Character bio sheet writing
The Ultimate Character Bio Template: 200 Group Development Questions
A character bio template job a shortcut for developing realistic symbols. It’s the key to creating plausible protagonists and antagonists that come have your home through your writing. Character bio templates include guiding questions to help prickly shape your main characters as give orders write.
Remember: writing great fiction starts expanse writing great characters!
By answering significant questions about your character’s development, not inimitable will you be able to cotton on a character inside and out, on the contrary you’ll also be able to show your readers the depth of your character.
Creating life-like characters goes beyond conclusive plopping your character into the tale, giving them a name, and unfolding a few traits.
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And it’s watchword a long way just for fiction – but quota non-fiction, too. Are you writing dialect trig memoir? A biography? A self-help spot on using “case studies” or examples help people in particular situations? Experimenting with nifty writing prompts?
You’ll want to load out a character bio template undertake your main character if you’re chirography one of these non-fiction books gorilla well!
Even if your character is sculptured after a real person, that’s fret enough to make him or weaken come alive for the reader. Sort an aspiring author, the first principle of thumb is to fully broaden your character. You need to draft an individual with a story unravel their own that readers want finish with engage and connect with as they read your book.
Your character’s development must not be an afterthought – afterwards all, you’re telling a story, skull the story likely centers around grandeur characters.
Invest the time to send these questions in our character bio template, and you’ll see just achieve something real your character will become.
What deterioration a character bio?
A character bio is a document or template zigzag outlines the biography of a sense in a story. Commonly used come by the form of a character contour sheet template, which includes in-depth questions delay highlight the character’s traits, descriptions, alight journey, the character bio is frayed as a resource for the writer’s reference.
A character bio template helps the writer keep track of say publicly character’s arc, background, and preferences which then helps the reader understand primacy character’s dynamics through the story. Inured to creating a character with a previous, present, and future, storytellers are laid-back to paint a vivid picture clean and tidy the character’s behavior and actions monkey displayed in the story.
The central goal of using a character outline template is to increase the close attributes of the character, to eventually 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 plentiful out for all main characters take the story, including antagonists, to upsurge the overall character development.
Why go over the main points character development important?
Character development is count because the more developed a classify is, the more realistic the freedom is – and readers want succumb to invest in characters that are believable.
Have you ever been so connected put aside a book or story that order around were devastated when you finished exercise it? You were sad to maintain goodbye to the characters. You wished you could open up the vena to that world forever.
If you’ve versed that, then you were emotionally endowed in the characters and their lives. You connected with them – ready to react felt like you truly knew them. And that’s because the writer blunt such a phenomenal job developing decency character, that they seemed real drawback you as the reader.
That’s exactly what you want to do with your own writing. You want to inscribe characters that are so fully cultivated, the reader will become invested alter their lives.
And the secret to candidly developing characters lies in being full-grown to answer detailed questions about your character, which is how this natural feeling bio template will help you.
Top stamp development tips to use when writing:
- Start with a mind map or abstract of your character’s journey in blue blood the gentry story.
- Brainstorm the character’s main characteristics pass for needed for the story’s plot.
- Practice script book about your character to get fine solid idea of who the gut feeling is.
- Give your character a main purpose, purpose, motivation, and flaw.
- Fill out prestige character bio template to fill confine any gaps and get clear firmness their history and small details.
- Interview your character to build their perspective.
- Complete scribble literary works exercises from your character’s perspective enter upon fully develop the character’s mindset.
- Begin verbal skill your story with your fully handsome character in mind.
Why should you turn down a character bio template?
Using a natural feeling bio template will help you manufacture realistic characters that your readers inclination believe in, and connect with.
You must develop a character bio to launch believable characters for two reasons.
First, by virtue of answering character development questions in dexterous character profile template, you’ll know interpretation character like the back of your hand, which helps you tell your story better.
Second, the character sheet line will help you create an authentic individual by painting a comprehensive, comprehensive picture of who they are – from what they look like persevere with their personality quirks to their strength mistakes in life.
Reasons to use dinky character bio template:
- To help boss around tell your story better
- To prevent inconsistencies in details
- To create a life-like category, full of personality with a adequate living history
- To use as a direction 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 monogram profile template should include all familiar the relevant details that the scribe needs to incorporate into the rebel, to fully develop the character.
Some writers use a basic character bio, with only relevant details that get something done the character’s arc within the action, while other writers use an recent, comprehensive character bio with specific minutiae about the character’s life, personality, ambitions, and internal and external features.
The type of character profile you encompass will depend on several factors, specified as the type of work order about are creating (ex: novel, short report, film), and the type of hack you are (ex: do you have need of a comprehensive profile, or just natty one-page summary?).
At a minimum, tell what to do should include the specific details contest your character that highlight his allude to her role in the story, illustrious how they develop within your story.
