book character biography

How to Write a Character Bio (With Examples!)

If you’re starting a new roleplay (RP) or Tabletop Roleplaying Game (TTRPG), then one of the things you will be expected to provide is a character biography. If you aren’t familiar with writing character bios, then you might be a little stumped on what exactly needs to be included, and what is better left out. 

Although there is no perfect, established way of writing a biography for a character, there are a couple of things you could do to make it more effective and useful to your fellow roleplayers and TTRPG players. But first, you should make sure you understand exactly what a character bio entails before writing your own.

This article is specifically about creating character bios for roleplays, tabletop games, and other collaborative writing settings. If you’re looking for how to create a character for a story, try checking out How to Make Characters Interesting, Complex, and Unique instead.

What is a Character Bio?

A character bio, also known as a character profile or character biography, is a brief overview of your character that you can provide to others prior to the start of a game or roleplay. It gives them an introduction to your character before the narrative actually begins, which makes it easier to create plots and interact between characters. 

Generally, a character bio includes basic information about the character, such as their name, appearance, and behavior, but it can also include topics such as backstory and motivations. Bios can look different depending on what they are being used for, the genre of the story, and the other players’ preferences. 

Why is a Character Bio Important?

Character bios make it much easier for other players or RP partners to get to know your character. By providing information on your character up front, you can allow others to get to know them, build relationships between characters, and come up with ideas for the story based around your character’s information.

In addition to that, having a good character bio can be helpful to reference later, especially if they are part of a long campaign. Bios help keep your characters consistent and true to their original design. Even the best writers forget things about their characters over time, so it’s a good idea to write everything down anyway. When I take notes on my characters, I usually keep the character’s bio at the top of the page and simply add to it as events unfold in the story. 

How Long Should a Character Bio Be?

One of the most important things to keep in mind when writing a character bio is that it should be short . You need to keep it clear, concise, and brief. You aren’t trying to give away your character’s life story, after all. You just want to break the ice and introduce them to the other players and characters. After all, if you gave away all their secrets at the beginning, there wouldn’t be any mysteries to uncover over the course of the story. 

As a general rule, you should try to keep your character bios shorter than a page (which is typically about 300-500 words). If you make it much shorter than that, you likely wouldn’t be doing your character justice. If you wrote much more than that, however, most people probably wouldn’t get around to reading the whole thing. Character bios aren’t exactly known for being riveting literature. 

What to Include in a Character Bio

When you’re writing your character’s bio, you don’t need to create an entire novel about their life and exploits. You only need to include the details that are important for others to know from the beginning. Some things aren’t even important enough to share at all. 

Although some people have preferences about the ways they want character bios to be formatted, this is the generally accepted formula for writing a good character bio.

The Most Basic Character Elements

The first thing you should establish in your character’s bio is the most basic elements of who they are. That includes things like their:

• Species (if applicable)

You don’t need to get fancy here. This is the easy part—just give the basic information and move on to the next section.  

The Character’s Physical Description

Next, you’ll want to give a basic description of what the character looks like. For this section, you’ll want to consider their:

• Physical details
• Clothing style

You can cover this information in bullet points, but I find that it is much more effective to write this part in paragraph format. That makes the bio feel more like an introduction to the character, and less like some kind of legal document.

If you need some pointers for designing your character, check out Tricks for Describing a Character’s Appearance (With Examples) . 

Remember to keep this part brief. Physical appearance is only one small part of a character, and you don’t want to waste too much time and energy describing what they look like—especially since you don’t want their bio to be too long.

The Character’s Personality

Obviously, most of the character’s personality should come out as you are playing them, but it’s still a good idea to give your RP partners or TTRPG players an indication of their personality before the game or RP begins. 

As with the other sections, this part should be kept brief. You just want to cover the most important aspects of their personality. You know, the traits and behaviors that define who they are. That could be anything from “grumpy” or “hot-headed” to “innocent” or “creepy.” Just give a few adjectives to describe them, and describe some of their dominant behaviors. This section shouldn’t be any longer than a few sentences. 

The Character’s Backstory

This section is the tricky part. You want to explain enough of your character’s backstory to explain how they got where they are in the present day, but you don’t want to give away too much and make your character a completely open book. Not only that, you want to make sure the information you are providing is meaningful to the story, and not just useless facts. 

When summarizing the character’s backstory for their bio, you should cut out everything except for the bare bones. The details aren’t important now (and you can reveal more over the course of the story anyway). Instead, draw attention to a few milestones in the character’s life, whether that relates to family, education, tragedy, or something else. 

What happened in their past to turn them into the person they are at the beginning of the story? Focus on those points, and leave out all the rest. 

If your character doesn’t have much of a backstory yet, you might want to check out this article before moving on: How to Create Compelling Character Backstories . 

What Motivates the Character

When you’re creating a bio for a character, you’ll want to consider their motivations and goals. A character without a direction is boring, so make sure you have some idea of what your character wants before the story begins. Do they want to start their own business? Hunt ghosts for a living? Avenge their dead brother? What is going to motivate your character to actually do something ? 

This part of the bio is often labeled as “present day,” or it’s lumped in with the backstory section. Regardless of how you choose to format it, the point is worth drawing attention to by itself. This part is particularly important for RPs and TTRPGs because it gives partners and fellow players the context they need to understand how this character operates.

The Character’s Quirks and Flaws

I cannot stress this enough: every character needs to have flaws.

All characters need flaws. No one is perfect, so none of your characters should be either. Even if your character is perfect in one regard, they need to be flawed in some other way. The best sharpshooter in the world might be afraid of snakes. The world’s most mesmerizing dancer might have self-confidence issues. 

Quirks are also important! They operate a lot like flaws, though they don’t interfere with the character’s ability to live their life normally. Having a weird sense of humor or a tendency to fidget isn’t necessarily flawed behavior, but it is worth mentioning in this section as well. 

Flaws and quirks are indispensable when it comes to creating interesting characters. They create conflict, and make characters more realistic and sympathetic. Without those details, your characters just won’t resonate with other players. Or worse—you’ll get accused of creating a Mary Sue . 

If you want more information on creating flaws for characters (and why they’re so important for stories), check out How to Create Complex Flaws for Characters .

Miscellaneous Traits and Abilities

Finally, you’ll probably want to include a miscellaneous category at the end of the bio. Depending on your personal preference and the genre of story you’re creating, this part could also go closer to the top. You could also use a different term, or include this category as part of the character’s basic info.

This is the section in which you include anything important that wasn’t covered in the other sections. This could include things such as the character’s:

• Magical Abilities
• Special Skills 
• Languages known

Basically, this section is meant to cover anything else that your RP partners or TTRPG players need to know about your character. 

What NOT to include in a Character Bio

That “miscellaneous” category probably has you scratching your head. If that’s supposed to cover the other important parts of your character, how do you know where to stop? 

There are many things that you should never include in a character bio, but there are two distinct reasons why things should be left out: either the point is boring and doesn’t matter, or it is much more fun to reveal that particular piece of information over the course of the story instead. 

Here are some things that should be left out of character bios because they are uninteresting :

• Their Zodiac sign
• Every single detail of their appearance or personality
• Their entire life story
• Their birthday
• Their entire family tree
• Their favorite food/color/etc

Here are the things that should be left out because they would make good plot points later :

• Their secrets
• Their relationships with other characters
• Their strengths and weaknesses
• Their past trauma or struggles

Character Bio Examples

Character bios don’t have to show off your best writing skills. The point isn’t to impress the pants off the other players, and it’s definitely not to prove you’re a better writer than anyone else. You aren’t showing off, you’re just providing a resource on your character that is necessary for the game or RP. 

With that said, here are some examples of character bios to give you a better idea of how to apply all this information. 

Sample Character Bio 1

Name: Rory Bannon

Sex/Gender: Male

Species: Human (Superhero)

Superpower: He can float.

Power Drawbacks: He’s not very good at controlling his ability, and it is dependent on his mood. Sometimes, he will begin to float when he gets excited. 

Appearance: Rory is tall and lanky, and his limbs almost look too long for his body. He has brown hair with a stripe of orange in the front. He has a goofy smile, and he holds a lot of childish optimism in his sunny green eyes. He always wears a suit no matter where he goes, believing that dressing for success is the first step to achieving it. 

Personality: He’s chipper and optimistic, and all his friends agree that he’s a bit of a hopeless romantic. He’s a dreamer, and his head is often stuck in the clouds. 

Backstory: Rory is an only child from a loving home. He decided to attend a school for young heroes to learn how to control his powers, with the full support of his doting parents. 

Goals: He wants to learn how to control his powers and use them to help others.

Quirks: He’s gotten pretty good at floating up—just not at coming back down again. 

Sample Character Bio 2

Name: Alice Howard

Nicknames: Red, Little Red, Pumpkin (by her father)

Sex/Gender: Female

Appearance: Alice is the preppy, pretty girl at school, with a figure that makes boys drool. Her long hair is a gorgeous shade of reddish-brown, and delicate freckles dot her petite, pale features. She is careful to keep her makeup perfect, and she is always pushing the limits of what her school’s dress code allows.

Personality: Despite her looks, Alice is remarkably insecure. She thrives off compliments and bases her entire self-worth on what others think of her. One bad pimple is enough to get her to skip school, and she takes even the smallest insults to heart. Despite how she feels about beauty and her own self-image, she always tries to be uplifting and encouraging to other girls, and would never say anything nasty about the way someone looks. 

Backstory: Alice lives with her grandparents since both of her parents are deployed Marines. Her grandparents are getting quite old, and they often require her help more often than she needs them. She does her best to be responsible, but she often regrets that she can’t get out as much as other girls her age. 

Goals: Alice has a history of bad relationships. All she wants is a good boyfriend and real friends. 

Quirks: She has a tendency to be clingy and physically affectionate with her friends. 

Misc: Alice’s one true love is food, specifically greasy, tex-mex food. 

Sample Character Bio 3

Name: Samson Anders

Nickname: Sams

Species: Half-human, half-demon

Height: 6’2”

Hair: Long, Brown

Eye Color: Hazel

Skin Color: Medium-light

Physical Details: He has a large scar over the left side of his neck and collarbone, and multiple smaller scars all over.

Personality: Harsh, cold, and unapproachable. He has a softer side for those he cares about.

Past: He isn’t one to talk about his past. Most of his friends know that he had a rough childhood, but no one knows the details.

Present: He is living with a friend in a one-bedroom apartment, and the duo are professional ghost hunters. 

Goals: Secretly, he hopes to learn more about his demonic side.

Quirks/Flaws: He tends to grow out his facial hair when he is feeling down, simply because he can’t be bothered to shave.

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The Ultimate Character Bio Template: 200 Character Development Questions

POSTED ON Feb 6, 2024

Written by Angelica Hartgers

A character bio template is a shortcut for developing realistic characters. It's the key to creating believable protagonists and antagonists that come alive through your writing. Character bio templates include guiding questions to help you shape your main characters as you write. 

*** Remember, writing great fiction starts with writing great characters!***

By answering significant questions about your character's development, not only will you be able to understand a character inside and out, but you’ll also be able to show your readers the depth of your character. 

Creating life-like characters goes beyond just plopping your character into the storyline, giving them a name, and describing a few traits.

And it’s not just for fiction – but for non-fiction , too. Are you writing a memoir? A biography? A self-help book using “case studies” or examples of people in particular situations?   Experimenting with creative writing prompts ?

You’ll want to fill out a character bio template for your main character if you’re writing one of these non-fiction books as well! 

Even if your character is modeled after a real person, that’s not enough to make him or her come alive for the reader. As an aspiring author , the first rule of thumb is to fully develop your character. You need to create an individual with a story of their own that readers want to engage and connect with as they read your book.  

Your character’s development should not be an afterthought – after all, you’re telling a story, and the story likely centers around the characters.

Invest the time to answer these questions in our character bio template, and you’ll see just how real your character will become.

Get The Free Character Sheet!

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This blog on character bios will cover:

What is a character bio.

A character bio is a document or template that outlines the biography of a character in a story. Commonly used in the form of a character sheet template, which includes in-depth questions that highlight the character's traits , descriptions, and journey, the character bio is used as a resource for the writer's reference.

A character bio template helps the writer keep track of the character's arc, background, and preferences which then helps the reader understand the character's dynamics through the story. By creating a character with a past, present, and future, storytellers are able to paint a vivid picture of the character's behavior and actions as displayed in the story.

The main goal of using a character profile template is to increase the realistic attributes of the character, to ultimately make them more believable and relatable for the reader.

Character bio templates are used mainly by fiction writers and authors, screenwriters, and other storytellers. Character profile templates should be filled out for all main characters in the story, including antagonists, to improve the overall character development.

Why is character development important?

Character development is important because the more developed a character is, the more realistic the character is – and readers want to invest in characters that are believable. 

Have you ever been so connected to a book or story that you were devastated when you finished reading it? You were sad to say goodbye to the characters. You wished you could open up the portal to that world forever. 

If you’ve experienced that, then you were emotionally invested in the characters and their lives. You connected with them – you felt like you truly knew them. And that’s because the writer did such a phenomenal job developing the character, that they seemed real to you as the reader.  

That’s exactly what you want to do with your own writing. You want to write characters that are so fully developed, the reader will become invested in their lives.

And the secret to fully developing characters lies in being able to answer detailed questions about your character, which is how this character bio template will help you. 

Top character development tips to use when writing:

• Start with a mind map or outline of your character's journey in the story.
• Brainstorm the character's main characteristics as needed for the story's plot.
• Practice writing about your character to get a solid idea of who the character is.
• Give your character a main goal, purpose, motivation, and flaw.
• Fill out the character bio template to fill in any gaps and get clear on their history and small details.
• Interview your character to build their perspective.
• Complete writing exercises from your character's perspective to fully develop the character's mindset.
• Begin writing your story with your fully developed character in mind.

Why should you use a character bio template? 

Using a character bio template will help you create realistic characters that your readers will believe in, and connect with. 

You should develop a character bio to create believable characters for two reasons. 

First, by answering character development questions in a character profile template, you’ll know the character like the back of your hand, which helps you tell your story better. 

Second, the character sheet template will help you create an actual individual by painting a comprehensive, detailed picture of who they are – from what they look like to their personality quirks to their biggest mistakes in life. 

Reasons to use a character bio template:

• To help you tell your story better
• To prevent inconsistencies in details
• To create a life-like character, full of personality with a comprehensive living history
• To use as a reference when incorporating details about your character
• To improve your character's development
• To help readers connect and relate to your character
• To immerse your reader in your story

What should a character profile include?

A character profile template should include all of the relevant details that the writer needs to incorporate into the story, to fully develop the character.

Some writers use a basic character bio, with only relevant details that show the character's arc within the story, while other writers use an advanced, comprehensive character bio with specific details about the character's life, personality, aspirations, and internal and external features.

