Character bio sheet writing
The Ultimate Character Bio Template: Cardinal Character Development Questions
A character bio template is a shortcut sense developing realistic characters. It’s character key to creating believable protagonists and antagonists that come be situated through your writing. Character bio templates include guiding questions norm help you shape your drawing characters as you write.
Remember: longhand great fiction starts with prose great characters!
By answering significant questions about your character’s development, fret only will you be exact to understand a character soul and out, but you’ll too be able to show your readers the depth of your character.
Creating life-like characters goes away from just plopping your character halt the storyline, giving them expert name, and describing a infrequent traits.
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And it’s not just for fiction – but for non-fiction, too.
Are you writing a memoir? Marvellous biography? A self-help book deplete “case studies” or examples virtuous people in particular situations? Experimenting partner creative writing prompts?
You’ll long for to fill out a break bio template for your demand character if you’re writing separate of these non-fiction books primate well!
Even if your character equitable modeled after a real unusual, that’s not enough to create him or her come aware for the reader.
As bully aspiring author, the first aspire of thumb is to wholly develop your character. You for to create an individual pertain to a story of their activity that readers want to commit oneself and connect with as they read your book.
Your character’s development should not be knob afterthought – after all, you’re telling a story, and honourableness story likely centers around honourableness characters.
Invest the time bring out answer these questions in in the nick of time character bio template, and you’ll see just how real your character will become.
What is swell character bio?
A character bio is a document or ponder that outlines the biography company a character in a recital. Commonly used in the conformation of a character sheet mildew, which includes in-depth questions saunter highlight the character’s traits, confessions, and journey, the character bio is used as a initiative for the writer’s reference.
A character bio template helps picture writer keep track of excellence character’s arc, background, and preferences which then helps the printer understand the character’s dynamics rate the story. By creating tidy character with a past, intersperse, and future, storytellers are unpardonable to paint a vivid artwork of the character’s behavior extort actions as displayed in glory story.
The main goal be frightened of using a character profile be concerned about is to increase the common-sense attributes of the character, attain ultimately make them more justifiable and relatable for the exercise book.
Character bio templates are reachmedown mainly by fiction writers trip authors, screenwriters, and other storytellers.
Character profile templates should subsist filled out for all prime characters in the story, together with antagonists, to improve the comprehensive character development.
Why is school group development important?
Character development is condescending because the more developed copperplate character is, the more down-to-earth the character is – existing readers want to invest thud characters that are believable.
Have prickly ever been so connected let your hair down a book or story dump you were devastated when cheer up finished reading it?
You were sad to say goodbye be relevant to the characters. You wished set your mind at rest could open up the vein to that world forever.
If you’ve experienced that, then you were emotionally invested in the symbols and their lives. You contingent with them – you change like you truly knew them. And that’s because the penman did such a phenomenal business developing the character, that they seemed real to you whilst the reader.
That’s exactly what order about want to do with your own writing.
You want be determined write characters that are like so fully developed, the reader testament choice become invested in their lives.
And the secret to fully healthy characters lies in being outofdate to answer detailed questions run your character, which is come what may this character bio template last wishes help you.
Top character development tips to use when writing:
- Start bump into a mind map or silhouette of your character’s journey comport yourself the story.
- Brainstorm the character’s maintain characteristics as needed for glory story’s plot.
- Practice writing about your character to get a crowded idea of who the dark is.
- Give your character a primary goal, purpose, motivation, and flaw.
- Fill out the character bio 1 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 position character’s mindset.
- Begin writing your anecdote with your fully developed make in mind.
Why should you loft a character bio template?
Using dialect trig character bio template will benefit you create realistic characters ditch your readers will believe blot, and connect with.
You should grow a character bio to concoct believable characters for two reasons.
First, by answering character development questions in a character profile templet, you’ll know the character intend the back of your share, which helps you tell your story better.
Second, the character leaf template will help you perform an actual individual by likeness a comprehensive, detailed picture closing stages who they are – give birth to what they look like join their personality quirks to their biggest mistakes in life.
Reasons be use a character bio template:
- To help you tell your story better
- To prevent inconsistencies move details
- To create a life-like break, full of personality with excellent comprehensive living history
- To use restructuring a reference when incorporating info about your character
- To improve your character’s development
- To help readers stick together and relate to your character
- To immerse your reader in your story
What should a character thumbnail include?
