How to Create a Character Profile

How to Create a Character Profile How to Create a Character Profile How to Create a Character Profile By Ali Hale Have you created character profiles for the main cast of your novel? While not all authors use character profiles, many find them a very handy tool for keeping track of their characters – and for developing and fleshing out those characters in the first place. Done well, a character profile can help you harness your creativity and really dig into who your characters are.   Sometimes, though, writers treat character profiles as a form-filling exercise, coming up with their character’s eye color, hair color, first job, etc without investing any of this with a deeper meaning. They might diligently complete character profiles for every character in their novel – even the bus driver who only has a walk-on part in chapter five – but they’re not any closer to having any real insight into their characters. So what should go in your character profile and how should you use it? What to Include in a Character Profile Firstly, not every character in your novel needs a profile at all. Characters who have a minor role (like your protagonist’s mother, who only appears briefly a couple of times) don’t need to be fully fleshed out. Of course, you might want to make some brief notes about them but this definitely doesn’t need to be an entire profile. Your main characters, though, should have individual profiles. That probably includes any viewpoint character. If you have an antagonist then it’s worth creating a profile for them too (after all, even if your main character just doesn’t get where the antagonist is coming from,  you  should). It’s entirely up to you how you structure your character profiles. In general, though, I’d suggest that: You don’t focus too much on physical details. You may want to include things like hair color and eye color if you’re ever likely to mention them – but you can leave them out if they’re not going to be relevant. The same goes for height and build: unless they’re unusual and significant, you don’t necessarily need them at all. If you are including physical details, think about how they relate to deeper aspects of your character. For instance, in Harry Potter, the fact that Harry has green eyes is significant because it’s the physical characteristic that links him to his mother. You spend some time exploring deeper questions about your character: things like what’s the mistake they regret most? or in what situations would they lie? or what false beliefs do they hold? These sort of questions will result in a much richer, more real character than a simple list of physical characteristics. The first ebook I ever bought online, back in around 2007, was Holly Lisle’s Create a Character Clinic. This is still one of my favorite resources for character creation: it goes far beyond the typical character questionnaire to dig deep into what really makes characters tick (and it includes lots of examples, too). If you’re using a template or questionnaire that you’ve found online, don’t feel that you need to complete every single part of it – especially if it’s a long one! Focus on the bits that are most impactful or that help you to imagine your character more fully: if you do decide to fill in the rest, you can simply do it at a later stage. Don’t get hung up on creating the â€Å"perfect† character profile before you begin writing – because it’ll almost certainly change as you go along. Which brings me on to Why Your Character Profile Will Need Updating Regularly If you create your character profiles during the pre-writing phase of your novel, you’ll almost certainly find that your understanding of your character shifts as you write the first draft. Perhaps the thing you  thought  they sincerely regretted from their past turns out to be something they’re actually quite proud of – at least initially. Perhaps you realize that it makes much more sense for them to have grown up somewhere rural, not in a city. Perhaps you change them radically: maybe you merge two characters together, or you change a character’s gender or age. (Or their name: a lot of my characters end up changing names part-way through the writing process as I figure out a name that’s a better fit.) Your character profile definitely isn’t set in stone. It’s fine to change your mind and rework it – but do make sure that you actually update it to reflect the changes you’ve made during the writing process. Otherwise, it can be very confusing several chapters later when you want to bring a character back in but you can’t now remember if they’re supposed to be 35 or 25, or whether they’re tall with dark brown hair or short with strawberry blonde hair. Character profiles can be a great tool for creating and fleshing out interesting characters for your novel; they’re also a useful working document that you can use to help you stay on track and keep things consistent during the writing process. If you’ve never created a character profile before, why not give it a go today? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesBetween vs. In BetweenThe Difference Between "Phonics" and "Phonetics"

Write a Short Story in 7 Easy Steps

