Character Profile Sheet

Who this is for

One page per character. The top half holds who they are: how they look and sound, where they come from, what they want and fear and how they change. The bottom half records every fact the text has already stated, with the chapter, so nothing contradicts itself later.

Novelists and short story writers with more than a handful of characters, writers of series who need a character to stay the same across books, and anyone revising a draft written over a long time.

What this helps you track

• Name, role and age kept in one place
• Appearance, voice and mannerisms, so they stay consistent
• Background, wants, needs and fears that drive the character
• Relationships and the arc from first page to last
• Facts already stated in the text, with the chapter they appear in

How to use it

1. Fill in one sheet per character: name, role in the story, age and the chapter where they first appear.
2. Write a few words against each line of the profile; tick on the page once that detail has actually been shown in the manuscript.
3. As you draft, add any fact the text states about the character, such as eye colour, a scar or a birthday, with the chapter.
4. Check the facts table during revision so a detail given in chapter three is not changed in chapter twenty.
5. Keep the sheets together in a folder or fill them online, where each saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Do I need to fill in every line?

No. Some characters need a full profile and a walk-on needs only a name and a few facts. Fill what helps you write them and leave the rest; the facts table is the part worth keeping up for everyone.

What is the difference between want and need?

A common way of thinking about character: what they are consciously chasing, and what would actually change them. They are separate lines so you can see where the two pull against each other. Use them only if the idea helps.

Why record facts with chapter references?

Because continuity errors usually come from details written months apart. A list of what the text has already said, and where, is quicker to check than rereading the whole manuscript.

Can I use it for a real person in non-fiction?

Yes. Use the facts table to record what you have stated and where, alongside the research log for where each fact came from.