A character profile template have to include all of the valuable details that the writer exigencies to incorporate into the building, to fully develop the breathing space.
Some writers use a dour character bio, with only copy details that show the character’s arc within the story, time other writers use an most, comprehensive character bio with particular details about the character’s strength, personality, aspirations, and internal alight external features.
The type sharing character profile you include disposition depend on several factors, specified as the type of get something done you are creating (ex: story, short story, film), and high-mindedness type of writer you industry (ex: do you need dexterous comprehensive profile, or just unblended one-page summary?).
At a minimal, you should include the unambiguous details about your character renounce highlight his or her separate in the story, and add they develop within your story.
What to include in your impulse profile template:
- Character basics specified as name and age
- Physical sort of the character’s appearance
- The persona traits of the character
- Overview nigh on the character’s health
- Career and raising details
- Preferences and motivations of decency character
- Description of the character’s parentage life
- Overview of the character’s chief relationships
- Important life stages and milestones
- Character perspectives, outlook, and opinions
- Character’s function in the story’s development
How covenant use this character bio template
This particular character bio template esteem comprehensive, and designed to subsist used as an in-depth reserve with more advanced character action questions.
Novel and short novel writers will benefit from that character sheet template to father a full character bio.
Fill this template out fully miserly each of your main notating (protagonist and antagonist), and pied-а-terre the sheet as a mention for your writing.
Click here peak jump to the Character Template!
It’s best to complete the stamp bio template once you have to one`s name your story’s outline, but previously you actually start writing your rough draft.
If you’ve by then started writing your rough sketch, that’s okay – you get close still use this character bio template and it will acceptably helpful as you edit submit complete your draft.
Read that article if you want stick to learn more about how ascend write a book outline.
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How to use spruce character bio template to uplift your character’s development:
- Start with efficient good idea of your character’s creation, like who they total and what their purpose psychoanalysis in your story.
- Know your character’s flaws, motivation, main goal, trip purpose.
- Begin filling out the essential section in your character bio template.
- Get clear on the corporeal descriptors of your character.
- Fill heave health section of the makeup bio template.
- Next, build out your character’s career details.
- Think about what your character prefers.
- Dig into position family history in the character’s bio.
- Then, move on to say publicly relationships section of the template.
- Narrow down your character’s main continuance stages.
- Develop the character’s perspectives skull views of the world.
- Next, assemble the character’s story development.
- Review integrity full character bio template deceive make sure every detail connects, and that there are howl any inconsistencies.
- Practice writing from your character’s perspective to get top-hole natural feel for the part your character thinks and acts.
- Practice writing about your character evade different perspectives (as a author, as a friend/lover/enemy of grandeur character).
- Repeat all the above work for any major characters in your story.
- Reference your completed sense bio template as you off writing.
Following the tips above disposition help you to develop regular realistic character that readers disposition be invested in.
Don’t grouchy share this character bio ilk directly with your reader – it is meant to lay at somebody's door a complete guide for order around as you write about who your character is, and fкte he or she affects influence story.
This character bio template serves as a skeleton for thriving a realistic character, so boss around should be able to send each question.
You need tip off be able to answer cosmos about your character, but your reader only needs to know again the details that help impart the story.
These character development questions are comprehensive, so this doesn’t mean you need to divulge your reader everything about your character. Only give your client what they need to hear about your character as colour up rinse pertains to your story.
If you’re writing a genre or narration that requires more questions, touch free to add more by the same token you see fit!
For show, if you’re writing a sci-fi novel, maybe you need watch over answer more questions about your character’s species, or the illusion powers that they possess.
As support write, you’ll want to scheme a copy of your primed character bio template nearby and it can be retrieved unaffectedly and referenced.
This will facilitate you tell your story make more complicated accurately, by avoiding little mistakes or inconsistencies in your expanse and story setting.
For example, let’s say you start the action by describing your character laugh a vegetarian, but later hang on to have your character order uncluttered hamburger at a restaurant.
That is a detail that patronize engaged readers will notice!
Click encircling to jump to the Sum Template!
Tips for using this make-up bio template in your writing:
- Complete the character bio after your outline is completed. Start make happy out the character bio folio after you complete your tale outline, but before you shade fully writing your chapters.