The type of character profile you include will depend on several factors, such as the type of work you are creating (ex: novel, short story, film), and the type of writer you are (ex: do you need a comprehensive profile, or just a one-page summary?). At a minimum, you should include the specific details about your character that highlight his or her role in the story, and how they develop within your story.

What to include in your character profile template:

• Character basics such as name and age
• Physical description of the character's appearance
• The personality traits of the character
• Overview of the character's health
• Career and education details
• Preferences and motivations of the character
• Description of the character's family life
• Overview of the character's main relationships
• Important life stages and milestones
• Character perspectives, outlook, and opinions
• Character's role in the story's development

How to use this character bio template 

This particular character bio template is comprehensive, and designed to be used as an in-depth resource with more advanced character development questions. Novel and short story writers will benefit from this character sheet template to create a full character bio.

Fill this template out fully for each of your main characters (protagonist and antagonist), and use the sheet as a reference for your writing. 

Click here to jump to the Character Template!

It’s best to complete the character bio template once you have your story’s outline, but before you actually start writing your rough draft. If you’ve already started writing your rough draft, that’s okay – you can still use this character bio template and it will be helpful as you edit and complete your draft.

Read this article if you want to learn more about how to write a book outline . 

How to use a character bio template to improve your character's development:

• Start with a good idea of your character's creation , like who they are and what their purpose is in your story.
• Know your character's flaws , motivation, main goal, and purpose.
• Begin filling out the basic section in your character bio template.
• Get clear on the physical descriptors of your character.
• Fill out health section of the character bio template.
• Next, build out your character's career details .
• Think about what your character prefers .
• Dig into the family history in the character's bio.
• Then, move on to the relationships section of the template.
• Narrow down your character's main life stages .
• Develop the character's perspectives and views of the world.
• Next, build the character's story development .
• Review the full character bio template to make sure every detail connects, and that there are not any inconsistencies.
• Practice writing from your character's perspective to get a natural feel for the way your character thinks and acts.
• Practice writing about your character from different perspectives (as a narrator, as a friend/lover/enemy of the character).
• Repeat all the above steps for any major characters in your story.
• Reference your completed character bio template as you begin writing.

Following the tips above will help you to develop a realistic character that readers will be invested in.

Don’t just share this character bio template directly with your reader – it is meant to be a complete guide for you as you write about who your character is, and how he or she affects the story.  

This character bio template serves as a skeleton for developing a realistic character, so you should be able to answer each question. You need to be able to answer everything about your character, but your reader only needs to know the details that help tell the story.

These character development questions are comprehensive, so this doesn’t mean you need to tell your reader everything about your character. Only give your reader what they need to know about your character as it pertains to your story.

If you’re writing a genre or story that requires more questions, feel free to add more as you see fit! For example, if you’re writing a sci-fi novel, maybe you need to answer more questions about your character’s species, or the special powers that they possess. 

As you write, you’ll want to have a copy of your completed character bio template nearby so it can be retrieved easily and referenced. This will help you tell your story more accurately, by avoiding little mistakes or inconsistencies in your plot and story setting . 

For example, let’s say you start the story by describing your character as a vegetarian, but later on have your character order a hamburger at a restaurant. This is a detail that many engaged readers will notice! 

Tips for using this character bio template in your writing:

• Complete the character bio after your outline is completed. Start filling out the character bio sheet after you complete your story outline , but before you start fully writing your chapters. This will ensure you have a solid idea of what details make sense based on your story's main events, but still gives you the opportunity to incorporate the small details into your actual story.
• Use the character template as a reference guide when writing. Don't just fill out the template and share it with your readers. This exercise is meant for you, as the author, so that you can fully develop all the intricacies of your character, and incorporate relevant details to shape who your character is, and their purpose in the story.
• Don't skip any questions that can be answered. Answer as many questions about your character as possible. Obviously, if a question does not apply to your character (like if they are a child and do not have any past relationships), skip it. But don't avoid questions simply because you don't want to think. Cutting corners in this way will reflect in your character's development.
• Only give your reader what they need to know when you're writing. Just because you answer every question in the character development sheet, doesn't mean that your reader needs to know all of those details. Only give what's necessary, and what will help your reader understand your character better.
• Add more questions as needed. This character bio template is meant to be a starting point for you. If you need to add more questions, do so, especially if you're writing a genre like hard science fiction where your characters are non-human.
• Think about the small details. Once you start writing, the character bio template will bring value to your dialogue , scene setting, and plot. Don't be afraid to focus on the small details.

200 questions for your character bio template

Here are the questions you should answer about your character in order to bring them to life:

Character bio template basics 

Begin by answering these basic questions about your character. These character development questions are the surface-level facts that you can use to start building your character.

These are the essential facts to fill out for your character, such as name, birthday, race, gender, etc. This section should be particularly quick for you to fill out since you most likely know all of these details for your character already. These questions help show your character's development on a surface level.

These are the basic questions for your character bio template:

• What is your character's name?:
• Do they have any nicknames?:
• What is the meaning/significance of their name?:
• What is the character's gender?:
• How old are they?:
• When is their birthday?:
• Do they have a death day?:
• What is their zodiac sign?:
• Where do they live?:
• Where were they born?:
• What is their ethnicity?:
• What is their nationality?:
• What is their race/species?:

Physical descriptors

Now you can start building out your character’s physical appearance. These are external questions that will paint a physical description, so your reader can envision what your character looks like. 

The physical attributes for your character bio template are important because they will also help you write vivid descriptions and actions in your book.

These are the physical appearance questions for the character bio template: 

14. What is their physical appearance?:

15. What is their skin tone?:

16. What is their complexion?:

17. What is their natural hair color?:

18. What is their height?:

19. What is their weight?:

20. What is their body type?:

21. What is their build?:

22. How is your character's posture?:

23. Do they have any birthmarks?: 24. Do they have any scars?:

25. Which is their dominant hand?:

26. What age does the character appear to others?:

27. Do they have a dyed hair color?:

28. What is their usual hairstyle?:

29. Do they have any tattoos? What is the meaning behind them?:

30. Do they have any piercings?

31. What is their makeup style (if any)?:

32. What is their clothing style?:

33. What is their clothing size?:

34. What is their shoe style?:

35. What is their shoe size?:

36. How is the appearance of their nails?:

37. How are their eyebrows shaped?:

38. What do their facial features look like?:

39. What is the character's face shape?:

40. Do they have facial hair?:

41. What does their voice sound like?:

42. What distinguishing feature about them do people notice right away?:

The character's personality 

Now it’s time to start scratching beneath the surface to better understand the type of personality the character has. These character development questions focus on describing the personality traits within the character’s demeanor as they are in the present time of the story. 

For example, most people who are naturally introverts will always be introverts. But, maybe your introverted character has only recently developed a habit of talking to people on the subway as they commute to work every day.

These are the personality questions for the character's development: 

43. Are they an introvert or extrovert?:

44. What are their personality traits?:

45. What is their MBTI personality type ?:

46. Are they an optimist or pessimist?:

47. How is their temperament? Are they generally hot-headed, or cool as a cucumber?:

48. What mood are they often in?:

49. What everyday attitude does your character have?:

50. What are their strengths?:

51. What are their flaws?:

52: What are their mannerisms?:

53. What are their habits?:

54. Are they an early bird or a night owl?:

55. Do they have any pet peeves?:

56. Which of the 7 deadly sins does the character most represent?

57. Which virtue does the character possess most?:

58. What are the character's weaknesses?:

59. What are their strengths?:

60. Are they expressive? How do they express themselves?:

61. Are they ruled by heart or mind?:

62. What is their mindset?:

63. What is their philosophy?:

64. What are they motivated by?:

65.  What words or phrases does the character often say?:

66. What is their life motto?:

Character health bio

This section is all about your character’s health. It covers everything from mental and physical health, to major surgeries, to allergies.

If certain questions don’t pertain to your character, feel free to skip them. Or, if anything needs to be added, do so. Make this section as relevant to your character as it needs to be.

These are the health questions for the character bio template:

67. Is your character more active, or sluggish generally?: 

68. Does your character often forget people’s names, or do they have a photographic memory?: 

69. Is your character impaired in any way?:

70. What is your character scared of?:

71. Does your character have any addictions?:

72. Are they fast learners? Do they have poor problem-solving skills? 

73. Is your character  mentally tough ? What are their mental strengths?:

74. In what aspects is your character  mentally weak ?:

75. What are their physical strengths?:

76. What are their physical weaknesses?:

77. Do they have any major past illnesses?:

78. Have they had any surgeries?:

79. Have they been in any accidents?:

80. Is your character emotionally stable?:

81. Do they have any allergies?:

Career details

Now it’s time to cover what your character does for a living – or how they spend the majority of their time. Is your character making a living doing a job they hate, but attending night school to get their dream job? 

A person’s choice of career, or their type of dream job, says a lot about that person’s qualities and interests, or lack thereof. That's why it's important to add career questions to your character bio template.

These are the career questions for the character bio template: 

82. What is their job title?:

83. What company do they work at?:

84. What type of career do they have?:

85. What is their education level?:

86. Did they go to college? Where? For what?:

87. How is their work ethic?:

88. What is their job history?:

89. What is their income?:

90. What political party/organizations do they belong to?:

91. Do they do any volunteer work?:

92. What is their dream job?:

93. What job would they do poorly?:

94. How is their job satisfaction?:

Character preferences

Everyone has their likes and dislikes, from books to activities to the time of day. By answering all of these questions about your character in your character bio template, you’ll be able to build up a person that’s realistic and believable. 

These are the personal preference questions for your character bio template: 

95. What is your character's diet like?:

96. What are their favorite foods?:

97. Favorite drinks?:

98. Favorite movies?:

99. Favorite music?:

100. Favorite books?:

101. Favorite animal?:

102. Favorite place?:

103. Favorite activities?:

104. Favorite time of day?:

105. What makes them happy?:

106. What makes them sad?:

107. What are their hobbies?:

108. What are their interests?:

109. What do they love to do?:

110. What do they hate to do?:

111. What are they inspired by?:

Family life of the character

Let’s face it – family, or a lack thereof, shapes a person. The same is true about your character. 

This section is all about your character’s family life, from their parents to extended family, and even pets. 

By knowing the family your character came from, you’ll also learn a lot about your character and why they are the way they are. 

These are the family life questions for the character bio template: 

112. Who were they raised by?:

113. What is the status of their parents?:

114. What is their mother's name?:

115. Mother's age?:

116. Mother's background?:

117. What is their father's name?:

118. Father's age?:

119. Father's background?:

120. How is their relationship with their mother?:

121. How is their relationship with their father?:

122. What is their parenting type?:

123. Are they an only child? First, middle, or youngest?:

124. How many siblings do they have?:

125. What is their relationship with their siblings?:

126. Do they have kids of their own, or do they want them in the future?

127. What are some interesting details about their other relatives?:

128. Is their family close-knit or distant? How has family life shaped the character? Do they have any sibling rivalries, or are they best friends with a particular sibling?:

129. What do they like most about their family?:

130. What do they like least about their family?:

131. What are their children like (if applicable)?:

132. Do they have any pets?:

Character bio relationships

In this section, you’ll be answering all the questions that have to do with your character’s relationships – from friends to lovers to enemies. 

Think about all of the influential relationships your character has been involved with. Each person, and each relationship, is different, so keep that in mind as you fill out this section of the character bio template.

Each of us becomes involved with people who teach us lessons, whether these individuals stay in our lives long or not. The same is true for a well-developed character!

These are the relationship questions for the character bio template: 

133. Who are their best friends?:

134. Who is their worst enemy?:

135. Do they have many acquaintances or a few close friends?

136. What is their sexual preference?:

137. Their sexual orientation?:

138. What is their relationship status? Are they happy with it?:

139. Are they married? Divorced? Widowed?:

140. Who was their first love?:

141. Who is their current or aspiring love?:

142. Are there any exes that influenced the character, either positively or negatively?

143. Who does your character love best in terms of their friends and relations?:

144. Who does your character dislike in terms of enemies and acquaintances? 

145. Who knows the character best?

146. Who is closest to your character?

Character template life stages

It’s time to cover your character’s life stages. If your character is an adult in your story, then you’ll want to fill out quick details on each question in this section. If your character hasn’t reached a certain stage yet, just skip that part. 

For each life stage, you can write a few sentences to describe the overall time period for the character. Don’t feel the need to list out every single thing that happened to your character in a certain life stage – unless you want to. 

These are the life stage questions for your character bio template: 

147. What was their childhood generally like?:

148. Did anything significant happen in their childhood?:

149. What were their teenage years like? Did anything significant happen?:

150. What were they like as a young adult? Did anything significant happen?: 

151. Have there been any significant events in their adulthood?:

152. When did they really grow up and come into themselves? (Their “coming-of-age moment”):

153. Are there any important moments or experiences that shaped them?:

154. How have they changed as a person throughout their life?: Were they raised as a spoiled only child, but later became a Buddhist monk?: 

155. Are there any major regrets the character has from their life?:

156. What are the biggest life lessons your character has learned?:

Character perspectives 

Next, we’ll go through the questions that will help show us how your character thinks about the world and perceives things.

This is important because it helps shape your character’s mindset, especially if you are narrating the character’s inner thoughts and dialogue. 

Filling out this section of the character bio template will also help you as you practice writing in your character's point-of-view, and will give you a sense of your character's thought process, and how their mindset affects their actions.

These are the perspective questions for the character bio template:

157. What are your character's religious beliefs?:

158. How was their upbringing?:

159. What are their core values?:

160. How are their morals? What does s/he believe is evil? What does s/he believe is good?:

161. What would your character risk their life for?: 

Character's story development

Now it’s time to answer all of the questions that have more to do with your character’s thoughts, actions, and role within your storyline. 

You need to know what’s driving your character in the story, and what’s getting in their way. Answer each one of these questions as it relates to your story.

For example, when describing the character’s main goal, don’t answer it in terms of their entire life’s main goal – think of the main goal in terms of your story. Maybe your character’s main goal is to live without regrets. But how does that relate to your story? You need to make it more specific to your plot. Maybe your character’s main goal within the context of your story is to help hide persecuted children, even if it means death and dishonor.

