Now, character profiles are a fun if yet time consuming trick that I always use when I'm starting a story.

[NAME]
[GENDER]
[AGE]
[RACE]

[APPEARANCE]

[PERSONALITY]

[ATTIRE]

[BIO]

Creating a character profile is always fun to make. Time consuming and it tends to take a lot out of the creative side of your brain, but once you get used to it you start to get the hang of it. save the profile in case if you ever get any ideas, though. You don't think up ideas all at once, after all.

                 [Names ]
I find some stories funny when they make a character with the name something akin to "Karken" or something creative like that and then they make another character named "Karen." Of course, I hate people who give their characters simple names like "Tom" and "Bob" and "Sue" so I always go for creative names - some I hear from other places and some I sound out in my head and try it out verbally. Also, when you are making a story with multiple characters it's always good to make the origins sound right. If it is a created world you are making and it's fantasy, try things like "Aero" and "Maedrin" placed in the same story. Most fantasy stories have weird names like that, mainly with the "i's" being replaced with "y's" (i.e. "Wym" instead of "Worm".). Names are fun to play around with, especially when I make longer names like Atrasententia" or "Eycalipsia" and "Akaiokami." Sometimes they're a pain in the ass to have to write over and over again, but it is surely worth the way they sound.

                 [ Suffixes and Meanings ]
Also, some people give their character names meaning. Atrasententia, for example, is a suffix for "dark meaning."
  ~ "atra" is Latin for "dark."
  ~ "sententia" is Latin for "meaning."
Here is another one.
  ~ "akai" is Japanese for "red."
  ~ "(o)okami" is Japanese for "wolf."
These names are given specific traits to the characters. "Dark meaning" is sort of lesser implied that the character is somewhat malicious and evil (as much as I hate that word.). "Red wolf" is an implication that the character is more wolf-like, a hunter, red as in blood. A character with a lust for blood.

Of course, you don't need to use other languages to make your names. I just use Latin and Japanese the most because they're my two favorite languages, but feel free to do whatever you'd like. I have a lion character named "Nemean" who is based off of a lion character in an old Greek story of the beast that Hercules had killed. Using such meanings brings a certain sense of meaning to the story if yet cleverness that makes things a bit more interesting. But you don't always have to, though. Suffixes and meanings are not a required priority, but they sure are a lot of fun to make!

                 [ Gender ]
Heh. Genders. I don't think you really need an explanation on what they are, but more like...what to do with them? First off, the protagonist (the main character.) and the antagonist (the opposing character against the main character.): Genders are semi-vital parts to a character, basically because you don't want to call your character an "it" throughout the entire story. "He" "She" "His" "Her" are primary things when making sentences. Although, here is an example that some people make quite often in their sentence.

"He was walking down the street. He noticed the hour of the time and ran home. He knew that he would be in trouble when he would come home late."

First off, give your character a name! Whether if it be "Kyle" or "the boy" it doesn't matter. Second off, watch what you do with your punctuation. Commas are a very important thing when you are using sentences. Avoid using the same word too many times, like "he" and "she." Characters are given names for a very good reason.

                 [ Race ]
My characters are generally not human, so I use this in a vast range scale. In fantasy stories there are mainly a variety of character species to choose from, like elves, dragons, unicorns, fun stuff like that. And then there are science fiction stories. Of course, in science fiction the racial bit may not apply all that much, unless if you'd enjoy giving your character a certain type of nationality, such as "Native American" and "German." A specific type of nationality and/or race can become an amusing bit when you write in the character personality.

                 [ Appearance ]
What your character looks like. Any additional scars here and there? Jewelry? Tattoos? Something strange about their eyes or what kind of skin they have? What they're general expressions and faces are like, in which case. These are fun to make, because it gives the appearance of your character spice; scars are often something that can be taken into a crucial event that happened in the past that may be explained somewhere in the bio or later in the story. Necklaces or amulets being some sort of key or another world or holding some sort of meaning to which that character may treasure, like a family emblem or friendship binding. It gives more history to the character. And another thing, if your character can transform into something, it is good to write down what they will look like when they transform into their other form, like a werewolf or a dragon, which also hold human avatars as well as one of a reptilian-kin.

                 [ Personality ]
How your character acts. I'm a major fan of the extroverted characters. Reserved, moody, bad tempered. But it is always good to have a vast variety of character personalities as well. Basically because nobody acts the same way. We're all different kinds of people. So having a happy, cheerful, and/or annoying character never killed anyone. ...or does it? o_O

                 [ Attire ]
Obviously what the character wears. This is their general attire. Like if they wear tank tops all the time and stuff like that. Make sure you have a wide arrangement of what the characters wear, unless if they are wearing some sort of uniform then you will write in what they wear during their pass time. Stuff like trench coats, jean/leather jackets, combat boots, tennis shoes, jeans, things like that. What color is your character more accustomed to wear? Blue, green, red, black? And try to avoid an entire cast of dark brooding characters in trench coats....

                 [ Bio ]
In other words a history. It is always good to get a general past written down of your character if you feel like that can sometimes be taken off into a different story board. These are rather fun, too. You can write down some traumatizing experience the character has had to undergo, what their life was like before you come into the present situation of the character in which the story takes place. You can also add here how a character got a certain trait that links to their appearance, scars, tattoos, medallions, anything. Make sure their accessories are somewhat vital to the story, though.

If you haven't started writing out the storyboard already, you can start once you get the characters done or you can do so afterwards. I am more favorable of making a plot and storyline before I make the characters, and with others I tend to work backwards a little bit. If anything, before you write it is good to get a good feel of something that inspires you to write or something that reminds you of your character. Music helps with me, and so do certain movies or webcomics. It varies with the type of people, so be sure you have your head cleared and think about what you are writing before you do it. Sometimes it is also good to go over what you've written just to avoid bad sounding sentences or those kinds of wordings that "don't sound right." In which case it also comes to a great help to read it aloud to someone else, or go through it with Spell Check if you are using a Word Processor - I find this always helpful because it points out any spelling errors and also has a built-in thesaurus which I oh-so-love whenever I am caught at a sentence.

If you ever need any help, feel free to e-mail me or send me a word on Instant Messenger to catch me when I'm online (although I'm busy some times so I may not be there to come and help you right away. I try to make time to do it though.).

                 YIM!: luna_moonshine
                 MSN: beowulph
                 AIM: BeoLoneWulph

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