Character Profile Worksheets

CHARACTER PROFILE character BIO WORKSHEETS

These character packets will help you organize your characters’ traits in one central location.

Have you ever written a character who had short, lustrous hair in chapter one and frizzy ankle-length hair in chapter fifteen? Okay, maybe not. But perhaps your character had gray eyes in one chapter and green ones in another. Or maybe his or her last name changes halfway through the book.

Collect all of your information together with these worksheets in lieu of scraps of paper and sticky-notes all over your office, kitchen, computer, and sister’s house.

But if the sticky-note system works for you, or you are happy with Evernote or you have another way of organizing facts, then you can still use this resource to help flesh out your character.

As you might have garnered from past posts, I’m a graphic designer by trade, a writer by love. Either way, I like options, so I designed two different worksheets, and you can pick your preference between the two.

No fancy download buttons this time—just click the thumbnail below to download, and as always, if you found this helpful, feel free to share with others!

MOD

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VINTAGE

Each is two pages. The lines are WIDE-RULED, so you can either write really big, or double up with smaller text.

BREAKDOWN OF THE CATEGORIES

First Impression

Master/Major/Minor checkboxes—I borrow this terminology from James V. Smith’s Writer’s Little Helper, one of THE best condensed resources out there. Smith’s pocket-sized book was one of the inspirations for the 8 C’s of Plotting. Anyway, Master characters are the protagonists and main antagonist. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Voldemort are Master characters (though Voldemort may be more of a Major character since we don’t see from his point as view as often—you decide.). Major characters are for the supporting cast—Dumbledore, Dumbledore’s Army, Snape and the other professors. Minor characters are the characters the reader doesn’t really see much of, but they can develop into a major character over time, like my favorite wizard, Neville Longbottom. If you are writing a single novel, you may as well not bother to fill out all of the information in this packet for them.

Name—This should be self-explanatory. Fill out the middle name and last name if you want, even if it never shows up in the manuscript. Since the lines are wide-ruled, you may want to include a little note of what the name means or its origin above or below the name itself.

Age—37. Young adult. Fourth-grader. College aged. Be as specific here as you will be in your writing. Readers want an idea of the protagonist’s age early on.

Occupation—Unemployed, student, mother, Lieutenant in the Imperial Navy, hotdog eating champion.

Summary—This is the first impression the reader gets of the character. It could be the paragraph you use to describe the character, the introduction of the character by one character to another character, or what might appear in a screenplay. Here are several examples from Bridget Jones’s Diary:

“‘Do you remember Mark, darling? He’s one of those top-notch barristers. Masses of money. Divorced.'”

—Bridget’s Mum, from the book

“The rich, divorced-by-cruel-wife Mark—quite tall—was standing with his back to the room, scrutinizing the contents of the Alconburys’ bookshelves: mainly leather-bound series of books about the Third Reich, which Geoffrey sends off for from Reader’s Digest. It struck me as pretty ridiculous to be called Mr. Darcy and to stand on your own looking snooty at a party. It’s like being called Heathcliff and insisting on spending the entire evening in the garden, shouting ‘Cathy’ and banging your head against a tree.
“He turned round, revealing that what had seemed from the back like a harmless navy sweater was actually a V-neck diamond-patterned in shades of yellow and blue—as favored by the more elderly of the nation’s sports reporters.”

—Bridget’s narration, from the book

WHAT BRIDGET SEES: a solitary figure by the window, his back to the room, his head turned in handsome profile, his whole posture indicating haughty disengagement. This is MARK DARCY. Bridget’s reaction shows some interest—he’s a rather romantic looking figure.

—screenplay of Bridget Jones’s Diary

Culture—Where the character grew up, what she or he is used to, and where she or he is now. Hometown and current residence are something to consider here. If the protagonist is a small town-girl who moves to the big city and ends up rooming with four supermodels, it’s going to affect the story (Head Over Heels—I’m going to use as references the first movie that pops into my head. You’ll quickly find that I am not quite a film elitist). Is the protagonist adopted? Uptown girl or downtown guy?

Loves

Family—Who is the character related to who shows up in the book? Just the names suffice here, so you can reference other characters’ worksheets. If your character loves his mom but despises the husband who left her, note it.

Friends—Names of friends as they appear in your work.