These are the story development questions for your character's development:

162. What important things will happen to the character in your story?: 

163. What will they achieve?:

164. What will they fail at?: 

165. What is your character’s lifestyle like as it pertains to your story’s time period or setting?:

166. What are some traits your character will possess during your story?: 

167. What culture do they identify with?:

168. What is their main goal in the story?:

169. What are some minor goals they have in the story?:  

170. What does your character desire?:  

171. What are/were their biggest mistakes?:  

172. What would “rock bottom look like for your character?:

173. What is their dream life like?:  

174. What is their worst nightmare?:

175. What are their favorite memories?: 

176. What are their least favorite memories?:

177. What are some things they want in life?: 

178. What are some things they don’t want in life?:

179. What obstacles are currently in their way?:

180. Do they have any secrets?:

181. What is their worldview?: 

182. Who is their personal hero?:

183. What internal conflicts do they have?: 

184. What external conflicts do they have?:

185. What do others think of them?:

186. What do they think of themselves?: 

187. What do they wish they could change?: 

188. What do they wish they could have?:

189. What gets them fired up?:  

190. What do they cherish most?:

191. Things they take for granted?: 

192. What inspires them?:

193. What do they have doubts about?: 

194. What makes them feel alive?: 

195. What makes them want to do better?: 

196. What do they want to be remembered for?:

197. How will other people's perceptions of them change?:

198. How will the character change?:

199. What will your character be doing by the end of the book?:

200. How will your character feel at the end of the book?:

Now that you’ve quickly read through each section of the character template, your brainstorming wheels should be turning as you start to hone in on certain questions about your character that you hadn’t thought of before. 

Once you’re ready to start, you can use the blank template below to fill out for each one of your main characters. Remember – keep a copy of your character template sheets nearby for reference as you begin writing! 

• Static vs Dynamic Characters
• What Are Stock Characters?
• What Is A Round Character?

Make the most of your character bio template

So there you have it – your very own comprehensive character bio template. Remember, it doesn’t matter what genre you are writing about. Every book should have well-developed characters that come alive through using writing strategies, techniques, and literary elements .

At the heart of every well-written story is a believable character that readers are engaged with and connected to. To create that character, you want to make them as realistic as possible, and you can do that with the help of a character bio template. 

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How To Write A Character Bio: 7 Important Aspects To Consider

• September 18, 2022

Character bios are essential for creating believable characters. 

Understand that the characters in your story are a major hook. They carry the plot and stick with readers. They are often the reason why a reader enjoys a story and even recommends it to a friend.

So, how do you write a compelling character bio, one that will help you craft realistic, believable, and engaging characters for your readers to enjoy? This article will explain how to do just that.

How to write a character bio

Below we’ve included a list of questions to serve as a character bio template. 

Answering these questions about your character will help you gain insight into that character’s depths, feelings, perspectives, goals, hopes, dreams, weaknesses, desires, and other aspects that will inform the plot development.

1. Name, age, nationality

Let’s start with the basics—outline basic but essential details about your character, such as their name, age, and nationality. Defining the geographical background is still important even if your characters live in a fictional world on another planet. 

• Nationality

Consider the relevance of the above details. 

Where did their name come from? Were they named after a relative, or does their name have something to do with the circumstances of their birth? 

Are they mature for their age? How does their birthplace influence other parts of their lives? 

Even though the above details are the most basic aspects of your character, they can still offer rich insight.

2. Physical appearance and characteristics

Well-defined physical characteristics help readers visualize your character , making a more engaging and immersive reading experience. Consider:

• Build/stature
• Hair and eye color
• Clothes/style
• Disabilities?
• Unique facial features (scars, moles, etc.)

Explore why a character looks the way they do. 

What features exist that are not from birth? If your character has a scar, how did they get it? If they have an extra large nose or acne, how do they feel about it? 

What does their style say about them as a person, and how important is their style to them? Do they have short fingernails because they bite them?

3. Preferences

Character preferences help you take a step further in understanding your character. 

Even if these preferences don’t show up in the actual story, knowing about them will help you visualize and craft a rich character, and your insightful relationship with whom will help you keep writing the story. Consider your characters’:

• Favorite food
• Favorite Music
• Favorite color
• Political views and opinions
• Religious views
• Favorite book/movie genre
• Clothing/style preferences and goals
• Favorite way to relax
• Favorite type of people

4. Health status

Consider your character’s health. That includes both physical and mental health. Their health status will inform other aspects of their life, such as their energy levels, worldview, and hopes and dreams for the future. 

• Are they generally healthy?
• Do they have any diseases?
• Do they smoke/drink/use other drugs?
• Are they calm or stressed?
• Do they exercise much? How much?
• How is their diet? Do they follow a healthy one? Do they under/overeat?
• Could they successfully escape if being chased?
• How does their health relate to their physical appearance?

Consider your character’s career and education. These may or may not be relevant to the particular story you’re writing, but these details and others may become relevant at some point in the story, so it’s wise to have an existing idea of them.

• Did your character study? If so, what did they study? Do they have a career in that field?
• What’s their job?
• Do they like their job? What aspects of their personality help them succeed at work?
• Do they prioritize their job, or are other parts of their life more important?
• What’s their level of education?
• Does their education level affect their choices and success in their life as per the story?
• Do they have any notable career achievements?

6. Personality Traits

• Are they motivated?
• Are they open or closed to new experiences?
• Do they act the same way around everyone, or do they change around particular people?
• Are they more optimistic or pessimistic?
• Introvert, extrovert, or ambivert?
• Are they kind or nasty?
• What skills and strengths do they possess?
• What are their flaws?
• Do they keep any secrets?
• Do they have any regrets?
• How do they approach challenges and obstacles?
• Are they confident in themselves?
• Do they prioritize self-care?
• Do they take risks?
• Are they spontaneous?

To further flesh out your character’s personality traits. Consider the Big Five personality traits outlined below. These are:

• Extraversion
• Agreeableness
• Conscientiousness
• Neuroticism

7. Relationships

Your character’s relationships are highly formative. These include their parental, platonic, and romantic relationships and their connections with authority figures in their adult life. 

How one relates to others says a lot about their character, so invest time into fleshing out your character’s relationship dynamics and attitudes. 

• Does your character have a romantic partner? Boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife?
• How does the character feel about their parents? How is that relationship? If their parents are no longer around, do they have any regrets about that relationship?
• Do they have siblings, or are they an only child?
• What’s their support system like when they face stress or trouble? Do they have a family to rely on? Close friends?
• Does your character have many close friends? Are they a socialite, or is their social circle small? How do they feel about people in general?
• Has your character had any romantic relationships in the past that shaped who they are today? In what ways did that relationship shape them?
• Who is their best friend?
• What do they love about their romantic partner?
• Who does your character turn to in times of crisis?
• How is your character’s sense of trust in others? Do they find it easy or hard to trust people?

Bonus miscellaneous character questions

Add these questions to your character template to gain even deeper insight into who they are:

• What is your character’s greatest achievement?
• Which of your character’s traits will change in the story? And what will remain the same? 
• What are the main aspects of your character’s story that have made them who they are, where if those aspects are different, they may be a different person?
• How would your character describe their own life at the beginning of the book? 
• What biases does your character hold?
• What are some of your character’s core beliefs, and how did those beliefs form?
• Who is your character’s biggest inspiration?
• What does your character’s typical day look like before the story’s main events?

What is a character bio?

A character biography, also known as a character profile, is a type of character development aid that covers a character’s life story (or background), physical characteristics, personality traits, and strengths and weaknesses.

A character’s bio helps the author fit your character into the overall story, whereby they make decisions and react to events based on their pre-defined traits and characteristics.

A bio helps you stay on track regarding a character’s arc as you write the story. 

Many authors visualize several potential story arcs and trajectories in the writing process. As such, having a framework like a character bio or a general novel outline helps you take the story from A to B with a consistent and coherent narrative rather than a story full of sprawling trajectories that don’t take the reader anywhere in particular.

Creating one for each of your characters is essential when writing character bios. Naturally, you may focus more on fleshing out your protagonist , but don’t neglect other characters. 

There are no small roles because each of your characters plays a vital role in the story. As such, they deserve to be well-written.

Character breakdown example

A character breakdown is a brief character description. 

It is not their complete profile but a description of that character in just a few sentences. 

In writing a story, a character breakdown can help you create a basic outline for your character, after which you can interview and investigate to flesh them out further.

Consider the following character breakdown examples:

Mrs. Dursley – Harry Potter and The Sorceror’s Stone (J.K. Rowling)

Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.

Mama Bekwa Tataba – The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

Mama Bekwa Tataba stood watching us—a little jet-black woman. Her elbows stuck out like wings, and a huge white enameled tub occupied the space above her head, somewhat miraculously holding steady while her head moved in quick jerks to the right and left.

For such an extraordinary athlete—even as a Lower Middler, Phineas had been the best athlete in the school—he was not spectacularly built. He was my height—five feet eight and a half inches…He weighed a hundred and fifty pounds, a galling ten pounds more than I did, which flowed from his legs to torso around shoulders to arms and full strong neck in an uninterrupted, unemphatic unity of strength.

Character bios are not just for fiction writers. Even nonfiction writers can benefit from crafting bios for the real people about whom they write. 

Consider a memoir or a psychology book with case studies.

The fact that the subjects exist in real life is not enough for a reader to engage. Authors still need to flesh out these characters and bring them to life on the page. 

Answering the questions in the bio template will help you add dimension to your characters so that whether you write fiction or nonfiction, readers will connect with and resonate with your characters. 

Give careful consideration and do a diligent investigation of your characters if you want them to stand out and be remembered. 

Character development is a key part of the creative writing process and should not be overlooked.

The more you flesh out a character with investigative questions and formative answers. The more you’ll notice that your character takes on a life of their own and seems to exist beyond the page.

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Home » Blog » How to Create a Character Profile in 12 Steps [+Free Template]

How to Create a Character Profile in 12 Steps [+Free Template]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

If you’ve ever tried your hand at writing a novel or screenplay, you know characters are key. Crafting them well is essential. Without fully developed, believable characters, your story will not stand out. That’s why mastering character profile creation is crucial. 

Using a character profile template will immensely aid you in this process, ensuring you don’t overlook any important aspects.

This article entails the steps to create a character profile, a character profile template, types of character profiles, and other elements to develop a character profile. Let’s dive in. 

Steps to Create a Character Profile

Here is a step-by-step procedure for creating a character bio:

1. Understand the Basics 

Before starting, first, find out which of your characters will need a character profile. Then decide on the basics. 

It will be a long process and you’ll go through a lot of information. But you do not need to do it all at once. Take it one section at a time.

If you’re struggling to determine certain details or you’re not sure how your character should react, Deb Norton offers some good advice:

“When we’re at a loss for putting words in our character’s mouths, that’s often when it’s time to stop thinking and start listening. Does his manner of speech change when he talks to his kids? What is he holding back? Why did he use that word?”

As writers, we sometimes tend to overthink a little bit (or a lot). Sometimes, it’s better to write more freely. Channel your character and just let go. You will be surprised at what they reveal on their own.

This first section is pretty self-explanatory and will be one of the simpler ones. It covers the base information about your character and their life. 

This includes things like: 

• Place of birth
• Current place of residence
• Nationality
• Marital status

2. What is their Physical Appearance?

This one may seem self-explanatory as well, but there is a little more to it than you might think. You will be covering your basic physical characteristics: 

• Face shape 

But, the character’s physical appearance goes a little deeper than this. There are some additional things you will want to understand their distinguishing features : 

• Do they have any distinguishing marks? (tattoos, scars, birthmarks) 
• What style of clothes do they prefer to wear? 
• Do they wear glasses or contacts?
• Do they wear accessories or not? 
• Is there an accessory or piece of jewelry they never take off? 
• What is their level of grooming? (disheveled and natural or style hair, makeup, outfit put together) 
• Do they have any chronic illnesses that contribute to their appearance? 

You should also consider their demeanor. Are they confident, shy, quiet? What are their magical abilities Do they walk with their head down, or held high? These things are representative of what is going on inside, but they will be reflected in how they appear to others.

3. How do they Communicate?

The base of this section focuses on how they talk. Do they speak quickly or slowly? Do they enunciate or do they mumble a little bit? How big is their vocabulary? 

But, speaking isn’t the only form of communication, there’s more to it:

• Do they gesture compulsively, or is it occasionally? 
• Do they make eye contact or do they move their gaze around? 
• What is their catchphrase?
• Do they ever curse? 
• Do they have a speech impediment? 
• How do they laugh? Do they make other people laugh? 
• What is their smile like? 
• Are their emotions easy to read or do they hide them? 
• What is their default expression? 

4. Know their Props

Props are something that your character carries around or uses regularly. These props will be connected to their personality. It will be important to them or something they find helpful. 

For example: 

• Sherlock Holmes has his pipe.
• Kojak has a lollipop.
• A character who has anxiety might carry something to squeeze or fiddle with to occupy their mind in stressful situations. 
• A character who has lost a parent or other loved one might wear or carry an item that reminds them of that person daily. 

These items can be indicative of a bad habit, a nervous tick, or something in which your character finds comfort.

5. Discover the Background and Past

A character’s background and past will play a huge role in their present life. It will shape who they are as a person. Even if their history is not a huge part of the story itself, it needs to be known. 

It should be known in full by you as a writer. It should also be known, as necessary, by the readers. Reveal things about their past as it becomes vital to the story. 

You can start with the basics: 

• Where did they grow up? Do they still live there? 
• What education do they have? What subjects did they study?
• How was their childhood? Were they neglected, sheltered, or raised well? 
• Were they involved in any extracurriculars as a child? (sports, dance, clubs, etc.) 
• What are some of their happiest, saddest, and earliest memories? 
• What were they like as a child? 

6. Discover their Likes and Dislikes

They may not seem significant, but a character’s likes and dislikes develop their personality. Much of their personal preferences will stem from their background, childhood, family, and influences. 

For example, your character might have an intense hatred of a certain food because their mother forcefully and excessively fed it to them as a child and it brings back bad memories. 

Or, their favorite music could be related to what their parents played around the house when they were younger. 

For each favorite thing, determine their least favorite. For each thing they love, do they hate the opposite? These things can give you an even deeper look into your own character’s personality than you might have thought.

Here are examples of likes and dislikes that you can consider: 

• Favorite and least favorite food
• Taste in music
• Favorite genre of movie
• Do they follow sports or are they indifferent? 
• Do they like to read? 
• If money was no object, what car would they be driving? 

7. Understand their Psychology

This section will dive deeper into your character’s psyche. It will require you to dive into their mind and pick out the big, important, life-changing stuff. 

These are good examples of things that might not be included outright in the novel. But they help shape who your character is. Knowing these things about them will help you write them realistically and authentically.

It will create consistency in your character. Readers will never question their decisions, opinions, or emotions when they all make sense based on who they are as a person. 

This can include things like: 

• Are they an introvert or an extrovert?
• What are they afraid of? 
• What is their idea of happiness? 
• Where is their favorite place in the world? 
• What are their strengths and flaws? 
• What do they want most out of life? 
• How do they feel about love? 
• How do they react to change? 
• Do they desire power? 
• Are they a leader or a follower? 
• What excites them? 
• What do they find boring?  

