Everything you need to know about Character Profiles as a teen writer

 Before we take a deep dive into today's topic I would like to congratulate you for taking the first big step in writing your dream book. Planning. If you haven't seen the first part of this series go check it out here.

What are character profiles?

I think of character profiles as IDs or Passports that grants your chosen character permission into your writing world. Without it they are simply trespassers that are taking up brain space. I know it is fun  daydreaming about the handsome siren that will appear in book two, but sometimes your creativity is needed for your present project.

Why do we use them?

Your character's ID

Besides containing the basic identification details 

(name, age, physical description) character profiles are used to give the reader a helpful overview of the character's relationships and ultimately their role in the novel. Although you might not see a point to completeing one for all of your important characters the longer your story continues the more valuable this simple step becomes. Don't want to make the same mistake as Rick Riordan did with Thalia Grace. Who knew a person's eye colour could change from blue to green in a relatively normal world (if you ignore the greek gods and flying pigs) in the span of 5 years?

Tip: Use AI to create images of your characters. Not only does it save you time as you do not need to write down each characteristic of their face, it is also easier when describing your character's appearance.

How do we use them?

I find the character profiles the most helpful in two distinctive situations. When one is busy outlining the novel so that one can easily triple-check or change information about a character. Secondly, I reread the character profiles when working with a new character or one I saw a few chapters ago. I recommend doing this for all those writing in multiple POVs! How you can have each character's voice in your head is beyond me. Ava Bailey (my protagonist from my first book) drove me crazy all on her own.

The different character graphs you can have.
Red - negative character arc
Green - postive character arc

How do I make one?

To me this was the most duanting part when I started planning. What if I miss something? What if I spend too much time on it? What if my character ends up like a cardboard cutout pasted into my novel?

So let's all just take a deep breath in. And a deep breath out. Feel better?

Here are the key things you want in your character profile though you can do it in any format and any order.

1. Character descriptions

2. Relationship with other characters

3. Character arc

4. Answers to key questions

If you want me to share my template just comment down below.

Make sure to follow along so that you get all the teen writing tips and I will see you guys next time.