Romance—list romantic interest(s) here.

Things—favorite cars, food, animal, objects…anything that would really define the character more than a quirk, which you’ll list later. After being exonerated from prison, Charlie Crews loves expensive cars, fruit, open spaces, and light (Life).

Journey

Superficial Goal, Ultimate Goal—We talked about these last week. Since you probably won’t fill out an iceberg for each character, you can put the goals here. Major and Minor characters may only have superficial goals that show up in your story, and that’s completely fine. Save the ultimate goals for the Master characters.

Motivation—if the goal is what the character wants, the motivation is why. This may or may not correspond to the character’s “cardinal sin” (see below).

Conflict—when one person’s goals get in the way of another’s, you get conflict. Note here who or what is at ends with this character.

Awakening—this is the change your character goes through. Not all characters will change in the story, but the protagonist should. This doesn’t have to be a Voice-of-God-coming-from-the-clouds epiphany. Read Flannery O’Connor’s short fiction to see characters who have awakenings. Remember, you don’t have a story if your protagonist doesn’t change.

Individuality

Flaws—This is borrowed from Aristotle’s fatal flaw. Characters are more realistic and relatable if they have flaws. Tony Stark is a selfish womanizer.

Graces—But Iron Man is charming and smart. Even the bad guys need to have saving graces. Fangirls often think that the bad guy is adorable. Loki, Snape, and Draco have many die-hard fans. It’s a bit harder in books, though, when you can’t rely on the cuteness of the cast. Snape’s saving grace isn’t revealed to readers until the final book, but Rowling hits the ball out of the park with his Grace.

Quirks—this is what makes my favorite characters. BBC and USA are networks that really “get” quirks. Michael Weston (Burn Notice) apparently only eats yogurt. Adrian Monk (Monk) is an OCD detective. Shawn Spencer (Psych) is a fake psychic detective. Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock) doesn’t know that the earth revolves around the sun. Each Doctor (Doctor Who) has his own quirks: bananas, fezes, bow-ties, brainy-specs, scarves, celery and cricket…

Skills—these are skills or talents which affect the character or the plot. If abilities are going to come in handy later, put them down here. Harry is a skilled Quidditch seeker, Ron is really good at Wizard’s chess, and Hermione is brilliant at solving problems. They all need those skills to get to the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Cardinal Sin—One way of thinking through a character’s motivation is which of the seven deadly sins he or she is most tempted by. I once saw, in an ice cream shop of all places, the seven characters from Gilligan’s Island typed this way. I think it was as such, but I could be wrong: Gilligan=sloth, the Skipper=wrath, Mr. Howell=greed, Mrs. Howell=gluttony, Ginger=lust, Professor=pride, Mary Ann=envy. Circle one or two that may motivate this character. Note: Remember that characters have varying levels of self-control. Mr. Howell’s greed is blatantly obvious, but the Professor controls his pride on the outside. Inside he’s probably hoping that Mary Ann is really impressed with his coconut phone. (Read more examples of cardinal sins and character motivations.)

MBTI—The Myers-Briggs type system. Check out my posts and downloads for more information about MBTI. You need to choose one option from each of the pairs, for example: Introvert, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving. (That’s me!)

Sound / Language

Diction—Diction is word choice. What sorts of words does the character use while speaking? Anglo-Saxon words? Latinate words? Colloquial words? I talk about diction and words on Wednesdays when I get the chance. Read what’s been posted so far here.

Sample Syntax—Syntax is grammar, how a sentence is arranged. Put examples of this character’s everyday dialogue here, so you can get an idea of the character’s voice and rhythm.