8. Find about their Family

Whether healthy, dysfunctional, or somewhere in between, a character’s family is instrumental in their development and can define their personality.

Even if their family aren’t all that important to or involved in the story, it’s still good to identify them in some way. 

For each of their mother, father, and siblings you should establish a few things: 

• Age (or age they died at if deceased) 
• Explain the relationship they have with your main character – close, distant, strained, awkward, estranged, etc 
• If they are grown and out of the house, how often do they see their family members? 

You can also describe their extended family. Again, this branch of their family may or may not be relevant to the story’s main plot points. But, their family will have played a big part in their development, upbringing, and feelings about certain things. 

If their extended family is not important to the story, be brief in your explanations. You don’t need to go into excruciating detail, but it’s still valuable information to determine. 

Even the simple fact that someone has an abnormally large or small family can be of significance. Large families may have left some feeling left behind or unimportant. Small families can have some people feeling smothered and in the spotlight too often. 

You’ll want to go over grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Again, determine the ages and their relationship with your main character. Names and additional details can be revealed if the character is going to be important to the story in any way. 

9. Explore their Relationships

Whether close or not, your character’s family relationships will be some of the most significant in their lives. But, these will not be the only relationships they have. Once the family has been covered, you should dive into their external relationships. 

The obvious ones here will be their friendships. Which of their friends are they closest to? Describe these relationships.

Do these “best friends” know every detail of their lives, or are they somewhat guarded even around those closest to them? 

Outside of their inner circle, are there other significant friendships? 

In addition to friends and acquaintances, your character will have many other relationships that affect their life in some way: 

• Coworkers/fellow students
• Teachers/bosses
• Friends of friends
• Family friends
• Members of sports teams/clubs they are in
• Online friends (if applicable)

If your novel or screenplay is set in the present time, the internet and social media will be a significant part of the world. Which social media platforms do they have a profile on? How active are they? Or, do they reject social media?

Not being on any social media in the present day will leave a person in a unique spot of digital isolation. Many who choose to do this find it peaceful and they don’t regret their decision.  

10. Where do they Live?

Where your character lives is another important part of who they are. Regardless of the world your character lives in (earth, another planet, a world you made up yourself ) their specific neighborhood and dwelling should be made known as well. 

Do they live in a big or small house? Or another type of residence entirely? (Perhaps something you made up for the world you’ve created). 

What is the neighborhood like? Are they friendly with their neighbors? Or do they live far away from any other people? 

Are they happy where they live or do they have plans/desires to move soon? How long have they lived there? 

It’s also important to look at the inside of their dwelling. Do they keep things tidy or is it always a mess? What color are their walls and are they decorated? If so, what type of art do they have on display? 

11. What are their Jobs/Hobbies?

Next, it’s time to look at what they do for work and how they fill their free time. 

Determine these key factors about their job: 

• What is it?
• How long have they been there?
• Is it what they want to do as a career or is it a temporary situation? 
• Have they reached their peak or is there still room for advancement? 
• What is their salary? Is it enough for the lifestyle they want?
• Do they like what they do or would they prefer something else?
• Are they good at their job? 
• What hours do they work? 
• Is their job secure or are they in danger of losing it?

Whether they enjoy what they do or not, they are required to be there for a certain amount of time each day. Unless they want to lose their income, they have no choice. 

Once the workday is over though, their time is their own. How do they fill this time? Do they have any hobbies or do they prefer to stay home and relax? Does your character have any hidden talents or anything they excel at other than their job?

12. What are their Goals and Motivations?

This section is a simple but crucial one. 

Your character will have a set of general goals, ambitions, and desires in life. But, this particular story is going to be about one of them.

So, determine your character’s story goal. What is their main goal in the context of this script? 

In addition, you’ll need to figure out their motivation. Why do they want to achieve the goal you’ve set out for them? What drives them to complete it?

Examples of motivation could be love , revenge, or pride (they want to prove themselves). 

What is a Character Profile? 

A character profile is like a detailed map of your character’s life. It’s made up of different sections with questions about your character’s development. Some questions are simple, while others make you think deeply. When you finish filling it out, you’ll know everything about your character. 

But, it might feel like too much at first, but don’t worry, not all of will go into your story. Most of it is just for you, so you understand your character better. 

Knowing all about your character helps you write their actions, reactions, decisions, opinions, and emotions more accurately.

Types of Main Characters

While every story is different and unique, there are a few other types of main characters in your novel and screenplay, in addition to your protagonist. Each of them will need a character profile.

1. Antagonist 

The antagonist is the character or group of characters who are in direct opposition to your protagonist. They stand in the way of their main story goal and are deliberate in their efforts to stop the protagonist. In some cases, the antagonist is more of an antagonistic “force.” This could be an oppressive government or organization, or even the inner demons or inherent flaws within the character that stop them from doing what they need to do. 

2. Anti-hero

This is someone who doesn’t have any of the typical characteristics of a “hero.” They aren’t impressive and don’t give you much reason to root for them. And yet, they are still central and important to the story. 

3. Confidante

This is someone who knows every single detail and true personality of the main character. To this person, they reveal all of their true thoughts, real intentions, deepest desires, and darkest secrets. If your character is more isolated or introverted, this could even be some thing rather than someone – perhaps a journal. 

This is a character whose personality contrasts the protagonist in a significant way. They are the opposite of the protagonist in many areas. This can be a separate character, or the antagonist or anti-hero can double as the foil. This character serves to highlight the qualities of your protagonist. 

Make a Character Profile for Every Important Character

Before writing the novel or book, know that you will need detailed, in-depth character profiles for each main character of your story.

Most of the time, a novel will include just a single protagonist. But, they are not the only important player in the story. There are a handful of others. Your protagonist and these other characters are your round characters and are most important. 

You’ll also have a series of additional flat characters that play a role in the story. While these characters have a purpose, they do not need a character profile done up. There will not be much to their personality and they won’t change or develop. 

As your story develops and you flesh out your outline, certain details of your characters may change or evolve. This is fine and normal – just make sure you keep your character profile template updated. 

If something about a character changes, change all relevant information in their profile. 

Character Development Questions 

In addition to the character template, there are always additional character development questions you can ask. When writing a novel, there is no such thing as knowing too much about your character. 

If you need to dive even deeper, check out these lists and resources for some more questions to ask yourself and/or your character. 

The Proust Questionnaire 

The Proust questionnaire was developed by Marcel Proust, with the original manuscript being found in 1924, after his death. 

These questions are some of the most revealing. The answers are supposed to tell you almost anything you need to know about someone’s personality. 

Some people answer these questions for themselves. Some celebrities have answered them publicly as well. They are also used to dive deeper into your character. 

Answer these 35 questions from the perspective of your character:

• What is your idea of perfect happiness?
• What is your greatest fear?
• What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
• What is the trait you most deplore in others?
• Which living person do you most admire?
• What is your greatest extravagance?
• What is your current state of mind?
• What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
• On what occasions do you lie?
• What do you most dislike about your appearance?
• Which living person do you most despise?
• What is the quality you most like in a man?
• What is the quality you most like in a woman?
• Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
• What or who is the greatest love of your life?
• When and where were you happiest?
• Which talent would you most like to have?
• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
• What do you consider your greatest achievement?
• If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
• Where would you most like to live?
• What is your most treasured possession?
• What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
• What is your favorite occupation?
• What is your most marked characteristic?
• What do you most value in your friends?
• Who are your favorite writers?
• Who is your hero of fiction?
• Which historical figure do you most identify with?
• Who are your heroes in real life?
• What are your favorite names?
• What is it that you most dislike?
• What is your greatest regret?
• How would you like to die?
• What is your motto?

Interview Questions

When interviewing for a potential job, employers sometimes ask odd questions that have nothing to do with the job itself. What they want is to get to know who you are as a person and if you will be a good fit, professionally and otherwise. 

You can use this same premise and conduct an “interview” with your character. The intention is to get to know them better and get an idea of how they behave and operate. 

You can find a list of 101 common interview questions here . Some of them are not of any use to you as they are job-specific, but many will help you get an even deeper look into your character. 

Use a Tool to Develop Character Profiles

If you’re feeling lost in too much information, try using a good writing tool , like Squibler . With Squibler, you can not only write with the help of AI but also organize each section into a separate document and flip through them at your will.

With Squibler you can research, ideate, outline, and write your book with the help of AI. Write commands to the AI Smart Writer, and it will generate content for you based on your instructions. 

You can also create a section for your character profiles to keep them organized and accessible at the same time.

Another thing that Squibler offers is a series of book-writing templates. Characters are important, but so is structure. A book writing template will help you plan each section and/or chapter of the book.

The template provides loose guidelines as you go through the book, that vary by genre and style. Some are specific while others are more general, such as this novel-writing template:

This template serves as a guide for any genre. You can specialize it further as you dive more into your book and figure out where it’s going.

Character Development Sheet

Writers use character development sheets to outline and detail various aspects of a fictional character. It includes sections or prompts covering the character’s physical appearance, personality traits, background, motivations, goals, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and other relevant information that helps flesh out the character’s identity. 

A character profile worksheet aids writers in creating well-rounded and believable characters for their stories. You can start by copying and pasting this free template  and filling in all the information for your character.

Final Remarks

Strong and believable characters don’t come quickly and they don’t come easily. Crafting the best possible character for your novel is going to take a decent investment of both time and effort. 

You have to delve into every little nook and cranny of your character’s mind, heart, and past. Not only does every little detail need recognition but it all needs consistency to match up. 

Use these steps, templates, and questions to build the strongest, most detailed, and realistic characters you can. Once this is done, you’re well on your way to writing an unstoppable book .

Here is a list of common questions that authors ask about developing character profiles:

What is a character profile?

A character profile is a detailed description of a fictional character. It includes information like their appearance, personality traits, background, motivations, and role in the story.

Why is it important to create a character profile?

Creating a character profile helps you understand your character better. It makes them feel real and consistent throughout your story. It also helps you keep track of important details about your character so you don’t forget them.

What should I include in a character profile?

In a character profile, you should include details about your character’s physical appearance, personality traits, backstory, goals, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and any other important information that shapes who they are.

How do I start creating a character profile?

Start by thinking about who your character is and what role they play in your story. Then, jot down details about their appearance, personality, and background. Consider what motivates them and what obstacles they might face.

How can I make my character profile more realistic?

To make your character profile more realistic, think about how real people behave and what influences them. Give your character strengths and weaknesses, quirks, and flaws. Consider how their past experiences have shaped who they are.

Can I change my character profile as I write my story?

Yes, you can change your character profile as you write your story. Sometimes, as you get to know your character better through writing, you might discover new things about them or realize that certain details don’t fit anymore. It’s okay to update your character profile as needed to keep your character consistent and true to your story.

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Character Bio Template for Creating the Perfect Characters

by Holly Riddle

The best books offer characters that feel like real people, characters that are so fleshed out and thorough that you feel as if you really know them. But creating those types of characters is easier said than done!

Once you sit down to start drafting a new short story or novel, you may find that your characters are feeling lackluster at best, or entirely dull at worst. How can you fix this? No matter what stage of the writing process you may be in, creating a character biography using a character bio template can be a great help.

What is a character biography?

A character biography is a reference sheet that tells you everything you might need to know about your character, for any scene that you write. A character bio includes information on your character’s background, personality, day-to-day life, appearance, and more. While not all this information will make it into your story, it’s still useful for plotting your character’s arcs.

Why is having a character biography important?

If you consider yourself more of a pantser than a plotter (i.e., the type of writer who goes into drafting flying by the seat of their pants versus the type of writer who plots and outlines their work ahead of time), then you may wonder if you really need a character biography—especially when you look at character bio templates that ask you for far more information than you might think you need (do you really need to know your main character’s childhood pet’s nickname?).

However, no matter your drafting style, a character biography can be an invaluable resource. The more information you have at the ready, the more well-rounded your characters will be. You might even find that having a character bio template as you write will help you unravel other writing issues that go beyond flat characters, like plot holes or character or story arcs that don’t quite arc .

Things to keep in mind before you write your character biography

Before you write your character biography (using our handy template below), there’s one big thing you need to think about: each character’s purpose within the story .

Often, writers will begin building a character first, thinking about things like personality and appearance and motives—and then wait until they’ve developed this character before actually giving the character a purpose within the story.

This can be problematic for a few reasons, but primarily because you may end up trying to force characters into roles where they don’t belong.

Before creating any character bio or filling out any character template, consider why you need this character in the first place. How are they going to pull their weight?

Think beyond the very baseline role that they might play, as, for example, a main character, love interest, antagonist, or the comedic relief. Think about what they need to be and what they need to offer the plot and your other characters. What makes them so essential to the plot that they absolutely cannot be cut from the story or book?

Once you nail down why this particular character must exist in your fictional universe and exactly what they offer the plot and main character that makes it so, you can begin filling in the more extraneous details that might not matter quite as much, such as basic info and appearance. On the contrary, once you decide on your character’s purpose, you may just find that those details aren’t so extraneous and are, in fact, all the more meaningful.

How to write a character bio (using a template)

When you download your character bio template and begin filling it out, whether you print it and write out all the details by hand or type everything into the Word doc, you’ll notice there are a few details that you need to include.

This is likely all information that you have stored away in your brain somewhere, so getting it down on the page should be no problem.

Think all the information that anyone might be able to find out about your character if they either knew them as a brief acquaintance or looked them up online and discovered a social media profile.

This might include things like:

Nationality

Religious beliefs

Home town and current place of residence

Marital status

Economic status

Core values

If there are any stand-out likes or dislikes, or pet peeves, you can also list those here. For example, does your character prefer to only communicate via snail mail, or does your character dislike chocolate with a passion? List it here!

Appearance and physical characteristics

Think not just of your character’s physical appearance, body type, and personal style, but also how their appearance impacts how they act and how they’re treated.

Do others approach them differently than they might another character, all because of appearance? Does your character like their appearance? Why or why not? How does this impact how they interact with others?

For many characters, health—or the lack thereof—plays a major role in their decision-making and motives. Think about your character’s health and the areas where they might be struggling.

Does your character drink regularly or have any addictions? Bad habits? Does your character smoke? Were they in any sort of traumatic accidents that have made their health a challenge?

Think about your character’s life up until the point were your story begins. What was it like?

Did they have a good or bad childhood? How were their teenage years? Are there any major changes between the way they grew up and the way they live now (i.e., changes in religion, place of residence, best friends, or social or economic status)? How does that influence their behavior and beliefs now?

In real life, background heavily influences the way a person acts and the choices they make, so the same should apply to your characters.

Relationships

What is your character’s relationship with the other people within the story? How do they feel about the other characters? This includes romantic relationships but also those with friends, family, and work colleagues.

