Forums » RP Discussion » What motivates you to write a character profile?

Here's the thing, I have had this character idea in my head for a couple of years now, but I HATE writing character profiles. I just find the whole process so tedious. Probably doesn't help that when I do make them, they did to be multipage affairs with lots of details because that's just how I am. I have been wanting to try rping this character, but then I go...eww profile writing.

So how do you guys jazz yourself up to write character profiles? Also for those curious, the character is currently nameless, but is a half human/half kirin/qilin miko. Mom was a miko, dad was a qilin. She is a homeless wanderer who helps people and villages she comes across, but makes sure not to linger lest her unusual appearance bring negative attention. It's amazing how intolerant and superstitious people can become when they no longer require one's services.

I just like to use it as an excuse to simply write more. More world building, more lore, more context, more opportunities to think about the character and who they are as a person and how they fit into the world around them. More to write about how the world interacts with them.

I like to think about all the small details.

Personally I don't really have that problem, so I can't say I relate or understand, but maybe if you don't want to write about the character you just don't want to write the character?

No, I'm like this for pretty much every character I have written a profile for.

A healthy mix of browsing artboards, visual media, music and reading up on certain material either historical or fictional tends to set the base for me. The detail tends to come naturally if you assume you're writing a great script for a movie and then your character is essentially the actor for that script, a method actor at that, everything from the tone of their voice to their mannerisms and not just their actions in response to the event at hand tends to create the context, your character is rather like your pen for what you are presented with if you make sense. Where I see things falter is where there's an extensive amount of self-inserting or where a certain character tends to become the focal point around which everything orbits, not that I blame this style of writing, since how you write your character is essentially dependent of what you're basing it off of and these sort of tropes are common in what can be termed the commercial narrative media such as animated series, movies and so on where people misinterpret that the character is what gives life to the story where infact, it is the script, the literal story that gives meaning to the character.

I would recommend studying at least a few good works of literature that challenge this context, Dostoevsky is typically a great place to start creating in-depth and complex storylines with your characters, fantasy or sci-fi novellas from the 70s/80s are great source material, my personal recommendation is Elric Of Melnibone other great works include Dune, Conan etc. There's nothing wrong with borrowing from or creating your character in a pre-determined universe either, but make sure it is one with sufficient development and relevance for you to be able to build your character, for me personally the Warhammer series contributed greatly to character development and worldbuilding. If you're into writing sci-fi, fantasy or modern articles of prospective/speculative science, historical events, incidences and accounts as well as knowledge of places, cultures, faiths and environments tend to give you a very broad palette writing wise. The final area I tend to borrow from is cinematics, I love watching good actors and by good actors I mean actors that let their acting propel the scene rather than the greenscreen or good looks, I'm not talking about Chris Hemsworth or Henry Cavill, I'm talking about actors the like of Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day Lewis, Charles Dance, Giancarlo Esposito and several others whom truly hone in the character, it gives you a lot of inspiration for how to " method-act " your characters. Game of Thrones was a big one for me and I just got into it recently, I initially didn't even like or understand the series but upon a second visit i'm in love.

TL;DR

Diversified Perspectives Give Your Muse A Lot Of Fuel, Explore Things Read, Watch, Listen... Your mind is a box, sometimes you gotta get out of it.

in short spurts

Your one paragraph description is already 2 sections on a character profile.
Then add a pfp and call it a day.
Tomorrow, you can flesh out the history a little more.
The next day, you add a few more descriptors.
Choose a theme the next day.

I tend to keep my character profiles pretty concise, since I use them in many different contexts, their histories are largely concept, but not super fleshed out with details. Most of the time, I leave them off the profile and let it reveal itself over time in the RPs. Nothing needs to be set in stone until it's relevant to the story you're telling with your writing partner(s)

Ah, the never ending character profile purgatory. I feel you. To make things worse I originally came to this site with the sole purpose of having a place to throw down lore for my OC's and their world. Turns out over a decade worth of world and character-related information is not easy to just spit out onto text in one go. I've been here for almost two years and none of my profiles are finished. The will and want is there, but I find that my time set aside for them is usually taken and used for roleplay replies instead. 😂

Silent and Tyranoth's tips are great. Gather inspiration and muse through all things and media you enjoy (and maybe even stuff you aren't typically drawn to!). What tends to work for me, personally, to help get into "profile writing mode" is drawing my OC's; or even just doing little things for them in general, like adding new clothing inspo to their respective Pinterest boards. Roleplaying with them and making new bonds between other characters also helps loads! Find something that gets you excited about your characters and the information that you want to share about them!

Also, to regurgitate Silent's point; pick away at a profile a little bit at a time. Word vomit. Get down the little details. Jot down whatever comes to mind. Personally? I think the information that you provided for your little nameless wanderer is a great start for her. You don't have to have a finished or super fleshed out profile to roleplay with her.

For me, it's creating the character's playlist first, so I have something to listen to and get their general description through music while I create them completely on here.