Have you ever read a book where the main character has flashing blue eyes in chapter one then in chapter nine he has moody green eyes? Before I started writing, I wondered how an author could make such a serious mistake. I now know novels take years to write and the author might forget the character had flashing blue eyes in chapter one and to create a scene give him moody green eyes in chapter nine. With a character profile, the main character would still have blue eyes in chapter nine.

A profile breathes life into your character. There are the basics like color of hair, eye color, facial features, age, name (which should compliment the character) and background. Most authors keep a profile of the basics whether it is in outline form or notes down the side of the manuscript to avoid mistakes like changing eye color. Many authors expand their profiles to include things like:

• Personality: shy, paranoid, risk taker, eccentric, pessimist, confident, brave, popular, etc
• Defining traits: humorous, sensitive, a geek, a loner, a gang member, a bully, a joiner, etc
• Home: country, city, desert, coast, mountains, island suburbs. And is that home a shack, mansion, apartment, farm, ranch, public housing, house?
• Family situation: live with single parent, live with both parents, live with grandparents
• Only child or siblings: name siblings
• Interests: computers, reading, writing, science fiction, movies, insects, sports, music, etc
• Pets: dog, cat, fish, turtle, horse, lizard, hamster, gerbil, iguana, ants, parakeet, etc
• Dislikes: liver, sports, piano lessons, school, etc
• Favorite: shows, school subject, color, food, book, sport, game, teacher, athlete, singer, etc
• Hobbies: stamp collecting, coin collecting, photography, painting, collecting sport cards, etc
• Clothes: sloppy, casual, chic, trendy, old-fashion, etc
• Nickname: if your character has a nickname include in the profile if the character likes or dislikes the nickname, who gave this character the nickname and why
• Body Language: shy, graceful, clumsy, fearful, athletic, etc
• Allergies: this could be important to the plotting of your story. In the movie MY GIRL, if Thomas J hadn’t been allergic to bees, there wouldn’t be a story.

Formal outline profiles are not for everyone, but you should have some system to keep your character’s image alive and their life in order.

The features are not the only character trait you have to keep throughout the entire book, the character’s emotional personality has to remain true to the character. To keep this straight you might want to interview your character with questions like:

1. What CDs do you have?
2. Do you have a secret hiding place?
3. Do you ever pretend to be someone else? Who?
4. Who in your class do you like the least? Why?
5. Who in your class do you like the most? Why?
6. What do you want to be when you grow up?
7. Who is your idol? Why?
8. What do you fear the most?
9. What or who makes you the happiest?
10. Where in the world would you most like to visit? Why? How would you travel there?

I’ve given you ten of the twenty-five question that I ask my characters to get inside their heads. If you don’t know your character in three dimensions (appearance, action, and behavior), how can you write a character that isn’t dull, boring, and flat? You can’t!

I do a profile on my characters but I go beyond the outline and piece together a physical picture of my character. I have hundreds just waiting for me to bring them to life with my imagination. When a child or adult intrigues me at a playground, restaurant, movie, or school functions, I grab my notebook and jot down the things that make that person stand out, like unusual style of dress, outstanding physical looks (hair, eyes, and body language) or unusual name. I like characters with ‘stand-out from the crowd’ names. One of my favorite female names is Labecca. I found this name in an old newspaper article when I was doing research for a historical fiction manuscript. The name is patiently waiting in my character notebook for me to use it in a future story. I have a notebook full of pictures and notes about people I’ve met, read about, or seen in magazines and newspapers. When I need a character, I pull it out and use bits and pieces to create the prefect character for my story. I give my new creation tangible features like soulful eyes, a pouting mouth, high cheekbones, and curly blonde hair. Once I know what they look like, I add personality, good traits, and faults so the character lives, at least in my imagination.

Like your voice in a story, your character is unique to your imagination. Keep your character true and share the image with your reader.