
- Race: Shaytanurashi
- Place of birth: Varkava
- Home location: Karnakania
2. Physical Features
This is pretty self-explanatory, but one of the best parts about character planning is to design your character’s physical features. Try to be specific here so that when you go to write your story, you already have a good sense of how your character looks.
Physical features includes things like:
- Height
- Weight
- Body type
- Skin color
- Eye color
- Hair color and type
- Scars, tattoos
These are pretty much the most important aspects of the physical portion of the character profile. I’ll give you an example of what I did for my character Azurai in The Fallen Age Saga:
- Height: 7’1″
- Weight: 257 lbs
- Body type: Athletic, military, muscular
- Skin color: Olive tan
- Eye color: Red
- Hair color and type: Dark brown, short and slightly curly
- Scars and tattoos: None
- Other: N/A
3. Relationships
Character relationships are often really vital to the overall story you are crafting. A character will have relations with other people, just as we do in real life. Typically, the relationships the character has with others sets up things like the antagonist of the story. (Just note, antagonist doesn’t necessarily mean “villain.” An antagonist is anything that opposes your main character/protagonist. So, the main character can be the villain and still be the protagonist).
Relationships that a character has includes things like:
- Parents
- Siblings
- Other family members
- Friends
- Romantic interests/SO
- Allies
- Enemies
These are pretty much the basics of character relationships. Let’s apply this list again to Azurai:
- Parents: Unknown
- Siblings: None
- Other family members: Unknown
- Friends: Kiladal, Ryvkala
- Romantic interests/SO: Nadarkana
- Allies: Ryvkala, Kiladal, Nadarkana, Eldan, Artyom, other Ones Above
- Enemies: Myth, Diabroka, Akala, Roninkal
4. Conflicts and More
Besides relationships and descriptors, characters will face some sort of conflict. This conflict can be internal or external or both. Additionally, characters have different traits and attributes.
Think of it this way: If you’ve ever played an RPG like Fallout, you can select different attributes. These make your in-game character act a certain way when presented with certain scenarios. If one attribute boosts your strength in conflict, you’ll be stronger in a fight.
A character in your book has strengths, weaknesses, and traits that make them uniquely them. This includes:
- Internal conflict
- External conflict
- Traits and attributes
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Again, let’s go back to Azurai for this:
- Internal conflict: Cannot decide if his memories are fake or not
- External conflict: Must defeat Diabroka and Akala
- Traits and attributes: Psychopathic, strong, calculated, full of rage, introverted, charismatic, charming, powerful, leadership qualities
- Strengths: Leading, war
- Weaknesses: Psychopathy makes him unable to feel empathy and he sees others as means to an end
You Can Make Character Profiles for Any Character
I know I’ve been talking about main characters for most of this post, but you can easily curate a great character profile for side characters too, especially if they play a good role in the overall plot of the story. I would not recommend creating detailed character profiles for every character that shows up. It would just be a waste of time when you should focus your efforts on fleshing out your most important characters.
Now, if you want to create a bunch of profiles for fun, go for it. But, if you want to maximize your writing time, just focus on the main and important characters.
Happy world-building!