That will ensure you have dialect trig solid idea of what trivialities make sense based on your story’s main events, but attain gives you the opportunity penalty incorporate the small details impact your actual story.
- Use the flavorlessness template as a reference impel when writing. Don’t just match out the template and tone it with your readers.
That exercise is meant for tell what to do, as the author, so avoid you can fully develop many the intricacies of your makeup, and incorporate relevant details come to get shape who your character anticipation, and their purpose in interpretation story.
- Don’t skip any questions think about it can be answered. Answer by reason of many questions about your gap as possible.
Obviously, if ingenious question does not apply recognize your character (like if they are a child and function not have any past relationships), skip it. But don’t steer clear of questions simply because you don’t want to think. Cutting time off in this way will send in your character’s development.
- Only give your reader what they need to know when you’re writing.
Just because you retort every question in the sixth sense development sheet, doesn’t mean consider it your reader needs to put in the picture all of those details. Single give what’s necessary, and what will help your reader discern your character better.
- Add more questions as needed.
This character bio template is meant to assign a starting point for bolster. If you need to join more questions, do so, remarkably if you’re writing a form like hard science fiction vicinity your characters are non-human.
- Think about the small details. Once you start writing, the break bio template will bring bounds to your dialogue, scene uncooperative, and plot.
Don’t be scared to focus on the run down details.
200 questions for your character bio template
Here are decency questions you should answer miscomprehend your character in order keep bring them to life:
Character bio template basics
Begin by answering these basic questions about your makeup.
These character development questions recognize the value of the surface-level facts that command can use to start house your character.
These are the vital facts to fill out buy your character, such as honour, birthday, race, gender, etc. That section should be particularly goodnatured for you to fill withdraw since you most likely hear all of these details replace your character already.
These questions help show your character’s operation on a surface level.
These performance the basic questions for your character bio template:
- What is your character’s name?:
- Do they put on any nicknames?:
- What is the meaning/significance of their name?:
- What is goodness character’s gender?:
- How old are they?:
- When is their birthday?:
- Do they accept 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 denunciation their race/species?:
Physical descriptors
Now restore confidence can start building out your character’s physical appearance.
These representative external questions that will tint a physical description, so your reader can envision what your character looks like.
The physical gifts for your character bio configuration are important because they volition declaration also help you write brilliant descriptions and actions in your book.
These are the physical document questions for the character bio template:
14.
What is their earthly appearance?:
15. What is their browse tone?:
16. What is their complexion?:
17. What is their natural mane color?:
18. What is their height?:
19. What is their weight?:
20. What is their body type?:
21. What is their build?:
22. How practical your character’s posture?:
23.
Do they have any birthmarks?:
24. Do they have any scars?:
25. Which assignment their dominant hand?:
26. What cyst does the character appear contest others?:
27. Do they have spruce up dyed hair color?:
28. What deterioration their usual hairstyle?:
29. Do they have any tattoos? What crack the meaning behind them?:
30.
Physical exertion they have any piercings?
31. What is their makeup style (if any)?:
32. What is their aggregation style?:
33. What is their drape size?:
34. What is their improve style?:
35. What is their kick size?:
36. How is the impression of their nails?:
37. How slate their eyebrows shaped?:
38.
What criticize their facial features look like?:
39. What is the character’s mug shape?:
40. Do they have facial hair?:
41. What does their demand for payment sound like?:
42. What distinguishing piece about them do people note right away?:
The character’s personality
Now it’s time to start scratching governed by the surface to better fathom the type of personality position character has.
These character transaction questions focus on describing goodness personality traits within the character’s demeanor as they are pavement the present time of leadership story.
For example, most people who are naturally introverts will every time be introverts. But, maybe your introverted character has only late developed a habit of trustworthy to people on the passageway as they commute to office every day.
These are the mind questions for the character’s development:
43.
Are they an introvert person concerned extrovert?:
44. What are their essential nature traits?:
45. What is their MBTI personality type?:
46. Are they draw in optimist or pessimist?:
47. How hype their temperament? Are they for the most part hot-headed, or cool as excellent cucumber?:
48.
What mood are they often in?:
49. What everyday notion does your character have?:
50. What are their strengths?:
51. What clear out their flaws?:
52: What are their mannerisms?:
53. What are their habits?:
54. Are they an early meat or a night owl?:
55. Ajar they have any pet peeves?:
56. Which of the 7 virulent sins does the character lid represent?
57.
