Creating a new character for your story is magic. You breathe life into a new and exciting character. Apart from that, it is also highly important for writing a coherent and logical story. Hence, you should know your characters (at least) as good as your mother. Pretty hard eh?
No worries, we created a character bio template that includes 73 important questions and attributes you need to answer and define before starting to write your story. The character bio template will help you to make sure that your characters seem real and authentic.
You should fill the character bio template for all your characters. If you recognize that you need to change some attributes of a character, don’t forget to update the template as well. It should really help you to organize your thoughts, to avoid forgetting any important traits or features of a character and to get the full picture of the existing relationships between your characters.
Of course, you can decide about the level of bio detail for each of your characters. But, often, it makes sense to detail them out as much as possible. This will not only give you a better understanding of the potential role of the character in your story but will also help you to describe situations the character is involved in.
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What’s a Character Bio?
So, creating a character biography is quite important and will help you to build your story. Of course, you want to start writing. But take this break and start by defining the attributes, features, and characteristics of your characters first. Trust me, it will help you to write a better story.
So, let’s dive into the character bio template.
BTW: We also created a Template that allows you to edit and update your templates easily. The good thing: You can use it for free. If you want to use it, just create a copy of the spreadsheet.
Download a free character bio template
Fill out the form below to get instant access to our character bio template.
To save an editable copy, follow these simple steps:
- Click “File” in the top-left corner
- Click “Make a copy”
- Choose your destination folder
Character Bio Template
General Information
Full name
Nickname:
Age:
Nationality:
Religion:
City of birth
The current place for living
Job title:
Employing company:
Income:
Is he or she married?
Mother tongue
Birthday:
Does he or she own a home?
What does the character like?
What does the character dislike?
Background
How would you describe the childhood of the character?
How would you describe the teenage years of the character?
How would you describe the adulthood of the character?
Role and Involvement of Character
What’s the role of the character in the story?
How is the character introduced?
What’s the first time he is mentioned in the story?
Relationships
Sisters or brothers
Wife or husband:
Children
Grandparents
Grandchildren
Other important persons:
Relationships with other characters of the story:
[Character 1]
[Character 2]
[Character 3]
[Character 4]
[Character 5]
Physical Characteristics:
Addictions:
Bad Habits:
Color of Eyes
The color of Hair:
The color of Skin:
Dialect
Does the character drink regularly?
Does the character have any disabilities?
Does the character prefer any proverbs?
Does the character smoke?
Good Habits:
Height:
Hobbies:
Is he/she wearing Glasses?
Is the character healthy or does he have any diseases?
Type of Face:
Weight:
What’s the style of the character? (modern, outmoded):
Mental Characteristics
Education:
Intelligent or not?
Fears:
Life Goals (next 5 years):
Life Goals (next 25 years):
Self-perception
Assumed external perception
Self-Confidence:
Rational Or Emotional
How could you upset this character?
Emotional Characteristics
What are emotional strengths of the character?
What are emotional weaknesses of the character?
Is the character an introvert or an extrovert?
How does the character cope with fury and rage?
… with unhappiness?
… with rivalry?
… with new situations?
… with trouble?
What’s his or her meaning of life?
What would the character like to change in his/her life?
What things motivate the character?
What situations scares the character?
What makes this character happy?
Is the character often biased?
Does the character prefer to give or to take?
Is the character rather nice or rude?
I hope you liked this character bio template. If you have important additional questions, attributes or characteristics that are missing on my list, feel free to leave comment. I would love to add them to the list.
If you’re having trouble getting started on flushing out your character, you can also try using new AI tools like ChatGPT or HubSpot’s content writer to build a rough outline of your character to get started.