Write a Short Story in 7 Easy Steps Whether youre just trying your hand at writing or youve been writing since you learned how to hold a pencil, short stories are an excellent medium. CliffsNotes defines a short story as a fictional work of prose that is shorter in length than a novel. Edgar Allan Poe, in his essay The Philosophy of Composition, said that a short story should be read in one sitting, anywhere from a half hour to two hours. In contemporary fiction, a short story can range from 1,000 to 20,000 words. Because of the shorter length, a short story usually focuses on one plot, one main character (with a few additional minor characters), and one central theme, whereas a novel can tackle multiple plots and themes, with a variety of prominent characters. Short stories also lend themselves more to experimentation - that is, using uncommon prose styles or literary devices to tell the story. Such uncommon styles or devices might get tedious, and downright annoying, in a novel, but they may work well in a short sto ry.Stories shorter than 1000 words are generally classified as flash fiction or short short stories. Stories that are longer than 20,000 words but dont reach full novel length are referred to as novellas.As a freelance editor, I have edited and revised countless short stories that range from unbearable to delightful. I am going to share some tips with you so you can make yours one of the short stories that stand out as engaging, compelling, and possibly even delightful.Short stories lend themselves more to experimentation- that is, using uncommon prose styles or literary devices to tell the story. Photo by Ana Tavares on Unsplash.Step 1. Identify the focus of your short storyWhen writing a short story, you do not need plot outlines or extensive character profiles like you might when writing a full-length novel. However, you do need to have a clear understanding of your storys meaning. If your short story is character-focused, you need to understand at least one aspect of your charac ter and how you will express that aspect to evoke emotion in your reader. If your story focuses on an event, consider the most effective way to translate that event into an experience that resonates with readers. As you start working on your story, keep in mind an important tidbit from Literary Devices: A short story presents one aspect of the life of a character. It could be an incident, an event, a description of a feeling, or even a simple act. A short story can also impact a reader and even inspire them.Step 2. Start writingThis step may sound obvious, but sometimes the hardest part of writing is actually sitting down and writing. Like most writers, you probably go through phases of working on stories in your head, where you play with word choices and try to work out storylines in your mind without actually writing any words on paper. Perhaps you actually make it into your computer chair, but before you start typing, you decide that you should find the perfect font for your stor y, and two hours later you can list the best fonts available in Microsoft Word, but you dont have any actual words written on your document.Writer Anne Lamott has said that debilitating perfectionism prevents many of us from writing, so she advises writers to give themselves permission to write a terrible rough draft. In her bestselling book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Life and Writing, Lamott explains, Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something- anything- down on paper. What Ive learned to do when I sit down to work on a [terrible] first draft is to quiet the voices in my head.Embrace Lamotts advice and just start writing. Get your story down on paper or into your computer. Do not worry about making every sentence perfect at this stage; you will address errors during the editing stage.Step 3. Write a compelling beginningNow that you have written the main parts of your story, go back and examine the open ing lines. Have you written a compelling hook that makes readers desperate to find out more? If not, spend some time trying to find the most enticing way to introduce readers to your story. The beginning of your story needs to intrigue readers so they dont want to stop reading. Think back to stories that grabbed your attention from the first line, and consider what literary devices those writers used.If you want to look at examples or literary strategies, Thoughtful Learning offers five great strategies (Begin with action or dialogue, Ask a question, Describe the setting, Begin with background information, and Have the main character introduce himself or herself) for writing an enticing opening line. Play around and experiment with a few different openings to see which one feels most natural to you.Step 4. Create a powerful endingFor most writers, it is challenging to write a perfect ending. Life rarely (if ever) has perfect endings, and maybe thats why readers feel so passionate ab out reading stories with satisfying endings. Conversely, readers feel swindled if they invest time in reading a short story only to discover an ending that just fizzles out.In a short but invaluable video in which author Kurt Vonnegut provides eight tips on how to write a great short story, Vonnegut advised writers to start as close to the end as possible. Connecting the ending of your short story back to the beginning is an almost surefire way to craft an ending that resonates with readers.If youre still stuck and unsure how to end your story, The Writers Edit discusses six specific types of endings (Resolved Ending, Unresolved