“I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn’t have to take them dives for the short-end money.” (Example of regular dialoge from On the Waterfront)

“Well, when an adult male is chasing a female with intent to commit rape, I shoot the bastard. That’s my policy.”…”I know what you’re thinking. ‘Did he fire six shots or only five?’ Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question—” (Examples of regular dialogue from Dirty Harry)

Catchphrase—If “Sample Syntax” is where you copy down your character’s everyday language, the catchphrase (for lack of a better word) is what the character says at his or her most brilliant moment. This is the profound or hilarious line fans are going to repeat over and over and slap onto T-shirts. If you are writing a television series, this may not be the character’s most brilliant line, it might just be what the character repeats:

“—’Do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?” (Catchphrase from Dirty Harry)

“I coulda been a contender.” (Catchphrase from On the Waterfront)

“Do or do not. There is no try.” (Profound from Yoda)

“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” (Poignant from Rhett Butler)

“How you doin’?” (Repeated line from Joey on Friends)

Style/Look/Appearance

I had to format these categories a little differently depending on the design (Mod or Vintage), but they should be pretty self-explanatory. For each of the categories, start general and work your way to the specific. You might fill this in as you are writing. Either way, write in pencil. Just write down specific words or phrases. Is a character’s body as short as an eighth-note? Is his skin russet brown? Is her hair long and flaxen? Does he have a lightning scar? Is her movement lumbering or graceful, as though she were floating on a sea of dreams? Is her style business casual or bohemian chic?

Here are some ideas of how to fill them out.

Colors—monochromatic, cool colors, warm colors, earthy colors, cerulean, chartreuse, muffin-colored.

Textures—wheat, scratchy, wool, silk, linen, cotton

Accessories—a little yippy dog she keeps in her purse, an autographed electric guitar kept in a glass case, bangles, lemon-scented moist towelettes. You haven’t considered accessories until you’ve read The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Read the first chapter of the book or find the short story by the same name (same thing, published differently).

Back of the Sheet

Use the backs of the sheets (or a different piece of paper or a folder on your computer) for images for the character. Cut and paste pictures of people with the right look, clothes the character would wear, colors, etc. I have casted every character in my book as a minor or major celebrity. Having the same visuals in front of you will help you describe your character consistently to your readers. If you have some artistic talent—or even if you don’t!—feel free to draw the characters, too.

How to Create a Character Profile: the Ultimate Guide (with Template)

Ask any great novelist and they’ll likely tell you that good writing starts with good characters. But sharp character development is also one of the toughest hills to climb, especially if you’ve struggled to think through those tried-and-true questions that keep you up at night:

• Are my characters convincing?
• Do my characters have depth?
• How do I make sure my character has an arc?

If you’re having these doubts, you might want to turn to the age-old solution: a character profile. In this post, we take you through all the steps that creating a character profile requires — and give you a character template that you can use with any story you’re writing.

Why create a character profile?

What’s the point of filling out a character template? I never end up using all the information in my story, anyway! That’s true. In fact, you shouldn’t try to pack every character detail into your novel. Only use what's relevant to the actual story — otherwise you risk turning off readers with the dreaded "info dump."

But the author always needs to understand their characters like the back of their hands. In Creating Unforgettable Characters: A Practical Guide to Character Development, Linda Seger compares the depth of a character to an iceberg. The audience will only see a fraction (maybe 10%) of all that the writer knows about their character. But the remaining 90% is what makes characters actually feel well-drawn, flawed, and real — as though they could live outside of the book itself.

Those are the kinds of characters our character bible is here to help you write.

Speaking of great characters... which contemporary author are you? Take our 1-minute quiz below to find out!

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So what makes a good character profile?

There are a lot of character bibles out there — some are good. Then there's the character template that asks you, “If your character was a color, what color would they be?”

Once you start answering those kinds of questions in a character template, you might be dealing with overkill. It won’t move the needle at all when it comes to character development.

A better character profile is one that actually helps you build a holistic picture of your character in the context of your story. With this in mind, we built a character profile worksheet in three parts. If you treat a person like an apple, they’re going to have three layers of depth: the “skin,” the “flesh,” and the “core.” (Otherwise known as their physical appearance, backstory, and psychology.) That’s how this character template is structured — and if you have a particular area that you’d like to hone, you can skip to it below. Otherwise, this character bible will start with the eagle eye’s view of your character. And if you'd like to download it nicely formatted for you already in a PDF format, feel free to do so below!

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Ready? Let’s begin.

PART 1: The Outer Layer, or Physical Appearance
PART 2: The Flesh, or Backstory
PART 3: The Core, or Psychology

Part 1: The Outer Layer

To be able to identify a criminal, detectives build a painstakingly thorough file of said criminal’s physical characteristics.

That’s the goal of this section, which covers the “skin” of your character: everything from their outer appearance to the way that they speak. Think of it as a kind of offender profile — one that can help you spot your character in the middle of a crowded Times Square.

