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Creating a character profile

Creating a character profile
When you get an idea for a short story or a novel you probably get the basic idea of the characters with it. But in order to build believable characters you need more than just a basic idea of them. You need to really them. The easiest way to flesh out a character is with a character profile, so get out a blank sheet of paper and follow the sample profile below. NAME: Put your characters full name - first, last, and any nicknames that he goes by. Make sure the name creates the right mental image of your character; a Bill causes a completely different image than a Byron. BIOGRAPHY: Write a description of your character's life; past and present. AGE: If you don't know the exact age of your character then you can put it's approximation, such as late thirties, mid-twenties etc. HEIGHT: How tall is your character? WEIGHT: You probably won't know your character's exact weight, but I'm sure you can guess its approximate one. EYES: Be specific about the color. TALENTS: Is she an expert artist?

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Character Trait Chart Character Trait Chart and Personality Components It can sometimes be helpful to make a Trait Chart for each character. This is especially helpful during the early stages of character development, before the character becomes as real to you as your mother. There are several charts of this sort available, some extremely detailed and some containing only facts and figures. I've tried to make one that includes the most important traits to help you visualize your character, both physically and emotionally. Creating an Original Character By Maisha Foster-O'Neal You've heard the old maxim before... 'a character can make or break your story.' Okay, okay, so you want to write an interesting character.

Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles - Creative Writing Help Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE. We'll also keep you informed about interesting website news. "I have searched the web and used different worksheets, but none have come close to your worksheets and descriptions of (what to do and what not to do). Both courses I have taken have with Creative Writing Now have been amazing. Each time I have learned something new. The one thing I love, you take everything apart and give examples." - Katlen Skye

Plotting Made Easy - The Complications Worksheet Want to create a book readers can't put down? A book you'll itch to write? A protagonist you'll love? Character Chart FAVORITES Color: Music: Food: Literature: Expressions: Book: Quote: Expletive(s) (swears): Mode of transportation: HABITS Smokes: What? How often? Drinks: What? How often? Worst bad habit? Writing The Perfect Scene Having trouble making the scenes in your novel work their magic? In this article, I’ll show you how to write the “perfect” scene. Maybe you think it’s impossible to write the perfect scene. After all, who can choose every word perfectly, every thought, every sentence, every paragraph? Character Chart If you're a fiction writer -- whether you're working on a novel, short story, screenplay, television series, play, web series, webserial, or blog-based fiction -- your characters should come alive for your reader or audience. The highly detailed chart below will help writers develop fictional characters who are believable, captivating, and unique. Print this page to complete the form for each main character you create. IMPORTANT: Note that all fields are optional and should be used simply as a guide; character charts should inspire you to think about your character in new ways, rather than constrain your writing. Fill in only as much info as you choose. Have fun getting to know your character!

How to Write a Character Sketch: Learning More About Your Characters’ Motivations and Personalities Regardless of the type of writing you are doing, knowing who your characters are and knowing them well will add greatly to your work. Understanding your characters’ personalities through a character sketch helps you to understand where they are coming from and what motivates them. This, in turn, helps you understand what drives all of the action in your work, and the clearer this is, the easier your audiences will be able to connect with your writing. But how do you go about writing a character sketch?

What Really Drives Your Characters? A good psychological sketch will help fill out your character. There are a lot of Character Outline guides out there, but it's easy to focus on the superficial with them, particularly since most of them focus on the kind of information you'd find in a decent dating profile: looks, nationality, age, career, salary, religion, languages spoken, and turn ons and turn offs. Which is not to say you can't learn a lot about your character from such guides, only that I'm not sure they dig deep enough into character psychology with their vague references to "temperament," "likes and dislikes," "fears," and "strengths." I like to create psychologically-based character guides. (Go figure, right?)

First Person Point of View — The Writer’s Craft When you tell a story through a viewpoint character using I or we, you are using first person point of view. Example: The banging on my door reverberated within my skull like a giant church bell in an empty hall. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach, pulling the pillow over my head. Every detail of your story must be filtered through the storyteller. 16 Personality Factors The Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (or 16PF),[1] is a multiple-choice personality questionnaire which was developed over several decades of research by Raymond B. Cattell, Maurice Tatsuoka and Herbert Eber. Beginning in the 1940s, Cattell used the new techniques of factor analysis (based on the correlation coefficient) in an attempt to try to discover and measure the source traits of human personality (Cattell, 1946)(Nevid, 2009).[2][3] The questionnaire measures the 16 primary traits, and the Big Five secondary traits,[4][5] which have become popularized by other authors in recent years. From early in his research, Cattell found that the structure of personality was multi-level and hierarchical, with a structure of interdependent primary and secondary level traits (Cattell, 1946, 1957).[2][6] The sixteen primary factors were a result of factor-analyzing hundreds of measures of everyday behaviors to find the fundamental traits behind them.

Setting of a story — The Writer’s Craft The following exercises will allow you to create a rich, vibrant setting of a story, giving the reader the full vicarious experience. 1. Use the setting worksheet we have provided. Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and imagine a particular setting for your scene. Using all of your senses visualize or experience everything that you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. Make notes in the appropriate boxes. Book Manuscript Format – The Writer’s Craft Book manuscript format is too frequently overlooked by many beginning writers. Of course, story is king. Nothing will help in your search for an editor or an agent if your story is weak. There must be something about the story which stands out—an essence which makes it memorable and unique.

Second Person Point of View — The Writer’s Craft Enrollment Limited Sherry Wilson's step-by-step method helped me organize my thoughts and transform a simple idea into a full-fledged plot. Without her help and guidance, I'd still be walking around with just another "great idea for a story." Thanks to Sherry, though, I've published three novels and know there are more on the way! ~ Debi Faulkner, Summoning, LilyPad Princess and Murphy's Law "Sherry is extremely professional and knowledgeable in this field.

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