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How to Create an Original Character Profile?

Updated: May 9, 2022

I have to write a disclaimer here. Creating Original Characters and their profiles really isn't my strong suit. There are people who specialise in doing this and I'm not one of them. However, since this was a requested topic, I shall do my best to explain how I develop them.


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#1: MBTI / Character Trait


This might come as a surprise to many people. I don't actually study the MBTI personality but I like to use it as a guide for character creation simply because it is easier. I don't follow it strictly.


If I don't know the MBTI, I simply use a reference of characters that I know already exists eg: Luffy from One Piece and maybe my Kindergarten English Teacher etc.


I try to label the more important character trait that will not bend for a character and let everything else play freely. If there is a quirk, I will note it down. For example, the character might have a tendency to act tsundere but only around hamsters. I write that down so I don't actually forget later on in writing,


#2: Appearance


This has to be the part I struggle with the most because I'm not a very visual person in creation. I'm the kind of person who doesn't spend a lot of time in avatar creation for games and usually hit random until there's something I don't hate.


For this, I actually follow references of anime characters or images on the internet I've seen before. If I'm looking at a classy hooker character, I'd go to Jessica Rabbit for instance. If I want a jaded billionaire who could secretly be a werewolf, you bet that reference could be Bruce Wayne or someone buff with a dark aura.


My character appearances do not strictly follow the image I procure because someone I have different details in writing. For instance, I want a character that looks like Allen Walker from D Gray Man but he doesn't have that eye tattoo or deformed arm. Heck, he has red hair instead of green and is actually shorter than the model I chose. Then I will note those down under character appearances for reference with the picture when writing.


The most important details are:

  1. Gender

  2. Eye & Hair Colour

  3. Age & Nationality (eg: skin tone, accessories, tattoo, body build etc)

Everything else could be expanded from here, I'm not picky.


#3: Background Data


I know of writer pals who do this really well and at the end of the day, they hand me a 3-page data about their character's background that I won't read because I'm simply not as invested in it as they were.


I don't do a lot of background data right off the bat unless the character plays a crucial part in the main plot. I usually add this in as I go along with a marker of which chapter I mention it in for future references.


HOWEVER, sometimes I forget and then it becomes a pain in the butt.


Background data shouldn't define a character in my opinion but it should help to shape where they're coming from in the story so that they're more relatable to the readers. You don't want a hero to become a hero just because he was born with a shiny aura and everyone told him that was what he would become. Surely, this hero had some sort of internal struggle to accept this expectation from others and might have considered otherwise before taking on this burdensome role.


I'm just saying that background data isn't always necessary although some writers might disagree with me. Personally, I prefer efficiency. If there isn't a need, I won't delve into it and kill my brain cells. My characters will give me their backstory if the need arose. I don't have to create shit about it. I work around them.


#4: Master Profile Sheet


THIS! It's super important and while some of you already know how I work because I shared my Ball of Nothing Character Profile Sheet publically mainly because someone was creating a wiki for it, most of you also know that I'm a mess at keeping this updated.


It doesn't matter where you make this character profile sheet. UPDATE IT AFTER EVERY CHAPTER!


In Conclusion...


I'm a character creating noob despite my fantastic works. It's a terrible idea to ask me how I create my characters because I'm mostly the person to randomise side characters, the funnier the better sometimes. It's based on my fancy when I do them and all my main characters usually have names that come from nowhere.


I won't go into how I name my characters because that's even more depressing to talk about. However, if you enjoyed my naming sense as a reader I guess we're good. That's all for this blog. I hope it's been somewhat helpful even if I'm not the expert. I don't create fabulous characters, I build fabulous worlds for adventure. It's the main reason why I told Sunscar I refuse to write another werewolf CEO romance type of BS. I'm not cut out for it!

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