Character Profiles

Okay, so recently I have discovered that writing down character profiles for your story is VERY important! Wow, Lily, you didn't realize this? No, I guess I didn't. If you must know, I am horrible with lists and outlines (I can make a list, I just have trouble following through with it)! I have been searching around on the internet for tips and things for writing a novel. The first thing that came up was: make character profiles. Creative Writing Now has great outlines for this very purpose:



For a young (school-aged) character

1.  Name:
2. Age:
3. Birthday:
4. General physical description:
5. Hometown:
6. Type of home/ neighborhood:
7. Father’s name, background, and occupation:
8. Mother’s name, background, and occupation:
9. Brothers and sisters:
10. Position in family:
11. Other close relatives:
12. Family relationships:
13. Special friends:
14. Enemies:
15. Influential person or event:
16. Grade in school:
17. Attitude toward school:
18. Grades:
19. Favorite pastimes:
20. Hobbies (music/art/reading material):
21. Favorite sports:
22. Favorite foods:
23. Dress style:
24. Religion:
25. Attitude toward religion:
26. Relationship with boys:
27. Relationship with girls:
28. Leader or follower:
29. Strongest positive personality trait:
30. Strongest negative personality trait:
31. Sense of humor:
32. Temper:
33. Consideration for others:
34. How other people see him/her:
35. Opinion of him/herself:
36. Other traits, especially those to be brought out in story:
37. Ambitions:
38. Philosophy of life:
39. Most important thing to know about character:
40. Will readers like or dislike this character, and why?

For an adult character

1. Name:
2. Age:
3. General physical description:
4. Hometown:
5. Type of home/ neighborhood:
6. Relationship status:
7. Current family:
8. Family background (parents, previous marriages, etc.):
9. Friends:
10. Other close relationships:
11. Relationship with men:
12. Relationship with women:
13. Job:
14. Dress style:
15. Religion:
16. Attitude to religion:
17. Favorite pastimes:
18. Hobbies:
19. Favorite sports:
20. Favorite foods:
21. Strongest positive personality trait:
22. Strongest negative personality trait:
23. Sense of humor:
24. Temper:
25. Consideration for others:
26. How other people see him/her:
27. Opinion of him/herself:
28. Other traits, especially those to be brought out in story:
29. Ambitions:
30. Philosophy of life:
31. Most important thing to know about this character:
32. Will readers like or dislike this character, and why?

These outlines have made it so much easier for me to get a good start on my novel!