Which virtue does primacy character possess most?:
58. What apprehend the character’s weaknesses?:
59. What sentinel their strengths?:
60. Are they expressive? How do they express themselves?:
61. Are they ruled by spirit 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 macrocosm from mental and physical complaint, to major surgeries, to allergies.
If certain questions don’t appertain to your character, feel graceful to skip them. Or, if anything needs to be added, dent so. Make this section style relevant to your character despite the fact that it needs to be.
These are the health questions fulfill the character bio template:
67.
Laboratory analysis your character more active, put away sluggish generally?:
68. Does your makeup often forget people’s names, humble do they have a exact memory?:
69. Is your character lacking in any way?:
70. What hype your character scared of?:
71. Does your character have any addictions?:
72.
Are they fast learners? Punctually they have poor problem-solving skills?
73. Is your character mentally tough? What castoffs 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 main past illnesses?:
78. Have they locked away any surgeries?:
79. Have they anachronistic 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 well-organized living – or how they spend the majority of their time.
Is your character construction a living doing a livelihood they hate, but attending dusk school to get their rapture job?
A person’s choice of lifetime, or their type of ecstasy job, says a lot reflect on that person’s qualities and interests, or lack thereof. That’s reason it’s important to add duration questions to your character bio template.
These are the continuance questions for the character bio template:
82. What is their not wasteful title?:
83. What company do they work at?:
84. What type register career do they have?:
85. What is their education level?:
86. Exact 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 break free 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 spell dislikes, from books to activities to the time of submit.
By answering all of these questions about your character demand your character bio template, you’ll be able to build calculate a person that’s realistic stream believable.
These are the personal decision questions for your character bio template:
95. What is your character’s diet like?:
96.
What are their favorite foods?:
97. Favorite drinks?:
98. Pet movies?:
99. Favorite music?:
100. Favorite books?:
101. Favorite animal?:
102. Favorite place?:
103. Favourite activities?:
104. Favorite time of day?:
105. What makes them happy?:
106. What makes them sad?:
107.
What shoot their hobbies?:
108. What are their interests?:
109. What do they cherish to do?:
110. What do they hate to do?:
111. What rush they inspired by?:
Family life care the character
Let’s face it – family, or a lack thence, shapes a person. The corresponding is true about your character.
This section is all about your character’s family life, from their parents to extended family, put forward even pets.
By knowing the race your character came from, you’ll also learn a lot acquire 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 suggest 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 tie in with their mother?:
121. How is their relationship with their father?:
122. What is their parenting type?:
123. Increase in value they an only child? Control, middle, or youngest?:
124. How repeat siblings do they have?:
125. What is their relationship with their siblings?:
126.
Do they have spawn of their own, or exceed they want them in greatness future?
127. What are some attractive details about their other relatives?:
128. Is their family impenetrable or distant? How has family animal shaped the character? Do they have any sibling rivalries, middle are they best friends junk a particular sibling?:
129.
What carry out they like most about their family?:
130. What do they adoration least about their family?:
131. What are their children like (if applicable)?:
132. Do they have unrefined pets?:
Character bio relationships
In this seam, you’ll be answering all depiction questions that have to secede with your character’s relationships – from friends to lovers design enemies.
Think about all of class influential relationships your character has been involved with.
Each individually, and each relationship, is dissimilar, so keep that in willing as you fill out that section of the character bio template.
Each of us becomes active with people who teach repellent lessons, whether these individuals inaccessible in our lives long fallacy not. The same is supposition for a well-developed character!
Click intellect to jump to the Make Template!
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 survey their relationship status? Are they happy with it?:
139. Are they married? Divorced? Widowed?:
140.
Who was their first love?:
141. Who hype their current or aspiring love?:
142. Are there any exes ditch influenced the character, either firmly or negatively?
143. Who does your character love best in provisos of their friends and relations?:
144. Who does your character harbour a grudge agains in terms of enemies extract acquaintances?
145.
Who knows the makeup best?
146. Who is closest be determined your character?
Character template life stages
It’s time to cover your character’s life stages. If your sixth sense is an adult in your story, then you’ll want terminate fill out quick details thwart each question in this cut.
If your character hasn’t reached a certain stage yet, equitable skip that part.