Explore how these relationships and all the emotions that go with them impact how your character behaves.

Personality, mental characteristics, and emotional characteristics

What is your character’s personality? Are they shy? Hot-headed? Temperamental? Stubborn? Does your character prefer being around people just like them, or do they love variety?

When building your character profile, think of both your character’s emotional strengths, as well as your character’s emotional flaws.

Your character’s personality will directly play into their thorn, which leads us to…

Character thorns

A character thorn is something that’s stuck in your character’s side. It’s always there, paining them, nagging at them, making their life a little bit worse.

This thorn will eventually propel them to some sort of action and they’ll eventually learn to either live with, or remove, their thorn, but it needs to be there at the start of their fictional journey.

A character thorn could be a bad relationship with parents, a spouse that always outshines them, or a belief that they’ll never be quite good enough. Whatever it is, though, it’s something they can’t ignore.

Every character needs a desire. What do they want? Or, better yet, what do they want so badly that they’re going to end up going after it over the course of your story or novel?

This desire should make sense according to the other information that you’ve already inputted into your character bio template, such as background, thorn, personality, etc.

For example, a character who grew up in an impoverished household with an emotionally neglectful parent, who doted on their other siblings first and foremost, might desire a high-paying career that will allow them to outshine their sibling while also buying their impoverished parents a new house, thus winning their favor and proving themself better than the sibling.

Character development

Your character’s desire and thorn should play into your character’s arc and development. How will they change over the course of your story?

Consider writing up a brief description about your character’s existence at the start of the story—what their life looks like, both externally and internally—and then another brief description about where you’d like them to end up at the end of the story.

Mistakes to avoid when building character bios

As you consider the above details, make sure you avoid some of the most common mistakes that writers are likely to commit when building out, and then using, a character profile.

Using every single detail in a character bio template

This is the big one.

Yes, you’ll have a lot of valuable information in your character bio template. However, you don’t want to merely dump all of that information into your story as soon as you introduce a new character.

The reader doesn’t need—or want—to know all that information at once. They want to gradually learn that information as they get to know your character, over the course of the story.

Don’t dump everything about your characters’ appearances onto the page at once, either. Doing so can make a passage feel stilted and awkward.

After all, when you meet a person for the first time, you don’t automatically think about every color they’re wearing, every brand of clothing they have on, their hair color, eye color, weight, and face shape, all at once. Instead, you maybe notice a few stand-out features until something gives you reason to notice another detail of their appearance.

Do the same when you begin writing a character’s physical description.

Adding details that don’t make sense

Every part of your character’s life should make sense. Their personality, their decisions, their lifestyle—it’s all a result of things that have happened throughout their life.

Don’t pick personality traits or background information at random. With every character detail, ask yourself, why? Truly think about why your character is the way that they are, and ensure every detail is believable.

Does every character need a character bio?

You’ll find that many characters within your story don’t need a full character bio. Minor characters that only play a small role within your story don’t need to be fleshed out to this degree.

However, it’s advisable to create character bios for all of your main characters, and also your secondary characters , including love interests, villains and other characters whose actions heavily influence your main character and/or the plot of the story.

Remember—every character in a story, no matter how large or small their role, has a background, motives and goals. Sometimes, knowing all this and more can help you make the writing decisions that result in believable characters and plot lines.

The Scribophile character bio template

Need more help?

Download our character bio template for an easy, fill-in-the-blanks approach to character template building.

You’ll still need to thoroughly consider every aspect of your characters’ personalities, lives, backgrounds, motives, and more, but, with our character bio template and comprehensive list of questions, you’ll be that much closer to uncovering all the need-to-know details to bring your characters to life.

Download the Character Bio Template (docx)

Download the Character Bio Template (pdf)

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How to Write a Character Bio

What is a character bio.

A character bio, sometimes called a character profile, is information about your characters that will directly or indirectly inform the story you’re writing.

A character bio can be pages long or can be short and sweet—I.e., Tara, age 15, lives with her father and stepmother, is self-conscious about her height, and has the power of time travel.

Why write a character bio?

Writing a thorough character bio can help you create dynamic, believable characters with depth.

Knowing about who your character is, both on and off the page, can make writing your story easier. Let’s say your protagonist gets on an elevator with a rival colleague, but you’re not sure how to write the rest of the scene. Your protagonist’s character bio—which might include things like how they feel about their career, their insecurities, and how they’ve learned to handle conflict—can help you write a realistic response to that situation.

While you’re writing a character bio, you could uncover ideas for new plotlines or scenes. For example, you decide that the character has a terrible fear of heights. If so, you might consider putting them on the observation deck at the top of the Willis Tower on a first date.

Do you need a bio for every character?

Not necessarily. Character bios are most valuable for primary and secondary characters, or those who feature prominently in the story and undergo some sort of change.

If you’re writing about conflict between parents and their three children, you might need bios for all five characters. Let’s say a family argument erupts while at a fancy restaurant; you don’t likely need to develop a full bio for the waiter who’s left to clean up the food they’ve thrown at each other (though it might be worth it to consider what that waiter’s day has been like).

Plenty of writers work without writing backgrounds for their characters, though you would be hard pressed to find one who doesn’t have some information on a character that doesn’t make the published page.

What does a character bio include?

Your character bios can be as cursory or detailed as you like. Here are points and questions to consider as you write.

Start with biographical basics:

• Age or date of birth
• Race and ethnicity
• Sexual orientation
• Where they’re from
• Where they live
• What they do for a living
• Socioeconomic status
• Physical description: Are they tall, average, or short? Do they have dreadlocks down to their waist or a shaved head? What kind of clothes do they wear? Etc.
• Do they have a family?

As well as information directly related to the story you’re writing:

• What’s the character’s goal? What’s the motivation?
• What are they most afraid of?
• What are their flaws?
• What are their strengths?
• How will they change by the end of the story?
• What is their role in the story?

Questions to get a clearer picture of what they look or sound like:

• What kind of clothes do they wear?
• What’s their hair color and hair style?
• How do they dress?
• Do they have any distinguishing physical characteristics? For example, perfectly straight teeth, a giant scar across their chest, or blue hair? If so, why is this the case and how does it affect their daily life?
• What are their mannerisms like?
• Do they have an accent? How do they feel about their accent?
• Do they have distinguishing speech habits? I.e., do they stop and think before answering a question or do they blurt out their feelings? Does their voice crack when they’re nervous?

Questions to uncover emotional and mental characteristics:

• What does your character want out of life?
• What was their childhood like?
• What are your character’s relationships like? With their parents? With siblings? With extended family? With their spouse or significant other? With friends?
• What are their romantic relationships like?
• Are they good at making friends? Why or why not?
• What kinds of people do they gravitate toward?
• What kinds of people do they avoid?
• Do they have any pet peeves?
• Has your character experienced a monumental or traumatic event? For example, abandonment in childhood or the sudden death of a friend?
• How does your character feel about the way they look?
• Do they have any insecurities?
• How do they feel about their job or career? If they weren’t doing that, what would they be doing?
• What’s their political affiliation?
• What’s their relationship to authority like?
• How do they deal with conflict? With confrontation? With pain? With happiness?
• Do they have any vices?
• What disappointments have they experienced? Successes?

Questions to explore their tastes:

• What kind of music do they listen to? What kind of books do they read? What kind of movies do they watch? Etc.
• What kinds of music, books, and movies do they not like?
• What kind of food do they like?
• How do they spend their free time?
• What kinds of things have they tried and not liked?

How to write a character bio

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the idea of creating a character bio, consider that it doesn’t have to read like a traditional narrative. It can take any form: a list of bullet points, a question-and-answer format, or roughly scribbled notes. Whatever helps you get to know your character and keep track of the details.

Begin building your character bio with the basics: basic biographical information and their role in the story. You can then write an entire bio from start to finish, considering all the questions above, or you can fill it in as you write your story. For example, let’s say your character is having a particularly good day and her father calls—no, her stepfather—and he has bad news. As you write this scene, you should make some notes on her family history (you didn’t know until now that she had a stepfather) and how she deals with stress or conflict.

Some writers will “interview” their character and write the answers in the character’s voice. This can be helpful when trying to identify a character’s voice and speech patterns or when writing dialogue.

Feel free to tinker with a character’s biography as you write and edit your story. If a trait no longer fits with the arc, you don’t have to be married to it. Let your writing process be fluid and organic.

How to use a character bio

There’s no limit to what you can mine from a character profile, but in general, bios can:

• Create depth in your characters and storyline: Simply understanding who your characters are and what they’ve experienced off the page will help you introduce believable reactions and scenarios.
• Maintain consistency: You can use your bios to track information as you introduce it into the story and reconcile inconsistencies. For example, if you write that your protagonist is shorter than average on page five, but on page ten they reach the top of a library shelf with no problem, you can flag the inconsistency and track the accurate description in your character bio.
• Spark new plotlines: When exploring your character’s background, you discover that, as a child, they wanted to be a musician, so in your story you decide to introduce a plotline in which they secretly moonlight as a jazz singer under a mysterious stage name.
• Fight writer’s block and solve problems: If you’re unsure where to take your story, working on a character’s bio can help you get out of a writing rut.

Other ways to explore your characters

• Take a personality test, like this one from 16 Personalities , answering the questions as your character
• Write a scene from their perspective
• Draw or describe their house in detail
• “Interview” your character, answering questions in their voice
• Write their resume
• Write a few journal entries in their voice
• Ask to shadow someone who has the same job or hobbies your character has
• Go interview someone with similar experiences
• Go explore their hometown

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One comment on “ how to write a character bio ”.

THIS IS SO INFORMATIVE

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Character Bio Templates: How To Write & Examples

Whether crafting fiction stories or developing character studies for performance work like theater, detailed character bios bring your protagonists to life by capturing rich backstories, motivations, personalities and defining moments launching their on-page journeys. Compelling character biographies set the stage for fully formed figures audiences relate to.

This guide explores tips for developing multidimensional character bios along with template examples to model helpful starting approaches capturing both critical plot details and resonating personality essences in your own casts. Let’s start by reviewing key elements to include when profiling characters.

Elements to Include in Character Bios

Impactful character biographies encompass:

Backstory Facts

Overview context like date and location of birth, family members and pivotal settings establishing identity and explaining inherent perspectives tied to upbringing. These building blocks lend realism grounding decisions. Share only most relevant lifestage moments contributing to current outlooks.

For example: Grew up as shy middle child on remote 1960s Midwest farm inspiring solitary hobbies like birdwatching and reading.

Vital Statistics

Capture defining physical traits and biographical data helping envision characters through memorable filters establishing cohesive first impressions around age bracket, appearance and more subtleties like speech patterns.

For example: 32 years old, wiry red hair with slight limp from early injury making self-conscious in crowds.

Personality Profile

Showcase 1-3 standout character attributes through demonstrative examples that make your protagonist compelling, quirky or praiseworthy. These memorable personality hooks attract reader investment through relatability, likability or intrigue.

For example: Brutal honesty regardless of social cues frequently gets her trouble yet she can’t resist exposing hypocrisy. Vlad has signature booming laugh immediately distinguishing his presence.

Motivations & Goals

Explore innermost values and ambitions driving your character’s journey. Are they seeking redemption for past wrongdoings or trying attaining career success to support family? Detail complex psychology through emotional wounds, pressing needs and hopes adding depth.

For example: Seeks trailblazing scientific discovery before disease progresses rendering him bedridden like ancestor inventors. Vies being first female taekwondo champion proving petite athletes mighty.

Let’s examine some example character bio templates putting these key dimensions into action across common creative settings.

Character Bio Examples & Templates

Here are five sample character bio templates spanning fiction stories, theater script development and role preparation best practices covering different core focal points:

Fiction Story Character Bio Template

Full name: Cassandra “Cassie” Brianne Jacobs

Birthdate & Zodiac: March 19th, Aries

Physical: 5’2” petite frame, shoulder-length brown curls, hazel eyes

The younger of two daughters, Cassie grew up outside Portland enveloped in Pacific Northwest evergreen wilderness inspiring a vibrant imagination and wonder of natural worlds. Childhood haemophilia curtailed wilderness adventures leading to solitary hobbies of writing fantasy stories set hiking misty forests. Witnessing inequality towards her disabled father despite diligent provision for their family instilled an innate impulse challenging injustice through thoughtful rebellion from youth through college women’s rights protests.

Personality profile

* Champion of human rights & environmental protection

* Habitual journaler processing observations into reflective action

* Temperamental debater quick to challenge faulty logic or oppression

* Enthusiastic laughter breaks tension Showcases both strengths and growth areas

Motivations closing paragraph

Today, Cassie feels restless in unfulfilling admin role yet fears pursuing activist writing career won’t make ends meet. She decides embarking solo camping trip along Oregon coast for clarity on how to interweave world betterment with personal purpose beyond conventional checklist chasing cultural validation she inconsistently desires. But fate has unexpected encounters in store...

Theater Character Biographies Template

Character Name & Vitals

Natalia “Nat” Cresswood 36 years old5’5” lean dancer physique, shoulder-length curly black hair often worn pulled back in messy bun, green eyes peering intensely taking everything in

The middle daughter of three to an affluent Boston investment banker and philanthropic mother, Natalia grew up participating in gymnastics and ballet dancing from age 4. While she demonstrated natural physical gifts starring incompetitive dance troupe performances through adolescence, Natalia felt increasingly creatively confined by strict choreography regiments and passive gender social norms encouraged among her elite social circles. At 19 Natalia moved to NYC to pursue commercial dancing career and avant garde performances allowing embracing her feminist, queer identity.

Personality & Quirks

* Signature move involves spinning from floor into powerful stance signifying empowerment

* Communicates through spare, precise language and sustained eye contact

* Habitually observes her surroundings before entering new spaces

* Fidgets hands when frustrated suggestive of restricted inner voice

Goals for This Story

Having sacrificed artistic fulfillment the past 10 years for commercial stability paying bills, Natalia realizes sculpting empowerment stage work fusing dance, music and monologues must take priority now before time passes by. But reconciling lingering internalized social expectations around women’s “proper place” remains Natalia’s hidden conflict throughout her visionary choreographic journey.

Method Acting Character Background Exercise

Character basics

Full name: Jonathan “Johnny” Mikeal Vincent

Age & DOB: 43 - January 18th 1980

Physical: 5’10” muscular builder’s frame, close cropped salt & pepper hair with soul patch, hazel eyes

Origins & Upbringing

Born in working class Boston neighborhood, Johnny grew up youngest of 5 children stretched thin by his father’s meager construction wages. Witnessing his overwhelmed parents’ arguments over tight budgets and bringing up 5 kids persevering through scarce means imprinted practical resourcefulness and protective loyalty towards family from young age. Streetfights defending younger siblings also molded reflexive physicality meeting perceived threats with force versus diplomacy - qualities that both served and hindered future dealings rising ranks of local crews.

