How to Use Character Templates to Create Better Stories

A character profile template (sometimes referred to as a character development template) is one of the most fundamental assets to constructing a captivating storyline with vivid characterization. A character profile template is an irreplaceable authoring tool that possesses everything you need to develop characters, ranging from how they look, where they come from, their hopes, fears, personality, and so much more.

Overall, creating a character profile template is that guiding step that helps you cultivate cinematic literature with characters that blend perfectly with the desired plot and theme. It also ensures that every character you create follows the same vetting system, making book editing and flow assurance processes much more seamless. That said, if you truly want to create better stories, then it all boils down to knowing your characters both inside and out and using that 360-view to bring them to life for your readers.

How to Develop (and Use) A Character Profile Template

Why use a character template? In general, the purpose of a character profile template is to create characters that your reader can genuinely believe in. The more detailed you are with this process, the more likely your audience will connect with them on a deep, intrinsic level. A character development template can reduce the risk of you making inconsistency errors and can be used as a reference when showcasing vital information about a character. Now that you have a better grasp of the 'why,' let's get into the fun part – the ‘how.’

1)    Know Your Character Types:

Before anything else, nail down the role each of your characters will play. This will help set the foundation for you to build their narrative and persona. Usually, characters will fall under one of these categories: protagonist, antagonist, guide, contagionist, sidekick, love interest, temptress, confident, or foil.

2)    The Surface Level Details:

Once you have a good, or at least a vague, idea of what your characters are, next you’ll want to cover the basic details of each. Don’t overthink this part too much, as the more in-depth details will come later.

-       Name

-       Age

-       Birthplace

-       Current residence

-       Nationality/race

-       Education

-       Occupation and income level

-       Marital status

3)    Physical Attributes:

This is still technically part of the basic outline but may take some time to finalize. In short, this is what your characters look like and how you will be describing them to your readers. This section of your character profile should include things such as:

-       Height and weight

-       Build

-       Skin, eye, and hair color

-       Facial shape

-       Distinguishing marks like tattoos or birthmarks

-       Any physical ailments

-       Clothing and style

4)    Character Personality:

Personality is a large part of what makes your characters tick and how they can become aligned with their intended role in your storyline. Keep in mind that many times personality stems from their backstory, so feel free to address step 5 before this one if necessary.

-       Introverted or extroverted?

-       What makes them happy? Sad? Angry?

-       What are they scared of?

-       What are their motivations?

-       Are they a leader or a follower?

-       Are they frugal or lavish?

-       What are their morals and values?

-       What is their love language?

-       How do they communicate?

-       What are their mannerisms?

-       Posture?

-       Any gesture quirks or ticks?

-       Do they make eye contact when talking?

-       Do they curse?

-       How do they walk?

-       What does their laugh sound like?

-       What does their smile look like?

-       Do they hide emotions or wear them on their sleeve?

-       What does their resting face look like?

5)    The Backstory:

The backstory is an essential part of character development. This tells your readers where a character came from, what they overcame, and can tie into why their personality and motives are the way they are. This step can also help you successfully pave a corresponding future for them as the storyline progresses, based on what they have already experienced in the past.

-       What was their family like? Did they have a family growing up?

-       Where were they raised?

-       What were they like as a kid?

-       What were their most defining moments?

-       Did anyone in their family die? If so, how?

-       Do they have any regrets?

-       Did they face trauma?

-       What are their earliest memories?

-       What is their current relationship with their family?

-       What are they competent at and what did that stem from?

-       Where did their opinions on money and relationships come from?

We know it is a lot to brainstorm. But once you’ve combed through all of this, you will have an excellent idea of who your characters are and can use that knowledge to spring them to life in every scene.

Additional Tips on Getting Started

§  Utilize Proust Questionnaire – Developed by French writer Marcel Proust in 1924, the Proust Questionnaire is a set of 35 questions often used by today's modern interviewers to get a feel of someone's true nature. Because of that, think about leveraging that within your character profile template to advance your understanding and knowledge of your character cast.

§  Brainstorm Using A Top-Down Approach – When creating a character, think about starting with the more surface-level things, like how they look, then work your way into the finer details such as their motives, dreams, and future goals. The above template outline uses this format. This order can help set the pace for creating characters that fit well into the narrative and evolve more organically as the story progresses.

§  Keep Your Character Profiles Updated – A character development template is used to help create your storyline using the information you gathered. However, be sure that you keep your character profiles updated as you go. It is not uncommon for characters to have changes of heart, new fears unlocked, or ambition manifestation. This should all be documented so you can proceed forward without accidentally overlapping the past version of your character with the future one.

§  Don’t Spoon-Feed Every Detail – The more you know about your characters, the better. But that does not equate to dishing that same detail to your readers. Yes, you will want to deliver them a coherent and relatable view of each person but be sure to leave room for imagination and interpretation. That can be done by using descriptive words to SHOW (not tell) how your characters react and behave in certain situations.

If you would like to bypass creating a character development template from scratch, then consider downloading some free pre-written ones from the National Centre for Writing or from Milanote. For additional self-publishing resources, click here.

Summary – The more developed a character is, the more real it becomes

As a recap, a character profile template does much more than dissect your characters; it acts as your guiding rails to create characters that your readers can emotionally invest in and tug on their heartstrings, as they venture alongside them from cover to cover. In short, a character development template is an outlet to ensure audiences gain the immersive reading experiences they crave – ultimately making you a better author and creating better stories.

In summary, the more developed and detailed your characters are, the better your story will become. No, taking the pre-steps to lay out the entire history of each character will not always be an easy task. However, it is certainly one that can jumpstart your creativity, help you build stronger character relationships/motivations, and above all, can quickly accentuate your reputation as an author who knows what they’re doing.

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