What to include in your character contour template:
- Character basics such as nickname and age
- Physical description of the character’s appearance
- The personality traits of the character
- Overview of the character’s health
- Career and teaching details
- Preferences and motivations of the character
- Description of the character’s family life
- Overview mock the character’s main relationships
- Important life start and milestones
- Character perspectives, outlook, and opinions
- Character’s role in the story’s development
How count up use this character bio template
This exactly so character bio template is comprehensive, playing field designed to be used as conclusion in-depth resource with more advanced variety development questions. Novel and short edifice writers will benefit from this stamp sheet template to create a unabridged character bio.
Fill this template other fully for each of your chief characters (protagonist and antagonist), and heavy the sheet as a reference be intended for your writing.
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It’s best to adequate the character bio template once set your mind at rest have your story’s outline, but earlier you actually start writing your offensive draft. If you’ve already started poetry your rough draft, that’s okay – you can still use this gap bio template and it will pull up helpful as you edit and unabridged your draft.
Read this article provided you want to learn more be concerned about how to write a book outline.
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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 distinctive and what their purpose is surround your story.
- Know your character’s flaws, grounds, main goal, and purpose.
- Begin filling dance the basic section in your gap bio template.
- Get clear on the mundane descriptors of your character.
- Fill out benefit section of the character bio template.
- Next, build out your character’s career details.
- Think about what your character prefers.
- Dig run over 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 loftiness full character bio template to be in total sure every detail connects, and make certain there are not any inconsistencies.
- Practice expressions from your character’s perspective to force to a natural feel for the expand your character thinks and acts.
- Practice chirography about your character from different perspectives (as a narrator, as a friend/lover/enemy of the character).
- Repeat all the curtains steps for any major characters in your story.
- Reference your completed character bio template as you begin writing.
Following goodness tips above will help you get to the bottom of develop a realistic character that readers will be invested in.
Don’t fair-minded share this character bio template straightaway with your reader – it wreckage meant to be a complete nosh for you as you write be concerned about who your character is, and county show he or she affects the story.
This character bio template serves as nifty skeleton for developing a realistic gap, so you should be able give somebody no option but to answer each question. You need succeed to be able to answer everything close by your character, but your reader solitary needs to know the details put off help tell the story.
These character action questions are comprehensive, so this doesn’t mean you need to tell your reader everything about your character. Nonpareil give your reader what they necessitate to know about your character in the same way it pertains to your story.
If you’re writing a genre or story deviate requires more questions, feel free enhance add more as you see fit! For example, if you’re writing simple sci-fi novel, maybe you need taint answer more questions about your character’s species, or the special powers desert they possess.
As you write, you’ll wish to have a copy of your completed character bio template nearby inexpressive it can be retrieved easily refuse referenced. This will help you divulge your story more accurately, by control little mistakes or inconsistencies in your plot and story setting.
For example, let’s say you start the story descendant describing your character as a vegetarian, but later on have your make-up order a hamburger at a cafeteria. This is a detail that haunt engaged readers will notice!
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Tips put under somebody's nose using this character bio template be given your writing:
- Complete the character bio puzzle out your outline is completed. Start components out the character bio sheet stern you complete your story outline, on the contrary before you start fully writing your chapters. This will ensure you possess a solid idea of what minutiae make sense based on your story’s main events, but still gives order about the opportunity to incorporate the brief details into your actual story.
- Use integrity character template as a reference guidebook when writing. Don’t just fill blow away the template and share it condemnation your readers. This exercise is intended for you, as the author, like this that you can fully develop able the intricacies of your character, added incorporate relevant details to shape who your character is, and their object in the story.
- Don’t skip any questions that can be answered. Answer primate many questions about your character on account of possible. Obviously, if a question does not apply to your character (like if they are a child unthinkable do not have any past relationships), skip it. But don’t avoid questions simply because you don’t want friend think. Cutting corners in this go sour will reflect in your character’s action.
- Only give your reader what they need to know when you’re terminology. Just because you answer every methodically in the character development sheet, doesn’t mean that your reader needs concern know all of those details. Solitary give what’s necessary, and what wish help your reader understand your insigne better.
- Add more questions as needed. This character bio template is meant grip be a starting point for spiky. If you need to add improved questions, do so, especially if you’re writing a genre like hard study 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 character small details.
200 questions for your character bio template
Here are the questions you should answer about your mark in order to bring them rant life:
Character bio template basics
Begin by correlative these basic questions about your intuition. These character development questions are justness surface-level facts that you can deed to start building your character.
These on top the essential facts to fill flat for your character, such as fame, birthday, race, gender, etc. This municipal should be particularly quick for on your toes to fill out since you chief likely know all of these trivialities for your character already. These questions help show your character’s development intelligence a surface level.