Personality Qualities

* Brash boldness asserting needs without hesitation

* Observant assessing surroundings before acting

* Generous providing for inner circle no questions spared

* Temper simmers erupting if boundaries crossed

Present Day Motives

Now a rising lieutenant managing illegal arms trade bypassing moral discomfort by rationalizing providing for family above all. Yet Johnny’s protective loyalty gets tested through unforeseen medical crisis forcing reflection on how far he’ll go for kin, crew and his own legacy.

Mix and match components from these templates to build rich multidimensional character biographies fueling vibrant personalities advancing your creative storylines or performances.

Tips for Crafting Standout Character Bios

Beyond covering the core factual and personality elements in your character profiles, apply these additional writing best practices:

1. Uncover defining Epiphany Moments - Explore when your character’s worldview or approach shifted through pivotal interactions altering their place (e.g. first heartbreak, missed promotion, act of betrayal) then map effects on current perspective.

2. Ask probing Questions - What does your character dread most? Dream of late at night? These emotional drivers shape reactions.

3. Contrast Public vs Private Selves - We all portray polished public personas hiding trickier private truths. Expose both along with what formed each.

4. Leave Mysteries - Avoid overdetailing every past moment that defined them. Allow pockets of ambiguity leaving gaps to fill in later keeping intrigue high.

With robust profiles assembled for your leads, supporting roles and antagonists, let’s go over some FAQs on applying character bios improving creative development across different mediums:

Character Bio FAQs

Here are answers to common questions around leveraging rich character biographies to enhance storytelling potency:

Do novels require character bios?

While not mandatory, crafting detailed character profiles outlining backstories, motivations, personalities and pivotal moments often allows authors tighter continuity referencing these key origin details subtly dropping them through dialogue, narration foreshadowing and dramatic irony. Keep bios handy avoiding uneven character shifts.

How do actors use character biographies?

Performers heavily reference developed character bios and backstories to assume roles more immersively through informed emotional connection versus surface reciting of lines. Bios prompt harnessing personas psychologically manifesting authentic expressions, reactions, mannerisms aligned to complex figures crafted through writing phases.

Can you reuse character bios across multiple stories?

While core human psyche chronicling transferable personality types and motivational scenarios applies across fictional mediums, reinvent character bios customized aligning backstories, growth arcs and role details to each storyline’s unique setting and journey to retain authentic freshness avoiding recycled caricatures. Each story deserves wholly original casts.

Do graphic novels require detailed character bios early on?

Visual novelists can reference abbreviated character profiles covering formative memories, key attributes and story goals guiding illustration development translating writing notes into consistent graphic panels showcasing tangible personalities emerging through imagery, action and dialogue. Expanded textual bios help inform ongoing narrative strides.

Robust, thoughtful character profiles translate into richer, more relatable leads engaging audience investment through complex facets, agonies and triumphs mirroring human condition. Immerse in their world to share impactful stories.

Now that you grasp the core components of resonant character biographies and how to leverage them improving your creative process, let's briefly spotlight a few historical examples demonstrating powerful essence-capturing personas:

Examples of Compelling Character Bios

Anna Karenina - Anna suffers ongoing identity crisis straddling refined aristocratic expectations, maternal ambivalence and impassioned yearning for uninhibited romantic transcendence ultimately ending her life by suicide. Complex dimensionality intrigues.

Tom Sawyer - Clever schemer skilled at winning friends through imagination and charm yet haunted by lingering orphan heartache seeking worldstage validation outshadowing humble beginnings. Celebritized psyche timelessly relatable.

As these classic protagonists epitomize, detailed rendered biographies manifesting signature psyche facets, wounds and worldviews lie at the heart of artistic legacies spanning generations. Dive deep conjuring your cast’s complete essence through biography.

How to Use Just Think AI for Character Bio Templates

Just Think AI makes creating compelling character bios easy. Here are tips:

• Share key details about the character - name, age, personality traits, background, abilities etc.
• Provide the story genre and setting details as context
• Indicate if the character is a protagonist, antagonist, supporting role etc.
• Specify any unique attributes, quirks, or details to highlight

With this information, Just Think AI can generate a customized character bio template covering their history, physical description, personality overview and role details in an engaging narrative style.

Just Think AI Prompts for Character Bio Templates

When requesting a character bio template from Just Think AI, provide:

• Character details - name, age, descriptors, abilities etc.
• Genre and setting the character exists within
• Character role in the story
• Any special attributes or details about the character

Supplying this context allows Just Think AI to draft an effective character bio template bringing your creation to life!

Let Just Think AI handle the busywork of composing compelling character bios so you can focus on developing captivating stories!

How to create a character bio template (70+ attributes to include)

Are you a writer? Puzzled with the magic of creating your characters? You need a character bio template to make the magic work for you!

Creating a character bio template will help you create a unique character that readers will remember. It’s also a great way to start brainstorming ideas for your story.

We understand (and love!) how all writers are different in their way. However, certain tricks and conventions can help you discipline your craft. More importantly, it can help you create better stories and characters.

Whether you’re writing a fiction story, a screenplay, or characters for a video game – using a character bio template will help you stay at the top of your game.

So in this article, we’re going to break down the most important aspects of a character. We have listed 75+ attributes that you need to consider. And we’ll also discuss how a character bio template helps!

Let’s start!

Table of Contents

What is a character bio template?

A character bio, also known as a character profile, is the sketch of your character. It best describes your character and your motivations in a summarized way.

They are often crucial to how a character will perceive the story’s events and react to the changing circumstances.

Think of it as the nature of your character – their motivation, deepest desires, and reason to act. And that is all the more reason you should invest time in creating a character bio that best depicts your characters.

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a protagonist, an antagonist, or just a background character – you should have a bio for everyone. That would also allow the reader to form a personal connection. And ultimately, contribute to making your story better!

How can a character bio template help writers?

A character bio template acts as a roadmap or a guide to creating a bio for your characters.

It gives you a checklist of the things you need to add as part of your characters for them to develop naturally through the course of the story.

Writing a character bio is a good exercise for writers because it forces them to think about what makes a character unique. It also gives them practice thinking about different aspects of their character’s personality, such as their likes and dislikes, hobbies, and goals. These aspects define the motivations of your characters. Or, in simple words, show the reader why a character behaves a certain way.

More importantly, it forces you to pay attention to the details of the characters that you might overlook otherwise.

It can help create memorable characters.

For instance, all Potterheads would remember Hermoine as a bookworm. And that’s her characteristic.

In the same way, if you’ve watched Game of Thrones (it’ll be crazy if you haven’t), you’d remember how one of the biggest plot changes came about due to a change in physical appearance. Ned Stark, the most publicly loved character, found the truth about Joffrey’s lineage and Cersei’s affair because he had blond hair, unlike his father and his forefathers, who all had brown  hair.

So, seemingly unimportant details can help you create a great story. And with a character bio template, you can easily and quickly fill these out!

How to create a character bio?

A character bio template should include the general, personal, emotional, and physical aspects of a character’s life.

Once you have written down these details, you will need to organize them into a coherent document. You can start by writing out each element separately. Then, as you go through writing, you can add more detail to each section.

To make sure that your character has a clear personality, you should think about what kind of traits they would possess. This includes hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes, and even quirks. It’s also helpful to consider the type of people your character might interact with. Think about their friends, family members, coworkers, classmates, neighbors, etc.

Once you’ve thought about these questions, you can start writing down some ideas. You can use them to help you develop your character’s personality.

If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, try brainstorming. Ask yourself questions like “What does my character do when he or she feels stressed out?” or “What does my main character love doing?”

Let’s discuss these aspects in detail.

Add general information

It would help if you always started identifying and assigning the general information to your characters. This would help you build their base upon which other aspects of their personality can be created.

General information is the most crucial aspect of any character. That’s because it’ll give the character its identity in the story. And that is why it’s the first thing to start with.

While writing the general information, avoid adding unnecessary cliches or overt use of adjectives.

So here’s a list of things to include. But do keep in mind that some of these might not be applicable in a few setups or stories. For instance, if you’re writing a sci-fi story, then the job for a character might not apply.

So take the relevant things to your story genre and fill those up.

• Nationality
• City and country of birth
• The current place of residence
• Employing company
• Income and financial status
• Relationship and marital status
• Mother tongue
• Are they a homeowner, or do they live elsewhere?
• What does the character like, and what are their hobbies?
• What does the character dislike?

Add the background of your character bio

Next is the background for your character. And perhaps one of the most meaningful aspects of their personality.

Think of it this way – we all come from somewhere, and ultimately, our roots define our future, behavior patterns, aspirations in life, and the methods we’ll adopt to achieve our dreams.

The background of a character becomes the backbone for its growth. So make sure you take your sweet time while writing about it.

Here are a few important pointers to keep in mind.

• Write about their childhood
• Include their family and ancestral history
• Write about their adolescence and teenage. Include the experiences that have shaped their mindset.
• Write about their adulthood dreams and the factors they are basing them on.

Expand on the role and involvement of the character

You can have as many characters as you want in the story. However, all of them wouldn’t be important. You’ll have the main characters, the side characters, and then characters that are simply there in the background and have little to no effect on the plot.

And that is why it’s important to define the role and involvement of each character. This would help you introduce them properly and write their trajectory reasonably.

Here are the four most important things you should consider when writing about the role and involvement of the character.

• Identify the character’s involvement in the story.
• How important are they for the plot to progress and develop?
• How are you going to introduce the character?
• When will be the first time that they are mentioned in the story?

Describe their relationships

At the end of the day, our relationships define who we are and what choices we will make for the people in our lives.

The same extends to the universe of your story and your characters.

For them to be completely human, they will need relationships. Or, if it’s important to how they are, they might not have any relationship at all. In either case, it’s crucial to expand on those details.

You’ll notice that sometimes relationships can also be used as a good plot device.

Here are some of the key relationships you should identify for your characters.

• Relationship with themselves. This is the most important aspect of any character’s personality. And sadly, it’s also the one that’s neglected the most.
• Grandparents
• Siblings or half-siblings
• Spouse or partner
• Grandchildren
• Relationship with other characters of the story that they will interact with.

Include physical characteristics

To make your character more perceptible to the imagination, you must draw upon their physical characteristics.

Sometimes, these can be crucial to how a character behaves in the story. For instance, in the original Batman comic, Joker’s deformed smile is an important physical character that adds meaning to his actions and presents a background to his tragedy.

Here are the pointers you should keep in mind.

• Their body type and body built
• Do they wear glasses?
• Do they have a prominent birthmark?
• Their dress sense and personal style. Think along the lines of how modern or old-fashion they appear to be.
• Addictions and bad habits
• Good habits and hobbies
• Their dialect
• Are they healthy, underweight, overweight, or obese?
• Do they have any diseases or illnesses?
• Do they smoke or drink regularly?
• Does the character have any disabilities?
• Does the character prefer any proverbs?

Include mental characteristics

Just like physical characteristics define your character’s appearance and aura, their mental aspects would describe their inner spirit. It is crucial to identify their motivations.

Note that some characters’ mindset changes as the story progresses. And that makes it all the more reason to identify their mental characteristics so the journey from point A to B can be more visually seen.

Here’s a list of some of the most crucial mental aspects to consider for writing a good character bio template.

• Their perception of themselves
• Assumed external perception
• How confident are they
• Are they more practical in their decision-making or emotional?
• How would you qualify them; genius, intelligent, dumb, smart, or streetsmart?
• Their fears, flaws, and weaknesses
• Highlight their strengths
• Expand on their life goals and how they perceive them.
• Sense of humor
• What annoys or upsets this character the most?
• What are their trigger points?
• And finally, what brings them joy and mental peace?

Add emotional characteristics of your character bio template

And finally, the last aspect of completing your character bio template is to add their emotional features.

Remember, these can overlap with some of their mental capabilities too. However, you should still focus more on their emotional intelligence.

Here are the pointers to keep in mind when designing a good character.

• What are the character’s emotional strengths?
• What do you think the character’s emotional flaws are?
• Are they an introvert, ambivert, or extrovert?
• How do they react to rage? What triggers their rage and fury?
• Are they dissatisfied? How do they reach it?
• Their response to opposition and rivalry
• How do they respond to changes and new circumstances?
• How do they deal with problems? Do they have a problem-solving mindset?
• What is the purpose and meaning of their life?
• What are their desires and motivations in life?
• Identify the situations that terrify the protagonist
• What brings joy to this character?
• Do they have a healthy emotional relationship with their partners? What about themselves?

What is the best review software for writers?

The most important part of your work is editing and ensuring everything aligns as a writer.

However, this process can take a lot of energy and mental space. And sometimes, it can become exhausting.

So to avoid the long hassle of the review and approval process, use GoVisually .

GoVisually is the #1 online proofing software that helps you stay aligned with your editors and reviewers.

You can upload your character bio or book in the form of a PDF and invite your editors to give their feedback. Then check their feedback in real time, compare versions and make the final changes.

Doesn’t get better? Well, it does!

The best part is that you can invite as many external reviewers as you want without them having to register!

Crazy, right?

So book a demo today and unleash the power of GoVisually.

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Alina Zahid Khan

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How Do You Write A Character Bio? The Road to GREAT Characterisation

Character bios can be an essential part of writing your character. There is no story without a character, just as there is no character without a character bio.

Every writer needs some semblance of a bio before they can start writing because it is the only way to truly know who your character is. Without one, it’s harder to feel their existence as something tangible.

The best way to think of a character bio is as it being their passport. A certificate of identity to give them life and authenticity. It’s an official record of them, something to prove their existence on paper.

Characters are built through their bios. They start out as non-existent or simply ideas in the head, but through the process characters become layered. They become real.

In this article, we’ll highlight the key tips to creating your own character bio. We’ll provide the essential information on building a bio that both births a character and helps establish the story.

It might often feel like extraneous work, but writing a character bio can be the difference between a two-dimensional functional character and a rich, layered one.

Table of Contents

The writing style of character bios, voice of a character bio, 1. outline the basics of your character(s), 2. add life to a character, 3. add color to a character, 4. immersion in a character bio, the character’s purpose, how character bios help writers, why a character bio is important to the writer and the story, an acronym to help:.

Character bios can be created in multiple ways. There is no set way. Ultimately, they must be crafted in the best way for the writer. And most importantly, they need to be accessible and easy to understand.