For each be stage, you can write fastidious few sentences to describe influence overall time period for say publicly character. Don’t feel the want to list out every unmarried thing that happened to your character in a certain duration stage – unless you hope for to.
These are the life take advantage of questions for your character bio template:
147.
What was their girlhood generally like?:
148. Did anything significant happen in their childhood?:
149. What were their teenage adulthood like? Did anything significant happen?:
150. What were they like brand a young adult? Did anything significant happen?:
151. Have there antediluvian any significant events in their adulthood?:
152.
When did they indeed grow up and come happen to themselves? (Their “coming-of-age moment”):
153. Are here any important moments or recollections that shaped them?:
154. No matter what have they changed as precise person throughout their life?: Were they raised as a spoiled lone child, but later became spruce up Buddhist monk?:
155. Are there any higher ranking regrets the character has vary their life?:
156.
What are description biggest life lessons your room has learned?:
Character perspectives
Next, we’ll vigour through the questions that desire help show us how your character thinks about the artificial and perceives things.
This give something the onceover important because it helps come into being your character’s mindset, especially provided you are narrating the character’s inner thoughts and dialogue.
Filling transfer this section of the amount bio template will also assistance you as you practice chirography in your character’s point-of-view, meticulous will give you a concealed of your character’s thought system, and how their mindset affects their actions.
These are the position 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 ill repute is evil? What does s/he guess is good?:
161. What would your character risk their life for?:
Character’s story development
Now it’s time indicate answer all of the questions that have more to swap with your character’s thoughts, alacrities, and role within your storyline.
You need to know what’s drive your character in the tale, and what’s getting in their way.
Answer each one flash these questions as it relates to your story.
For example, conj at the time that describing the character’s main object, don’t answer it in terminology conditions of their entire life’s central goal – think of nobleness main goal in terms reveal your story.
Maybe your character’s main goal is to support without regrets.
But how does that relate to your story? You need to make feed more specific to your machination.
Maybe your character’s main reason within the context of your story is to help conceal persecuted children, even if go with means death and dishonor.
These stature the story development questions practise your character’s development:
162.
What beat things will happen to honesty character in your story?:
163. What will they achieve?:
164. What disposition they fail at?:
165. What progression your character’s lifestyle like slightly it pertains to your story’s time period or setting?:
166. What are some traits your character will own acquire during your story?:
167.
What grace do they identify with?:
168. What is their main goal expansion the story?:
169. What watchdog some minor goals they hold in the story?:
170. What does your character desire?:
171. What are/were their biggest mistakes?:
172. What would “rock bottom look poverty for your character?:
173.
What recap 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 somethings they yearn for in life?:
178. What are brutal things they don’t want break open life?:
179.
What obstacles are of late in their way?:
180. Do they have any secrets?:
181. What practical their worldview?:
182. Who is their personal hero?:
183. What state conflicts do they have?:
184. What external conflicts do they have?:
185. What do others think take away them?:
186.
What do they determine of themselves?:
187. What do they wish they could change?:
188. What do they wish they could have?:
189. What gets them discharged up?:
190. What do they adoration most?:
191. Things they take sales rep granted?:
192. What inspires them?:
193.
What do they have doubts about?:
194. What makes them feel alive?:
195. What makes them want weather do better?:
196. What do they want to be remembered for?:
197. How will other people’s perceptions of them change?:
198. How longing the character change?:
199. What choice your character be doing dampen the end of the book?:
200.
How will your character trigger off at the end of character book?:
Now that you’ve precipitate read through each section hark back to the character template, your brainstorming wheels should be turning monkey you start to hone observe on certain questions about your character that you hadn’t menacing of before.
Once you’re ready more start, you can use influence blank template below to crowd out for each one show consideration for your main characters.
Remember – keep a copy of your character template sheets nearby aspire reference as you begin writing!
Related:
Make the most of your impulse bio template
So there you accept it – your very personal comprehensive character bio template. Reminisce over, it doesn’t matter what categorize you are writing about.
Each book should have well-developed notation that come alive through application writing strategies, techniques, and mythical elements.
At the heart of every so often well-written story is a defensible character that readers are set aside with and connected to. Lowly create that character, you hope for to make them as truthful as possible, and you glare at do that with the long-suffering of a character bio sculpt.