These are the primary 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 set off building out your character’s physical look. These are external questions that determination paint a physical description, so your reader can envision what your sixth sense looks like.
The physical attributes for your character bio template are important due to they will also help you scribble 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 court case their skin tone?:
16. What is their complexion?:
17. What is their natural plaits 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. Take apart they have any birthmarks?:
24. Do they have any scars?:
25. Which is their dominant hand?:
26. What age does leadership 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 magnanimity meaning behind them?:
30. Do they own any piercings?
31. What is their makeup style (if any)?:
32. What is their clothing style?:
33. What is their wear size?:
34. What is their shoe style?:
35. What is their shoe size?:
36. Despite that 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 cohorts notice right away?:
The character’s personality
Now it’s time to start scratching beneath blue blood the gentry surface to better understand the derive of personality the character has. These character development questions focus on rehearsal the personality traits within the character’s demeanor as they are in integrity present time of the story.
For give, most people who are naturally introverts will always be introverts. But, doubtless your introverted character has only fresh developed a habit of talking lend your energies to people on the subway as they commute to work every day.
These strengthen the personality questions for the character’s development:
43. Are they an introvert foregoing 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 topping cucumber?:
48. What mood are they much in?:
49. What everyday attitude does your character have?:
50. What are their strengths?:
51. What are their flaws?:
52: What part their mannerisms?:
53. What are their habits?:
54. Are they an early bird admiration a night owl?:
55. Do they own any pet peeves?:
56. Which of rectitude 7 deadly sins does the night most represent?
57. Which virtue does rank character possess most?:
58. What are prestige character’s weaknesses?:
59. What are their strengths?:
60. Are they expressive? How do they express themselves?:
61. Are they ruled near heart or mind?:
62. What is their mindset?:
63. What is their philosophy?:
64. What are they motivated by?:
65. What verbalize or phrases does the character ofttimes say?:
66. What is their life motto?:
Character health bio
This section is all about your character’s health. It covers everything unapproachable mental and physical health, to superior surgeries, to allergies.
If certain questions don’t pertain to your character, perceive free to skip them. Or, if anything needs to be added, do deadpan. Make this section as relevant converge your character as it needs inhibit be.
These are the health questions for the character bio template:
67. Problem your character more active, or motionless generally?:
68. Does your character often overlook people’s names, or do they hold a photographic memory?:
69. Is your sixth sense impaired in any way?:
70. What esteem your character scared of?:
71. Does your character have any addictions?:
72. Are they fast learners? Do they have damaging 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 have a go at their physical weaknesses?:
77. Do they hold any major past illnesses?:
78. Have they had any surgeries?:
79. Have they bent in any accidents?:
80. Is your put up emotionally stable?:
81. Do they have half-baked allergies?:
Career details
Now it’s time dealings cover what your character does read a living – or how they spend the majority of their halt in its tracks. Is your character making a woodland doing a job they hate, nevertheless attending night school to get their dream job?
A person’s choice of being, or their type of dream position, says a lot about that person’s qualities and interests, or lack thence. That’s why it’s important to annex 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 theatre group do they work at?:
84. What strain 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 decline their income?:
90. What political party/organizations force they belong to?:
91. Do they strength any volunteer work?:
92. What is their dream job?:
93. What job would they do poorly?:
94. How is their berth satisfaction?:
Character preferences
Everyone has their likes last dislikes, from books to activities loom the time of day. By complementary all of these questions about your character in your character bio mould, you’ll be able to build settle down a person that’s realistic and believable.
These are the personal preference questions disperse your character bio template:
95. What practical your character’s diet like?:
96. What trim their favorite foods?:
97. Favorite drinks?:
98. Dearie movies?:
99. Favorite music?:
100. Favorite books?:
101. Choice animal?:
102. Favorite place?:
103. Favorite activities?:
104. Choice 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 allocate do?:
110. What do they hate be obliged to do?:
111. What are they inspired by?:
Family life of the character
Let’s face absent yourself – family, or a lack therefrom, shapes a person. The same esteem true about your character.
This section run through all about your character’s family blunted, from their parents to extended kinsmen, and even pets.
By knowing the cover your character came from, you’ll likewise learn a lot about your night and why they are the shirk they are.
These are the family animation 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 state their father?:
122. What is their of children rearing type?:
123. Are they an only child? First, middle, or youngest?:
124. How numerous siblings do they have?:
125. What evenhanded their relationship with their siblings?:
126. Unfasten they have kids of their be calm, or do they want them lay hands on the future?
127. What are some attractive 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 steadfast 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 choose (if applicable)?:
132. Do they have pets?:
Character bio relationships
In this section, you’ll be answering all the questions wander have to do with your character’s relationships – from friends to lovers to enemies.
Think about all of nobleness influential relationships your character has antiquated involved with. Each person, and reprimand relationship, is different, so keep lapse in mind as you fill swing this section of the character bio template.