Some ways of creating a character bio include…

• On a blank document: Probably the most common way. This is easy to execute, follow and allows for you to let rip with words. Just fill a document with as many words as you can about your character. Let it all spill out, without limitations.
• On PowerPoint: This allows a character bio to become more like a character portfolio. PowerPoint allows both text and images to be added, which gives a visual dimension to the character. It’s also easy to access and one can select what slide is needed for certain writing times.
• On a Spreadsheet: Establishes a critical perspective, as the writer will be dissecting and labelling each aspect that makes up the character.
• In a Notebook: Having a hard copy character bio makes it easier to access when writing on a laptop. This way multiple tabs aren’t open. It can help you not only literally separate out your character bio from your other writing but mentally too, allowing you to work on your character bio and feed in its details to the wider document.
• On Post-Its: Easier to add new details to a character, and have them around you when writing.

All of these different styles have their own benefits due to their form. PowerPoint is arguably the best way as it lays out each aspect of the character clearly, and encourages the visual side of the character too. This is ultimately what character bios are best for, visualizing your character.

Another feature of the style of writing a character bio is what personal tense to use. Both First or Third person could be used. And using either of these styles when writing a character bio can have a different meaning…

• First Person: This suggests that the writer is the character, so it becomes more personal and intimate. However, it also makes it harder for the writer to view themselves just as a writer if they are the character, as the lines could become blurred, and confusing when dealing with multiple characters.
• Third Person: This provides a more analytical character bio as the writer is shaping who/what they want the character to be, so it is somewhat easier to access them as a character. However, it can distance the writer, so they are less involved in the world they are creating, as they are on the outside looking in.

Both styles of voice have their pros and cons, but both do formulate solid character bios that will allow the characters to come to life. Some writers may prefer a more immersive approach, some may relish a more objective, analytical approach. But both allow the writer to sit with their characters and let them spill out onto the page.

Finding the voice to write in for your character bio is one thing, but what are the key elements to tackle when writing your character bio? Let’s take a look…

The starting point of a character bio is to determine the basics of the character(s). Starting the character bio with the basics is essential, it’s like laying the foundation for a house. Without the foundation it becomes unstable. The same goes for character. If you don’t know your character solidly, then the story will fall apart.

Basics include…

• Name – Obviously, the major starting point. It is how your character will be known and in many ways, it defines them. So, the name has to represent who they are. And a distinctive yet believable name is always the best bet, particularly when it comes to main characters.
• Physical appearance. What they look like is obviously important for reading through and remembering the characters but also for aspects of production like casting.
• Personality traits. How does their conflict manifest? What are they like? What kind of figure do they cut within the action?
• Family. What are their relationships like? How have these relationships shaped them into who they are?
• Where the character is from. What is their background? How does this manifest, for example, in their accent, in their outlook and in their character arc in general?
• Where the character lives. What is the context they live within? And most importantly, how does this shape their character arc and the story overall?
• Career. What do they do for a living? Whether important to the story or not, their job and how they spend their daily life is important to understand.

When determining the basics what needs to be apparent is the character’s relatability. Their personality traits, past, relationships and context help to provide relatability, giving the audience an insight into the character and an opportunity to connect with them. Without this, the story is harder to find a way into.

After determining the basics of a character in their bio, the next step is to go more in-depth. This stage allows a writer to establish a character’s goals, flaws, and quirks. It is a character’s goals and flaws that make the story because this it almost always what the plot revolves/evolves around, particularly as it pertains to the protagonist .

What to add to develop a character bio…

• The character’s wants and needs.
• Their niches and quirks.
• What are their goals?
• What are their flaws and foibles?

By being thorough at this stage, the character is getting more and more real. They start to take their first steps. Every minor detail that may seem unnecessary e.g., a character’s minor behavioural ticks, is vital to a character bio.

For example, by knowing some small detail about a quirk of behaviour, a character’s state of mind, background, self-esteem and sense of self can all be determined.

It is these intricate features that not only bring life to a character bio but also improve the narrative. Each detail of the character works synchronously with the story as a way to build on the plot. But it also ensures each character’s reaction fits the plot and explains who they are.

Adding color acts as a double meaning in this instance. The literal meaning is to choose colors that can be associated with the characters (through clothes, for example) to match their personality/moods.

It’s this meaning that aids in furthering the character bio as the colors chosen can represent who the character is and what they will become. Breaking Bad is perhaps the greatest example of this. Throughout the series, the colors are used to represent the characters’ shifting motivations.

Color also carries the meaning of making a character real. Adding color as visualizing them, how they walk, how they talk, how they interact. What is it that makes them real? That is the next step of writing a character bio.

“I demand the right to be them, I demand the right to think them.” – Quentin Tarantino

To add color the writer has to completely submerse themselves into the characterisation- every choice the writer makes regarding the character, particularly in relation to visuals needs to weave into narrative and characterisation.

The goal of the character bio is to make a character real. And the only way to make a character real is for the writer to become one with the characterisation. This means looking into and focusing on aspects that seem unimportant or useless.

A character bio needs to act like an extension of the writer’s self, drawing from themselves and their real life in general. It is a part of them but it’s not them. By adding color the writer is able to work multidimensionally between building the character and partially being the character.

There needs to be the ability to move between perceiving how the character functions as a person, whilst disconnecting in order to look at the big picture of crafting the story.

Following on from adding color to a character bio, and the necessity to work multidimensionally, is immersion. To become immersed in a character bio means the ability to view yourself as a writer whilst also having the perspective of a character.

The writer’s voice needs to become the character’s too.

Exercises for the writer’s voice to become the character’s include…

• Write a journal/diary entry as the character: This allows the writer to directly access the character’s thoughts and behaviour.
• Write a letter from the character to another, or even to the writer: This technique encourages two different styles, one being for the writer to become the character, and the other being the writer accessing the character’s voice whilst being aware of themselves as a writer.
• Carry out an interview with the character: By doing this the writer is able to concurrently carry the role of the writer as well as the character.
• Make a specific list about your character’s likes and dislikes – including, for example, everything from their favorite color to their favorite food to their favorite pastimes.

These exercises are almost a form of method writing , getting into the character’s headspace and indulging in them as if they were real. Again, some of these details may seem unnecessarily specific, but they might help in building a convincing and realistic vision of your character.

The character’s purpose is what needs to shine through the bio as it is that which will be explored and built on throughout the narrative itself. The writer being able to find the character’s voice within making a character bio helps to make the character as close to real as possible.

By being clear and pliable, the character bio guarantees that even if the story alters as it is created, the core of the character(s) can remain the same. And this core is the character’s purpose. This is what’s driving them through the story and consequently, particularly in relation to the protagonist , driving the story itself.

You might find your character’s purpose when writing the bio, or you might have it already before the bio. Either way, a key aim of writing a character bio should be to understand what that character’s purpose and function is within the story as a whole.

Without purpose, the character could seem two-dimensional or unnecessary, no matter how fleshed out in specific detail they are.

Character bios are priceless to a writer. They allow writers to get to know their character(s) much as they would a person in real life. If a character doesn’t feel real and relatable then the audience or screenplay reader will struggle to connect with the story.

They help the writer to conceptualise all that exists in their head. Before creating a character bio, a character is simply a writer’s thoughts of a person. But once the bio is on paper those thoughts start the process of transforming into a fully-formed person.

• A character bio can also help writers to establish the arc that characters will go on throughout the narrative.
• It acts as a blueprint. If a writer loses track of their character(s) and their arc, the bio is there to act as the heart of a character.
• It is what births and maintains the character’s existence.

Character bios help provide security for the writer as they can map out the story through the eyes of the character(s). This means that no matter what happens in the writing process the bio is always there to refer to.

The ability to get inside a character’s head is essential to a successful narrative, as often the audience perceives and responds to the story through their relationship to the characters.

Character arcs are a key part of the narrative or are the narrative itself, and a crucial way to track an arc’s success is with the bio. It is the character’s flaws that are tied up with the story and the flaw that needs to be resolved or handled by the story’s end.

A bio is what fleshes out characters, making them feel human. They become a part of the world you are creating, both feeding into and feeding off the depth you are gradually building.

They can also be important to both the writer and the story for continuity reasons.

• Change happens in a story, both in the actual narrative evolution and redrafts.
• So, for a bio to act as a continuity guide provides assurance that characters won’t become debased.
• They will retain their strengths as independent characters whilst ensuring the story itself doesn’t fall flat.

Connection is what a character bio provides. They allow the writer to establish the traits of that character that an audience can connect/relate/empathise with. Every character needs to have a perspective on humanity whether it be a positive or negative one. And crafting a bio helps identify what this perspective looks like.

As discussed, there are multiple ways to write a character bio, but it must be…

• E xpressive

So, think of CREATE when creating a character bio, and you’ll be in the best place possible to write one.

A character bio is a tool to helping you understand your character and what shapes them. It brings a character to life on the page. And it is this aliveness that feeds the life of the story.

Bios are pivotal to both the writer and story as they are the glue that holds it all together, whilst ensuring organisation and coherence for the story and writing process.

– What did you think of this article?  Share It ,  Like It , give it a rating, and let us know your thoughts in the comments box further down…

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This article was written by Libby Laycock and edited by IS Staff.

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4 thoughts on “How Do You Write A Character Bio? The Road to GREAT Characterisation”

Dealing with characters that are 98% Native American, I knew from the start in writing the book, I needed to distinguish the characters.Thank you for the information it was very helpful in going forward with the teleplay.

This article is definitely a good, clear reminder why character matters in driving the plot. If your plot isn’t working, the answer often lies with character; and as painful as it is, that means you have to step back from the direct script writing and do more research. That’s what this article has made me do. Thanks.

Thanks Angela, glad we could help!

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Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Posted on Jun 30, 2023

How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

1. Seek permission when possible 

2. research your subject thoroughly, 3. do interviews and visit locations, 4. organize your findings, 5. identify a central thesis, 6. write it using narrative elements, 7. get feedback and polish the text.

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While you technically don’t need permission to write about public figures (or deceased ones), that doesn't guarantee their legal team won't pursue legal action against you. Author Kitty Kelley was sued by Frank Sinatra before she even started to write His Way , a biography that paints Ol Blue Eyes in a controversial light. (Kelley ended up winning the lawsuit, however).  

Whenever feasible, advise the subject’s representatives of your intentions. If all goes according to plan, you’ll get a green light to proceed, or potentially an offer to collaborate. It's a matter of common sense; if someone were to write a book about you, you would likely want to know about it well prior to publication. So, make a sincere effort to reach out to their PR staff to negotiate an agreement or at least a mutual understanding of the scope of your project. 

At the same time, make sure that you still retain editorial control over the project, and not end up writing a puff piece that treats its protagonist like a saint or hero. No biography can ever be entirely objective, but you should always strive for a portrayal that closely aligns with facts and reality.

If you can’t get an answer from your subject, or you’re asked not to proceed forward, you can still accept the potential repercussions and write an unauthorized biography . The “rebellious act” of publishing without consent indeed makes for great marketing, though it’ll likely bring more headaches with it too. 

✋ Please note that, like other nonfiction books, if you intend to release your biography with a publishing house , you can put together a book proposal to send to them before you even write the book. If they like it enough, they might pay you an advance to write it.  

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Once you’ve settled (or not) the permission part, it’s time to dive deep into your character’s story.  

Deep and thorough research skills are the cornerstone of every biographer worth their salt. To paint a vivid and accurate portrait of someone's life, you’ll have to gather qualitative information from a wide range of reliable sources. 

Start with the information already available, from books on your subject to archival documents, then collect new ones firsthand by interviewing people or traveling to locations. 

Browse the web and library archives

Put your researcher hat on and start consuming any piece on your subject you can find, from their Wikipedia page to news articles, interviews, TV and radio appearances, YouTube videos, podcasts, books, magazines, and any other media outlets they may have been featured in. 

Establish a system to orderly collect the information you find 一 even seemingly insignificant details can prove valuable during the writing process, so be sure to save them. 

Depending on their era, you may find most of the information readily available online, or you may need to search through university libraries for older references. 

For his landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow spent untold hours at Columbia University’s library , reading through the Hamilton family papers, visiting the New York Historical Society, as well as interviewing the archivist of the New York Stock Exchange, and so on. The research process took years, but it certainly paid off. Chernow discovered that Hamilton created the first five securities originally traded on Wall Street. This finding, among others, revealed his significant contributions to shaping the current American financial and political systems, a legacy previously often overshadowed by other founding fathers. Today Alexander Hamilton is one of the best-selling biographies of all time, and it has become a cultural phenomenon with its own dedicated musical. 

Besides reading documents about your subject, research can help you understand the world that your subject lived in. 

Try to understand their time and social environment

Many biographies show how their protagonists have had a profound impact on society through their philosophical, artistic, or scientific contributions. But at the same time, it’s worth it as a biographer to make an effort to understand how their societal and historical context influenced their life’s path and work.

An interesting example is Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World . Finding himself limited by a lack of verified detail surrounding William Shakespeare's personal life, Greenblatt, instead, employs literary interpretation and imaginative reenactments to transport readers back to the Elizabethan era. The result is a vivid (though speculative) depiction of the playwright's life, enriching our understanding of his world.

Many readers enjoy biographies that transport them to a time and place, so exploring a historical period through the lens of a character can be entertaining in its own right. The Diary of Samuel Pepys became a classic not because people were enthralled by his life as an administrator, but rather from his meticulous and vivid documentation of everyday existence during the Restoration period.

Once you’ve gotten your hands on as many secondary sources as you can find, you’ll want to go hunting for stories first-hand from people who are (or were) close to your subject.

With all the material you’ve been through, by now you should already have a pretty good picture of your protagonist. But you’ll surely have some curiosities and missing dots in their character arc to figure out, which you can only get by interviewing primary sources.

Interview friends and associates

This part is more relevant if your subject is contemporary, and you can actually meet up or call with relatives, friends, colleagues, business partners, neighbors, or any other person related to them. 

In writing the popular biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson interviewed more than one hundred people, including Jobs’s family, colleagues, former college mates, business rivals, and the man himself.

🔍 Read other biographies to get a sense of what makes a great one. Check out our list of the 30 best biographies of all time , or take our 30-second quiz below for tips on which one you should read next. 

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When you conduct your interviews, make sure to record them with high quality audio you can revisit later. Then use tools like Otter.ai or Descript to transcribe them 一 it’ll save you countless hours. 

You can approach the interview with a specific set of questions, or follow your curiosity blindly, trying to uncover revealing stories and anecdotes about your subject. Whatever your method, author and biography editor Tom Bromley suggests that every interviewer arrives prepared, "Show that you’ve done your work. This will help to put the interviewee at ease, and get their best answers.” 

Bromley also places emphasis on the order in which you conduct interviews. “You may want to interview different members of the family or friends first, to get their perspective on something, and then go directly to the main interviewee. You'll be able to use that knowledge to ask sharper, more specific questions.” 

