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A character profile is basically a very brief description of a fictional character's life. It is used by an author to help create a character's story and make it easier for the reader to follow. It also helps to make sure that no mistakes are made when writing a story. If you are confused about how to make a character profile, or if this is the first time you have heard of character profiles, then this wikiHow is for you. It will teach you how to create highly detailed character profiles.
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[[Category:Creating Characters for Writing]]
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== Steps ==
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=== Starting with the Basics ===
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#Open a blank document on your computer or whip out a piece of paper for notes. Start with a name, make sure it suits their culture or nationality (e.g. a Gothic character could be called something like Arachna Vladimir if female, or Hellebore Natrix if male). If you cannot think of your own names, search the Internet for some suggestions.<ref>https://ift.tt/2YyIHfX> [[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 1 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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#Consider your character's age.<ref>https://www.novel-writing-help.com/create-character-profiles.html</ref> Think of their birth date, It might also help to think of a death date.[[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 2 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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#Describe their background. What country did they come from, and where do they currently live? Any past trauma’s such as-death of a parent, raped, viciously attacked, abused, unloved, abandoned by parents and left to care for themselves, or maybe even something worse?<ref>https://ift.tt/317zSHo> [[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 3 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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#Add a favourite possession. Think of an item that your character treasures. Maybe it's that hunting knife they got, or that ugly shirt their boyfriend bought them for no reason. Or maybe it's their pet goldfish Sparky. And what do they have with them in their pockets; lip balm, a Swiss Army knife, a shiny rock?[[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 8 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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#Plan what they look like. A character's body and style can reflect their personality, but in some cases, it is appropriate for a character's body and personality to comically mismatch.
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=== Relating Them to Other Characters ===
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#Think about how the events In their lives have changed them. A past tragedy or trauma is a good example of a defining event. A character's past should affect their personality in a reasonable way. Maybe it turned them Into a quiet, emotionally distant goth/emo? Or maybe an alcoholic? Or maybe it just affected their relationships.[[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 4 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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#Develop their family background. How did their parents treat them? Were they an outcast from the rest of the family, or were they just like everyone else? Did they have brothers or sisters? If so, how did they get on? Did they have vicious fights, or were they all sweet & nice?<ref>https://ift.tt/317zSHo> [[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 5 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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#Make them interesting in the context of the other characters in the story. Almost no story has only one character, and no one wants to read about characters who are all the same. Try playing characters off each other, such an introvert and an extrovert, or the lovable weirdo and the class president.
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#Think about how they treat their peers. Are they nice? Aloof? Mean? Mysterious? Does their rough childhood (if they had one) cause them to be cruel to animals, for example? How your character reacts to others can speak volumes to your audience (i.e, saying 'Lauren avoided the park because the thought of the children on the playground repulsed her,' is much more interesting than 'Lauren disliked children').[[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 6 Version 2.jpg|center]]
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#Think about their values.<ref>https://www.epiguide.com/ep101/writing/charchart.html</ref> A value is something that they believe in strongly, like 'two wrongs do not make a right'. And, if you want deep characters, give them conflicting values. Say our friend Bob believes that nothing is more important than his disabled dog, Nemo. That's great, but not much of a story. But let's give him another value, like nothing is more important than money. Now we have a story; Bob loves Nemo, but his vet bills are just too much for Bob. What does he do? He can't get rid of Nemo and he can't continue paying this much. Maybe he takes a second job. Or starts robbing people. Or pretends to be blind and begs on a street corner in his spare time.[[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 9 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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=== Building Upon Your Character ===
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#Create a dilemma. If you're stuck, maybe put your character in a certain situation like a robbery or an earthquake and see how they react. Do they snivel and cower in fear? Do they wrestle the robber to the ground, or are they the robber? Do they help rescue people from the wreckage of the earthquake? Do they start looting the abandoned stores and shooting the bystanders? Remember, actions speak louder than words.[[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 7 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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#Start writing. Add as much description as possible, don't use the basic words like 'nice', find an alternative such as 'wonderful.'[[Image:Create a Highly Detailed Character Profile Step 10 Version 3.jpg|center]]
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== Tips ==
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*It may help If you do a rough sketch of the character, just looking at their appearance. It could help give you idea's about him/her!
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*Include their favourites - favourite food, band, book, colour, brand, song, etc.
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*Names of parents, past boyfriend/girlfriends, and siblings are also valuable, so you don't have to continuously flick through your writing for a name.
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*Make it as detailed as possible. You should make profiles for all of Campell's archetypes. You should know all your characters like they are your best friends even if you based one on an enemy. Their likes and dislikes lists should be very long. Describe the characters' looks and emotions very well. Neither should be less than two paragraphs long. This is only for a short story. Something like a novel should have heaps of detail.
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*It might also help to consider the character's general behaviour. For example, the ways he/she treats close friends and comparing it to how they treat strangers. Do they bear any awards, and, if so, what for? General knowledge could also be taken into consideration and their likes and dislikes. As mentioned in the article, put the character into situations and how they may react to it, keeping in mind their past, perhaps behavioural issues and social status. For example, you could think to yourself if the character isn't very knowledgeable when it comes to cars, how would they react in a situation with cars? Would they panic or be calm, collected, and take the bull by the horns?
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== Related wikiHows ==
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*[[Create Good Personalities for Your Characters]]
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*[[Write Character Profiles for Anime Characters]]
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*[[Create Characters for a Story]]
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__PARTS__
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==References==
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