Easy Peasy Character Bio

Do you find that the characters your create don’t seem compelling? Don’t give your readers the kind of feelings you intended them to? Or do you get told that your character development is not inexistent or inconsistent? Then you may need a character bio.

A character bio (A.K.A. a character sheet) is a page with multiple fields or questions about a single character.

These are some examples of fields that would/could go in a character bio:

As the writer, you get to decide just how many, and which, fields matter to you. You fill these up with as much or as little detail as you deem fit. Some writers like to keep it vague to give their writing a little more freedom. Some people like to be much more detailed, giving them a more vivid, realistic, and compelling character from the beginning.

Being vague in your character bio’s doesn’t mean that your character will lack those benefits. It’s simply a preference.

Oh and you can make them for as many characters your want. They can be major characters or significant minor characters.

Now, right now you’re probably thinking. What else can these things do? Well…

You’re just about to start writing. You have all these plots and characters in your head. To you, these ideas are the bee’s knees. I am inclined to believe you. But then you might not like finding yourself down the road asking yourself, “What would *character’s name* do?”. Characters should lead the story. When you force your characters into doing things, your readers will normally respond by scratching their heads and get confused.

A character bio will give you a place to organize your thoughts before putting pen on paper for the actual story.

You can break down the character bio into topics that will actually matter to the story. You can set it up so that you don’t lose sight of who your character is and how they are supposed to progress through your tale.

You can even prepare different character bio’s for different parts of your story be it for a chapter, act, arc, or whatever way you want to break down your story. Remember, your character is supposed to develop. Nobody likes a character that doesn’t learn or grow with the story.

Do you remember what you ate for dinner 3 years ago? How about last night? Yeah, me neither.

A character bio is a perfect way of reminding you of the little things that made your character so real to you and your readers. If you keep them properly organized they can also be used to ease the process of introducing new team members to the continuation of your story.

They can tell your new artist what your character is supposed to look like at different points in your characters life. Extremely helpful during flashbacks.

A character bio will help keep a continuity that will only help to further develop your character. Whether it’s a single issue, a miniseries or a serial comic with hundreds of issues. You want to see your characters become who they are meant to be.

Good things come from using a character bio.

Easy and quick to make. Organizes your thoughts. New bios can be made for significant portions of a story. Extremely helpful when working with a team.

Bonus benefit? There are tons of examples online. So if you feel like your bio is not detailed enough don’t fret! The internet will be there to save the day! (I am a little lame, I admit this)