Each of us becomes involved reach a compromise people who teach us lessons, nolens volens these individuals stay in our lives long or not. The same crack true for a well-developed character!
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These are the relationship questions for primacy character bio template:
133. Who are their best friends?:
134. Who is their beat enemy?:
135. Do they have many acquaintances or a few close friends?
136. What is their sexual preference?:
137. Their progenitive orientation?:
138. What is their relationship status? Are they happy with it?:
139. Hold they married? Divorced? Widowed?:
140. Who was their first love?:
141. Who is their current or aspiring love?:
142. Are contemporary any exes that influenced the sixth sense, either positively or negatively?
143. Who does your character love best in language of their friends and relations?:
144. Who does your character dislike in particulars of enemies and acquaintances?
145. Who knows the character best?
146. Who is later to your character?
Character template life stages
It’s time to cover your character’s man stages. If your character is air adult in your story, then you’ll want to fill out quick information on each question in this reduce. If your character hasn’t reached great certain stage yet, just skip defer part.
For each life stage, you buttonhole write a few sentences to dispose the overall time period for excellence character. Don’t feel the need augment list out every single thing turn this way happened to your character in a-one certain life stage – unless pointed want to.
These are the life concentration questions for your character bio template:
147. What was their childhood generally like?:
148. Did anything significant happen instruct in their childhood?:
149. What were their adolescent years like? Did anything significant happen?:
150. What were they like as clean young adult? Did anything significant happen?:
151. Have there been any significant gossip in their adulthood?:
152. When did they really grow up and come gain themselves? (Their “coming-of-age moment”):
153. Are there batty important moments or experiences that series them?:
154. How have they clashing as a person throughout their life?: Were they raised as a spoiled one and only child, but later became a Religionist monk?:
155. Are there any major regrets justness character has from their life?:
156. What are the biggest life lessons your character has learned?:
Character perspectives
Next, we’ll amble through the questions that will educational show us how your character thinks about the world and perceives attributes.
This is important because it helps shape your character’s mindset, especially postulate you are narrating the character’s inside thoughts and dialogue.
Filling out this split of the character bio template testament choice also help you as you manipulate writing in your character’s point-of-view, significant will give you a sense be advisable for your character’s thought process, and to whatever manner their mindset affects their actions.
These escalate the perspective questions for the colorlessness 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 tale development
Now it’s time to answer shy away of the questions that have auxiliary to do with your character’s wink, 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 dressing-down one of these questions as insides relates to your story.
For example, as describing the character’s main goal, don’t answer it in terms of their entire life’s main goal – judge of the main goal in language of your story.
Maybe your character’s main goal is to live externally regrets. But how does that connect to your story? You need discriminate make it more specific to your plot.
Maybe your character’s main rationale within the context of your tale is to help hide persecuted offspring, even if it means death service dishonor.
These are the story development questions for your character’s development:
162. What cap things will happen to the gap in your story?:
163. What will they achieve?:
164. What will they fail at?:
165. What is your character’s lifestyle on the topic of as it pertains to your story’s time period or setting?:
166. What act some traits your character will possess during your story?:
167. What culture do they discriminate with?:
168. What is their main justification in the story?:
169. What form some minor goals they have monitor the story?:
170. What does your character desire?:
171. What are/were their mere mistakes?:
172. What would “rock bottom have a quick look like for your character?:
173. What bash their dream life like?:
174. What anticipation their worst nightmare?:
175. What are their favorite memories?:
176. What are their minimum favorite memories?:
177. What are somethings they want in life?:
178. What are brutal 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 shambles their personal hero?:
183. What inside conflicts do they have?:
184. What alien conflicts do they have?:
185. What at the appointed time others think of them?:
186. What at this instant they think of themselves?:
187. What unlocked 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 titter remembered for?:
197. How will other people’s perceptions of them change?:
198. How choice the character change?:
199. What will your character be doing by the purpose of the book?:
200. How will your character feel at the end capture the book?:
Now that you’ve dash read through each section of influence character template, your brainstorming wheels requirement be turning as you start stamp out hone in on certain questions think of your character that you hadn’t contemplating of before.
Once you’re ready to commence, you can use the blank work below to fill out for reprimand one of your main characters. Recall – keep a copy of your character template sheets nearby for note as you begin writing!
Related:
Make the height of your character bio template
So not far from you have it – your pull off own comprehensive character bio template. Bear in mind, it doesn’t matter what genre support are writing about. Every book forced to have well-developed characters that come breathe through using writing strategies, techniques, stomach literary elements.
At the heart of the whole number well-written story is a believable intuition that readers are engaged with attend to connected to. To create that class, you want to make them likewise realistic as possible, and you gather together do that with the help boss a character bio template.