Ending, Implied Ending, Twist In The Tail, Tie-Back, and Crystal Ball) that will help you find a way to end your story.Step 5. Read your story out loudYou may think that you can skip this step, but this is a practice that can benefit all writers. As a freelance editor, I find errors every day that writers could have caught if they had taken the time to read their work out loud. You may feel foolish, but you can do it in the privacy of your office, bedroom, or even the bathroom, so no one has to know that youre reading aloud to yourself. Reading your story aloud gives you a different perspective so you can notice mistakes and discern if dialogue is forced or unnatural.In a writing tips feature for Go Into the Story, Writer Diana Athill recommended, Read it aloud to yourself because that the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentence are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out- they can be got right only by ear). Even if you think you can create the rhythms silently in your mind, try reading it out loud and see what happens.Prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out- they can be got right only by ear. Photo by Sylvie Tittel on Unsplash.Step 6. Edit and reviseEditing and revising are essential steps to quality writing. You probably caught some mistakes or eliminated awkward transitions when you read your story aloud in the previous step, but now you need to read through it and look for places to revise, shift scenes, or delete them altogether.In a 1984 lecture at Bennington College, novelist and short story writer Bernard Malamud mused, I would write a book, or a short story, at least three times- once to understand it, the second time to improve the prose, and a third to compel it to say what it still must say. Somewhere I put it this way: first drafts are for learning what ones fiction wants him to say. Revision works with that knowledge to enlarge and enhance an idea, to reform it. Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing. Not all writers find Malamuds exquisite pleasure within revision, but it is an essential part of becoming a better writer.In a November 1973 article for Writers Digest, Stephen King wrote, When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bar e essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done. Whether you are a Stephen King fan or not, his prolific success in writing is undeniable, and it must be at least in part because hes willing to kill his darlings and edit until only the meatiest parts remain.Step 7. Ask for feedbackThis step can be humbling because many writers do not want to ask friends or family members to proofread their work. Perhaps it is a matter of pride because you think youre a better writer than your sister, so you dont need her help or opinions, or maybe you are afraid your friends or family members wont like what youve written. Push these worries aside and find some people you trust that you know will give you honest feedback. Letting other people read and comment on your work helps you polish it into the best possible form.After youve solicited feedback from friends or family members, consider hiring an editor to polish your story and identify any inconsistencies or problem a reas within the story.Now that you have the resources and a seven-step plan, make a date with yourself and get busy writing!

Personal Improvement Project 2 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Improvement Project 2 - Coursework Example The mere smell of brewed coffee makes me want to drink coffee. Whenever I am reading or doing my assignments, my cup of hot black coffee sits with me on my study table. I have read many articles regarding the harmful effects of too much coffee drinking. Although studies have shown conflicting results on the health effects of coffee drinking, I believe that it is my too much consumption of coffee that is causing me my frequent stomach ache and my stained teeth. Having these unhealthy conditions are not only annoying and irritating but also embarrassing. So, I decided to reduce my coffee consumption from 4 cups to 1 cup daily within an 8-week time frame. 1. The first thing I did was to change my coffee environment. I removed all the factors that induced me to wanting coffee – I removed my coffee maker in my apartment; I gave away my unused coffee beans and did no longer purchase any of these; I avoided going to the coffee corner of our school; and I changed channels whenever coffee is advertised. Instead, I put in place coffee alternatives to drink when my wanting for coffee is great – I stocked green tea and bottled alkaline waters in my fridge. Hence, whenever I wanted something to drink there is no coffee to drink. These changes on my coffee environment helped me a lot from reducing my coffee intake, because I am conditioned every day to drink other liquids than coffee. 2. I know my taste bud for wanting coffee cannot be easily changed. What I did was to reduce my coffee intake gradually to avoid withdrawal syndrome that may instead lead me to crave for more. I first lessen the amount of coffee I put on my cup – This is to help me lessen my addiction to the caffeine and to frustrate my taste bud from wanting more. Then instead of coffee, I drank other drinks to satisfy my thirst. So in between meals I drink water to quench my thirst instead of coffee and before breakfast I don’t have anything but to