📖 THE BASICS

Name

Age

Place of birth

Current location

Nationality

Education

Occupation

Income

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👀 PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

What's their:

• eye color?
• hair style?
• build?

Do they have any distinguishing features (tattoos, scars, birthmarks)?

What's their preferred outfit?

Do they wear glasses? 👓

What accessories are ALWAYS associated with them (cane, pipe, necklace, etc.)? 🌂

What's their usual level of grooming?

• Disheveled
• Smart, very put together
• Untidy but clean
• Other?

Do they have any distinguishing “tics” and mannerisms?

What's their health like? Do they suffer from chronic illnesses? 🏥

Describe their handwriting (sloppy, neat, careful, unintelligible). ✍

How do they walk? 👣

• Confident, powerful strides
• Lazy stroll
• Fast, walks at a clip
• Distracted, eyes on the ground
• Other?

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💬 SPEECH AND COMMUNICATION

How do they talk (rapid, slow, measured, drawl, etc.)?

What's the style of their speech (elevated, educated, peppered with slang, etc.)?

Do they have an accent?

Posture:

• Stiff, military
• Slouching
• Casual and relaxed
• ‘Turtle,’ tired
• Other?

Do they gesture?

• Only when agitated or eager
• Doesn’t gesture
• Compulsive “hand-talker”
• Controlled, only to make a point
• Other? If so, explain:

How much eye contact that they like to make (direct, shifty, etc.)?

What's their preferred curse word?

What's their catchphrase?

Any speech impediments?

What are any distinguishing speech “tics”?

What's their laugh like? What do they tend to find funny?

Describe their smile?

How emotive are they? Do they wear their emotions on their sleeve? How easily can others to read them?

They have a resting _____ face.

• Bitch 😒
• Angel 😇
• Neutral 😐
• Other?

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Part 2: The Flesh

Characters don’t exist in a vacuum — they’re a product of their environment.

This section in the character template dives a bit deeper into your character and covers their “flesh”: the people, circumstances, and formative influences that filled them out and made them who they are today. It’s the springboard to your character’s biography.

⏪ THE PAST

What's the name of their hometown? 🏡

What type of childhood did they have (sheltered, neglected, etc.)?

Describe their education? 🍏

Were they involved in organizations and clubs at school?

• Sports ⚽
• Debate 🗣
• Gay / Straight Alliance
• Model UN
• Drama 🎭
• Other? If so, explain:

At graduation, they were named Most Likely To ___________ in the yearbook. 🎓

Jobs (if applicable)? What would their résumé look like? 💼

What was their dream job as a child? Why?

Who were their role models growing up? Describe them. 👨‍👦

What's their greatest regret?

What were their hobbies growing up? ⛳

Favorite place to be as a child?

What's their earliest memory?

What's their saddest memory?

What's their happiest memory?

What's their clearest memory?

What are their skeletons in the closet? 💀

If they could change one thing from their past, what would it be? Why? ⏳

Describe the major turning points or “life beats” in childhood.

What are three adjectives to describe them as a child?

What advice would they give to their younger self?

List their criminal record. ⚖

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👪 FAMILY

Father 👨

• Age (if living)
• Occupation
• Briefly describe their relationship with your character

Mother 👩

• Age (if living)
• Occupation
• Briefly describe their relationship with your character

Siblings👧

• How many?
• What are their names and ages?
• Briefly describe their relationship(s) with your character

Children 👶(if applicable)

• Age (if living)
• Occupation
• Briefly describe their relationship with your character

Extended family 👴

• Grandparents
• Uncles and aunts
• Cousins
• Other

What's their family's economic status? 💰

How often do they see their family in a year?

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💜 EXTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

Who are their closest friends? Describe them.

Who are their other significant friends? 👋

Enemies? Describe them. 😡

How are they perceived by:

• strangers in the street?
• acquaintances at a work function?
• colleagues in the office?
• authority figures?
• friends in their friend circles?
• children?
• the opposite sex?
• extended family?

What social media platforms are they on?

• Twitter
• Tumblr
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• Other? If so, explain.

How would they use their social media platforms?

