How to write a novel: character profiles (+free character profile template)

Writing compelling characters that will captivate and hook your readers consists one of the main challenges that you will face while writing your story.
How can you write reliable, consistent and compelling characters? How can you include all your characters’ information in an organised and practical way where you can instantly find and modify any information you may need about them? By creating character profiles for every character!

This blog article includes:
Definition of a character profile
The reasons you need a character profile
When do you need a character profile? 
What to include in a character profile?
Questions to ask about your characters
Conclusion (+free character profile template)

Definition of a character profile
A character profile is a description of your character’s life. A character profile can help you brainstorm all the information you need to know about your character. It can be a one-page document in a bullet-point format or a twenty-page essay with detailed information about every aspect of your character’s life and pivotal backstory events.

The reasons you need a character profile
Character profiles are important because they can help you

• write consistent characters (e.g a character’s blue eye doesn’t turn brown throughout the story without any further explanation).
• write faster stories because you have all the information you need about your characters in one place instead of going back and forth through your manuscript to find details you wrote weeks ago. 
•  create meaningful characters with depth and build stronger emotional relationships between your characters. 

The main characters (protagonist and antagonist) of your story should have a detailed character profile with as much information as possible. Secondary or minor characters don’t need to be fully-fledged. Their character profiles only need to have some basic information necessary for the story.

When do you need a character profile? 
A character profile can be useful while planning, writing and revising your story.  Some authors prefer finishing their characters’ profiles before start writing their stories. Others prefer only writing down some basic information before they start writing and others dive directly into the story and complete their characters’ profiles as they go. 

There is no right or wrong way to create a character profile. I advise you to brainstorm and write down as much information as possible about your main character(s) before you start writing your story. Hoverer, the choice is yours. If you have thoroughly developed your character in your mind, you can start writing your story right away. Just make sure to include all the information about your characters (at least the main ones) in a separate document from your manuscript and in an organised way.
  
What to include in a character profile?
You can start your character profile by writing down some basic information about your character. Note down their name, age, occupation, nationality, location (country, city) and social class and write about their physical appearance, personality, important backstory events, personal relationships, home life and work life.Then, decide the 3 most important elements of your story: the main character(s) goal, the main character’s flaw and the story’s theme.
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1) Think about your character’s goal. What is your character’s desire? What does your character want?  Your character’s goal must be tangible, important for your character and big enough to sustain the whole story. Think about what will happen if your character achieves their goal. Think what will happen if your character fails their goal. Keep in mind that the main characters (protagonist and antagonist) need to have equal and opposite goals to create the central conflict of the story and to prevent them from easily achieving their respective goals.

2) Think about your character’s flaw.  A  flaw is a  misbelief that your character falsely believes about themselves or the world around them and prevents them from achieving their goal. It is best if your character has a lot of internal and external flaws (or one big flaw) that take over all aspects of their life (home, friends, work). 

3) Think about the story’s theme. The theme is the universal message that the story contains and the “truth” that the character discovers about themselves and/or the world around them. The theme is the opposite of the main character’s flaw/misbelief. The main character(s) learn the theme, overcome their flaws, and become better and improved people by the end of the story. The main characters usually learn the theme at the beginning of Act 3 of the story (or the Break Into 3 beat in Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody).

Questions to ask about your character
Here are some questions that you can ask about your characters. Brainstorm and write possible answers in the respective character profiles.

• What is your character’s basic information (name, age, occupation, location)?
• Can you briefly describe the main character’s goal?
• What will happen if the character achieves their goal?
• What are the consequences if the character fails their goals?
• What is your character’s flaw that prevents them from achieving their goal?
• What is the theme of the story?

Conclusion (+free character profile template)
 Character profiles are an essential tool for all the stages of your story and they can help you create fully developed and consistent characters.
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​You can open a blank document and start creating your own character profile from scratch or you can download the free character profile template and start planning your character right away. The character profile template is meant to make your writing life easier and inspire you to write compelling characters. You can copy/paste the character profile template and use it as many times as you want to create character profiles for all your characters. Happy writing!

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Download the free character profile template (PDF)

Download the free character profile template (Word)

Further reading
How to brainstorm your novel’s genre and main characters
How to write a romance novel using the 3-act structure
How to create a consistent writing routine

About the author

​​Maria Georgiou is a professional developmental editor for romance authors. She specialises in editing contemporary romance, YA (Young Adult)  romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance and romantasy. She is a member of the EFA and ClubEdFreelancers. 
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