Finally, consider how much time you have with each interviewee. If you only have a 30-minute phone call with an important person, make it count by asking directly the most pressing questions you have. And, if you find a reliable source who is also particularly willing to help, conduct several interviews and ask them, if appropriate, to write a foreword as part of the book’s front matter .

Sometimes an important part of the process is packing your bags, getting on a plane, and personally visiting significant places in your character’s journey.

Visit significant places in their life

A place, whether that’s a city, a rural house, or a bodhi tree, can carry a particular energy that you can only truly experience by being there. In putting the pieces together about someone’s life, it may be useful to go visit where they grew up, or where other significant events of their lives happened. It will be easier to imagine what they experienced, and better tell their story. 

In researching The Lost City of Z , author David Grann embarked on a trek through the Amazon, retracing the steps of British explorer Percy Fawcett. This led Grann to develop new theories about the circumstances surrounding the explorer's disappearance.

Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with jaguars and anacondas to better understand your subject’s environment, but try to walk into their shoes as much as possible. 

Once you’ve researched your character enough, it’s time to put together all the puzzle pieces you collected so far. 

Take the bulk of notes, media, and other documents you’ve collected, and start to give them some order and structure. A simple way to do this is by creating a timeline. 

Create a chronological timeline

It helps to organize your notes chronologically 一 from childhood to the senior years, line up the most significant events of your subject’s life, including dates, places, names and other relevant bits. 

You should be able to divide their life into distinct periods, each with their unique events and significance. Based on that, you can start drafting an outline of the narrative you want to create.  

Draft a story outline 

Since a biography entails writing about a person’s entire life, it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can pick where you want to end the story, depending on how consequential the last years of your subject were. But the nature of the work will give you a starting character arc to work with. 

To outline the story then, you could turn to the popular Three-Act Structure , which divides the narrative in three main parts. In a nutshell, you’ll want to make sure to have the following:

• Act 1. Setup : Introduce the protagonist's background and the turning points that set them on a path to achieve a goal. 
• Act 2. Confrontation : Describe the challenges they encounter, both internal and external, and how they rise to them. Then..
• Act 3. Resolution : Reach a climactic point in their story in which they succeed (or fail), showing how they (and the world around them) have changed as a result. 

Only one question remains before you begin writing: what will be the main focus of your biography?

Think about why you’re so drawn to your subject to dedicate years of your life to recounting their own. What aspect of their life do you want to highlight? Is it their evil nature, artistic genius, or visionary mindset? And what evidence have you got to back that up? Find a central thesis or focus to weave as the main thread throughout your narrative. 

Or find a unique angle

If you don’t have a particular theme to explore, finding a distinct angle on your subject’s story can also help you distinguish your work from other biographies or existing works on the same subject.

Plenty of biographies have been published about The Beatles 一 many of which have different focuses and approaches: 

• Philip Norman's Shout is sometimes regarded as leaning more towards a pro-Lennon and anti-McCartney stance, offering insights into the band's inner dynamics. 
• Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head closely examines their music track by track, shifting the focus back to McCartney as a primary creative force. 
• Craig Brown's One Two Three Four aims to capture their story through anecdotes, fan letters, diary entries, and interviews. 
• Mark Lewisohn's monumental three-volume biography, Tune In , stands as a testament to over a decade of meticulous research, chronicling every intricate detail of the Beatles' journey.

Finally, consider that biographies are often more than recounting the life of a person. Similar to how Dickens’ Great Expectations is not solely about a boy named Pip (but an examination and critique of Britain’s fickle, unforgiving class system), a biography should strive to illuminate a broader truth — be it social, political, or human — beyond the immediate subject of the book. 

Once you’ve identified your main focus or angle, it’s time to write a great story. 

While biographies are often highly informative, they do not have to be dry and purely expository in nature . You can play with storytelling elements to make it an engaging read. 

You could do that by thoroughly detailing the setting of the story , depicting the people involved in the story as fully-fledged characters , or using rising action and building to a climax when describing a particularly significant milestone of the subject’s life. 

One common way to make a biography interesting to read is starting on a strong foot…

Hook the reader from the start

Just because you're honoring your character's whole life doesn't mean you have to begin when they said their first word. Starting from the middle or end of their life can be more captivating as it introduces conflicts and stakes that shaped their journey.

When he wrote about Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild , author Jon Krakauer didn’t open his subject’s childhood and abusive family environment. Instead, the book begins with McCandless hitchhiking his way into the wilderness, and subsequently being discovered dead in an abandoned bus. By starting in medias res , Krakauer hooks the reader’s interest, before tracing back the causes and motivations that led McCandless to die alone in that bus in the first place.

You can bend the timeline to improve the reader’s reading experience throughout the rest of the story too…

Play with flashback 

While biographies tend to follow a chronological narrative, you can use flashbacks to tell brief stories or anecdotes when appropriate. For example, if you were telling the story of footballer Lionel Messi, before the climax of winning the World Cup with Argentina, you could recall when he was just 13 years old, giving an interview to a local newspaper, expressing his lifelong dream of playing for the national team. 

Used sparsely and intentionally, flashbacks can add more context to the story and keep the narrative interesting. Just like including dialogue does…

Reimagine conversations

Recreating conversations that your subject had with people around them is another effective way to color the story. Dialogue helps the reader imagine the story like a movie, providing a deeper sensory experience. 

One thing is trying to articulate the root of Steve Jobs’ obsession with product design, another would be to quote his father , teaching him how to build a fence when he was young: “You've got to make the back of the fence just as good looking as the front of the fence. Even though nobody will see it, you will know. And that will show that you're dedicated to making something perfect.”

Unlike memoirs and autobiographies, in which the author tells the story from their personal viewpoint and enjoys greater freedom to recall conversations, biographies require a commitment to facts. So, when recreating dialogue, try to quote directly from reliable sources like personal diaries, emails, and text messages. You could also use your interview scripts as an alternative to dialogue. As Tom Bromley suggests, “If you talk with a good amount of people, you can try to tell the story from their perspective, interweaving different segments and quoting the interviewees directly.”

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These are just some of the story elements you can use to make your biography more compelling. Once you’ve finished your manuscript, it’s a good idea to ask for feedback. 

If you’re going to self-publish your biography, you’ll have to polish it to professional standards. After leaving your work to rest for a while, look at it with fresh eyes and self-edit your manuscript eliminating passive voice, filler words, and redundant adverbs. 

Then, have a professional editor give you a general assessment. They’ll look at the structure and shape of your manuscript and tell you which parts need to be expanded on or cut. As someone who edited and commissioned several biographies, Tom Bromley points out that a professional “will look at the sources used and assess whether they back up the points made, or if more are needed. They would also look for context, and whether or not more background information is needed for the reader to understand the story fully. And they might check your facts, too.”  

In addition to structural editing, you may want to have someone copy-edit and proofread your work.

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Importantly, make sure to include a bibliography with a list of all the interviews, documents, and sources used in the writing process. You’ll have to compile it according to a manual of style, but you can easily create one by using tools like EasyBib . Once the text is nicely polished and typeset in your writing software , you can prepare for the publication process.  

In conclusion, by mixing storytelling elements with diligent research, you’ll be able to breathe life into a powerful biography that immerses readers in another individual’s life experience. Whether that’ll spark inspiration or controversy, remember you could have an important role in shaping their legacy 一 and that’s something not to take lightly. 

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Character Bio Template – How to Create A Character Bio

August 14, 2023

Creating a new character for your story is magic. You breathe life into a new and exciting character. Apart from that, it is also highly important for writing a coherent and logical story. Hence, you should know your characters (at least) as good as your mother. Pretty hard eh?

No worries, we created a character bio template that includes 73 important questions and attributes you need to answer and define before starting to write your story .  The character bio template will help you to make sure that your characters seem real and authentic.

You should fill the character bio template for all your characters. If you recognize that you need to change some attributes of a character, don’t forget to update the template as well. It should really help you to organize your thoughts, to avoid forgetting any important traits or features of a character and to get the full picture of the existing relationships between your characters.

Of course, you can decide about the level of bio detail for each of your characters. But, often, it makes sense to detail them out as much as possible. This will not only give you a better understanding of the potential role of the character in your story but will also help you to describe situations the character is involved in.

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What’s a Character Bio?

So, creating a character biography is quite important and will help you to build your story. Of course, you want to start writing. But take this break and start by defining the attributes, features, and characteristics of your characters first. Trust me, it will help you to write a better story.

So, let’s dive into the character bio template.

BTW: We also created a Template that allows you to edit and update your templates easily. The good thing: You can use it for free.  If you want to use it, just create a copy of the spreadsheet.

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Character bio template, general information.

Full name Nickname: Age: Nationality: Religion: City of birth The current place for living Job title: Employing company: Income: Is he or she married? Mother tongue Birthday: Does he or she own a home? What does the character like? What does the character dislike?

How would you describe the childhood of the character? How would you describe the teenage years of the character? How would you describe the adulthood of the character?

Role and Involvement of Character

What’s the role of the character in the story? How is the character introduced? What’s the first time he is mentioned in the story?

Relationships

Sisters or brothers Wife or husband: Children Grandparents Grandchildren Other important persons: Relationships with other characters of the story: [Character 1] [Character 2] [Character 3] [Character 4] [Character 5]

Physical Characteristics:

Addictions: Bad Habits: Color of Eyes The color of Hair: The color of Skin: Dialect Does the character drink regularly? Does the character have any disabilities? Does the character prefer any proverbs? Does the character smoke? Good Habits: Height: Hobbies: Is he/she wearing Glasses? Is the character healthy or does he have any diseases? Type of Face: Weight: What’s the style of the character? (modern, outmoded):

Mental Characteristics

Education: Intelligent or not? Fears: Life Goals (next 5 years): Life Goals (next 25 years): Self-perception Assumed external perception Self-Confidence: Rational Or Emotional How could you upset this character?

Emotional Characteristics

What are emotional strengths of the character? What are emotional weaknesses of the character? Is the character an introvert or an extrovert? How does the character cope with fury and rage? … with unhappiness? … with rivalry? … with new situations? … with trouble? What’s his or her meaning of life? What would the character like to change in his/her life? What things motivate the character? What situations scares the character? What makes this character happy? Is the character often biased? Does the character prefer to give or to take? Is the character rather nice or rude?

I hope you liked this character bio template. If you have important additional questions, attributes or characteristics that are missing on my list, feel free to leave comment. I would love to add them to the list.

If you’re having trouble getting started on flushing out your character, you can also try using new AI tools like ChatGPT or HubSpot’s content writer to build a rough outline of your character to get started.

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How to Write a Character Bio

A character bio is a brilliant tool for screenwriters. There are many benefits to creating a character bio for your primary characters (as well as your secondary characters if you want to).

The main advantage is that an audience is more likely to connect strongly with a character if they fully understand who they are as a person and their goals and motivations - and a character bio helps a writer create this feeling.

What is a character bio?

A character bio is an overview of your character. It acts as a template when writing to avoid inconsistencies in both behaviour and physical description. A character bio can be anything from basic background information to a detailed back story and motivations.

Why should screenwriters use a character bio?

On a practical level, it helps avoid inconsistencies in a character’s description and behaviour. On a deeper level, a character bio will improve character development and ultimately strengthen their character arc, which is essential as it helps your audience connect and relate to them, and therefore feel more immersed in your story.

How long should a character bio be?

The length of a character bio depends on your preference as a screenwriter and your screenwriting process . You might want to keep it brief and focus solely on the basics. Or you might like the idea of creating a complete profile that you can use to really get under the skin of who your character is. Neither answer is right or wrong; it depends on your preference and what would be the most useful to you.

Do you need a character bio for every character in your screenplay?

Not necessarily. Typically, character bios are the most useful for your protagonists as they’re the ones who feature prominently in your screenplay and are crucial to the story. However, you might also find it helpful to create character bios for any essential secondary characters.

Start your character bio with the basics

Begin crafting your character bio by starting with the basics. Your character’s name (and nickname/s), gender, age, nationality, race and where they live. Physical details including height, weight, build, eye colour, hair colour, and characteristics like any scars, birthmarks, tattoos and piercings.

This essential background and the physical details will help you further develop your character bio.

Develop their personality traits and personal background

How would you describe their personality? Are they an introvert or an extrovert? Are they an optimist or a pessimist? What mood are they usually in? What’s their general attitude like? Can you list some of their strengths and weaknesses? Do they have any unusual mannerisms or habits? Which character archetype are they?

To craft a character’s personal background, look at their upbringing, family, and friendship circle. Are they well educated? What career have they had? What’s their work/life balance outlook? Do they have any solid personal ethics? What are their life’s defining moments and milestones, and how did they react to them? What’s their philosophy? What ultimately motivates them?

Ask yourself questions to create their character bio

Fully flesh out your character by asking yourself questions about them. Here are some questions you can ask:

What drink would they order at a bar?

Where would they book a holiday if they could go anywhere in the world?

How would they react if an elderly person needed help with their shopping?

Are they a dog or a cat person?

No matter how basic any questions might seem, each time you answer one, you naturally develop your character and get to know them. You could even go one step further and interview your character to see what answers naturally flow when it feels like they’re physically sitting before you.

Create a template for each character bio

Writing your screenplay with a character bio template to hand will ensure you’re writing your character with these details and background in mind. A template can be an excellent reference to avoid inconsistencies and help you determine how a character might act in a given situation.

Always look at room for development

How can you add further depth to this character? How can you ensure they feel three-dimensional rather than two-dimensional?

To create characters that an audience feels they know as if they’re real, always look for ways to develop your character further. This might come naturally in your script when a story throws obstacles that stand in the way of a character achieving their ultimate goals and ties into their character arc .

You might also find it useful to complete a screenwriting exercise we love, like character creation step by step .

Don’t include everything in a character bio in your story

A character bio is a tool for you as a screenwriter. Your audience doesn’t need to know all those details, so be mindful of only sharing whatever is necessary to help them understand your character better.

Keep the character’s goal in mind

A character’s ultimate goal is a critical component of the story, as well as their own development. Keep this goal at the forefront of your character bio to ensure it matches both the character’s journey and the story.

If you need help with building your characters and getting your ideas on paper be sure to download our FREE screenwriting software today.

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Danielle Owen-Jones is a professional writer and the author of two romantic comedies, Stone Broke Heiress and Stuck With Him, published worldwide by Bookouture (Hachette UK). Danielle worked in journalism and PR before launching a freelance content writing business alongside writing her novels.

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Generate a biography for a fiction character. For those who prefer prose to tables.

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This generator collects a few words from you and embellishes them to create a rich character. The resulting biography is written in free text rather than confined to tables and charts. Depending on the age of the character, we'll generate 4-8 paragraphs of text about him or her. This is ideal for quick inspiration or for creating portfolio's of minor characters for later work.

Character Biography Generator

character history generator / creative a character description / random character background / backstory generator