How would they fill out an online dating profile for themselves? ✨

What’s their role in a group dynamic? 💡

• Leader
• Joker
• Parent
• Hype man
• Mooch
• Other? If so, explain.

Who do they depend on for:

• practical advice?
• mentoring
• a wingman?
• emotional support?
• moral support?

How quickly do they respond to emails? 📨

What do they want from a relationship?

Who would be their ideal partner? 💖

Who is their significant other? Describe them. 💕

How many people would attend their funeral?

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Part 3: The Core

We’ve come now to the “core”: who your character is deep down.

This section in the character profile worksheet covers the “heart” of your character. If a backstory shapes a dynamic character, this will define them. More importantly, it will help inform the two most important points leading up to your novel: the character’s story goal and story motivation.

💭 PSYCHOLOGY

What do they do on rainy days?

Are they:

• Street-smart or book-smart
• An optimist or pessimist
• Introverted or Extroverted

What is their favorite sound? 🔊

Favorite place in the world? 🌎

What secrets do they keep? What are they most afraid of people finding out? 🔒

What do they want the most? 🔍

What's their biggest flaw?

What's their biggest strength?

What's their biggest fear?

What is their biggest accomplishment? 📈

What is their idea of perfect happiness?

What's their favorite quote? 👌

Do they want to be remembered? What for? ⌚

How do they approach:

• power?
• ambition?
• love?
• change?

What is the one object or possession that they would rescue from their burning home? 🔥

What (or who) bores them? 💤

What makes them angry? 💢

What do they look for in a person?

How strong is their moral compass? When, specifically, are they willing to compromise their morals?

List the last 10 books they read. 📚

Which fictional world would they most wish to visit?

If they didn’t have to sleep, what would they do with the extra time?

What are their pet peeves? ⚠

If they won the lottery, what would they do?

Describe the character’s bucket list at the ages of 15, 20, 30, and 40.

List the 10 songs that would occupy their All-Time Most Played playlist on Spotify. 🎵

What is the best compliment that someone ever paid them?

In an elevator, do they push the elevator button more than once? 🚪

What would they want their tombstone to say?

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🔮 THE PRESENT AND FUTURE

What is their story goal? (answer in a single paragraph)

Story motivation (answer in a single paragraph)

In other words: what does your character want in the story? Why do they want it? Every other answer in the character template builds up to this. This is critical information to know because it’ll make up the unshakable foundation — and raison d'être — for your story. Whenever you feel like your story is straying off course, go straight back to your character’s story goal and motivation.

And if you lose physical sight of this character template, don’t sweat because we made it a portable resource for you.

The Ultimate Character Profile Template

This downloadable character profile template will come as a fillable PDF file. Simply save it on to your computer and start typing in the text boxes to start developing your character.

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Additional resources

If you’re in an interrogatory mood and want even more questions outside of this character template, we’ve got your back. Here are some more famous tests with which to quiz your character — and a character bible or two for your further perusal!

The Proust Questionnaire

What it is: A set of questions popularized by Marcel Proust that digs into an individual’s personality.

Some sample questions:

1. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
2. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
3. On what occasion do you lie?

Arthur Aron’s Intimacy Test

What it is: A questionnaire of 36 questions that the New York Times in 2015 said would break down emotional barriers and accelerate intimacy between two strangers.

Some sample questions:

1. Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?
2. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why?
3. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself your life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know?

The Book of Questions

What it is: A series of questions by Gregory Stock that was initially published in 1987. (Note: you can find a PDF of 300+ questions here.)

Some sample questions:

1. At a meal, your friends start belittling a common acquaintance. If you felt their criticisms were unjustified, would you defend the person?
2. Are you able to separate sex from love?
3. When you make a big sacrifice, do you tell people about it or keep it to yourself? What would you never willingly sacrifice? Your life? Your health? Your integrity? Your dreams?

Vault’s 101 Behavioral Questions

What it is: A set of 101 interview questions from career site, Vault.

Some sample questions:

1. Where do you see yourself in ten years? Twenty years?
2. Tell me about yourself in 30 seconds.
3. Tell me about a time you had to break a promise. What was the situation and how did you handle it?

If you're looking to hone your characters even further, here are seven of the best character development exercises. Keep an open mind as you work through every question and you'll be on your way to creating well-drawn, interesting characters in no time at all.