Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

Authors have a number of tools and techniques available to them that are designed to build
well-rounded, interesting and believable characters in their stories.
However insignificant a word or phrase might feel to a reader, authors are very deliberate in
their word choices. Every choice tells their reader something about the character, and part
of the challenge is being able to control how their reader is going to respond to the way that
character has been described.
This worksheet will help you to use both direct and indirect methods of characterisation
to build a character of your own. You will need to think deeply about what makes your
character unique and how that will be communicated to anyone who reads about them.

Think of each characterisation tool as a piece of the puzzle. Piece by

piece, you are building something that comes together to create a
whole character.

Read through the PowerPoint as a class to learn about how authors use Direct and Indirect
Characterisation for effect in a story.

What is Characterisation?
How will you communicate to your reader who your character is?
There are a number of different ways to communicate information about a character
to the reader. You can use direct characterisation (telling the reader something about
your character) or you can use indirect characterisation (showing the reader something
about your character).
When an author tells the reader something about the character, they may describe things
like their; name, age, description, friends, family and other relationships. These basic
pieces of information are often shared with the reader early on in the story with direct
characterisation.
This could look something like:
“Alison decided that her transition into high school was the perfect excuse for a change
in style. She was going to cut her beautiful, waist-length hair. An edgy, blonde bob was
going to be just what she needed to show her classmates that she was not to be trifled
with.”
This tells the reader the character’s name (Alison), her gender (use of “her” pronoun), her
current situation (starting high school) and her hair colour (long and blonde, with plans
to cut it short). There is no guesswork or “reading between the lines” involved for the
reader. All of the information is right there on the surface.

Complete Table 1 on the next page to start building your character:

1 of 9
 Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

Table 1

Character Name:
Does your character have a
nickname they prefer to go by?

Age:

Description:
Height, gender, hair colour, eye
colour, etc.

Background:
Where are they from? Is there any
information that would provide
important context about your
character to the reader? Do they
go to school? Have a job? What are
the big things going on in their life
as the story takes place?

Friends/Family:
Who are the people that are
important to this character? What
types of relationships does this
character have with others?

Now that you have the basics, try to think a little deeper
about the types of things that might influence your
character.
Reading through the PowerPoint as a class, you will learn
about how authors create in-depth characters by deciding
whether they’re a protagonist or antagonist, and delving
into their motivations, conflicts, values and beliefs.

You will do this for your own character by completing Table

2 on the next page:

2 of 9
 Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

Table 2

Is your character going to be the

protagonist or the antagonist of
your story?
These two character archetypes are
often competing against each other or
working towards different goals in a
story. Is your character the ‘good guy’
or the main character of the story? Or
are they the ‘bad guy’ who is working
against the protagonist’s goals and
causing conflict in the story?

Motivations:
What keeps this character going? Are
they motivated by money? Gaining the
approval of others? Academic success?
Why do you think these motivations
exist?

Conflicts:
Are there any conflicts with other
people in this character’s life that
could impact the ‘Complication’ in
a narrative? For example, is your
character arguing with their best
friend in a plot that involves your
character finding a way to resolve this
conflict?

Values and/or Beliefs:

What is important to this character?
Do they value family over everything
else? Do they value characteristics
such as loyalty and honesty? Are their
decisions impacted by religion or
culture?

3 of 9
 Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

This type of information (from Table 2) is a little more complicated to share with your reader.
You might not want to directly tell your reader what the character values above everything
else, but you could certainly show the reader using methods of indirect characterisation.

Indirect Characterisation
To remember your tools for indirect characterisation, think of the acronym S.T.E.A.L.
S – Speech: What does your character say out loud? What does their dialogue with other
characters sound like?
T – Thoughts: What does your character think to themselves? Does your story include an
inner monologue?
E – Effect on others: How does your character impact the people around them? Do
they make people feel safe and comfortable? Are they the sort of character to incite
arguments with their peers? How do they make people feel?
A – Actions: Have you ever heard of the saying, “Actions speak louder than words”?
What we say and what we do does not always align. Does your character stay true to
their word? What types of things does your character do in the story that might help the
reader understand the type of person they are?
L – Looks: How would you describe your character’s appearance? And how do these
details help to communicate details about your character to the reader? Does your
character always come to school with messy bed-hair and bags under their eyes? Does
your character never leave the house without being well put-together? These things help
show the reader how your character might be dealing with the events in your story.

Use Table 3 on the following pages to plan how you will show your reader who your
character is. Try to think of examples that could be used in a narrative. Remember to use the
punctuation and grammar tips you learned from the PowerPoint to structure your dialogue
in a way that is easy for your reader to understand.

Top Tips for Punctuating Dialogue:

• Use quotation marks around what your character’s are saying aloud.
• End your dialogue with a punctuation mark inside the quotation marks (a full stop,
question mark or exclamation point).
• Start your dialogue with a capital letter.
• Start a new line each time a new character speaks.
• There are multiple ways to do it, but always make sure your reader knows who is
speaking by attributing dialogue to a character (e.g. they explained, she said, he
yelled, etc.).
• You can also attribute speech by describing what your character is doing as they talk.
• Use punctuation like dashes and ellipses to create specific vocal effects in your
dialogue like pauses and interruptions.
• Use italics when you are writing what your character is thinking (internal monologue).

4 of 9
 Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

Table 3

Types of Indirect Characterisation Your character:

Speech: Write at least three

examples of something your
character might say out loud.
What sort of language will your
character use? Are they someone who
speaks formally or uses slang a lot?
Are they straightforward and blunt?
Are they well-mannered and quiet?
Think about an example of the type of
dialogue that would come out of your
character’s mouth.

Thoughts: Write at least three

examples of inner monologue for
your character.
Consider the way your character’s
dialogue might differ from their inner
monologue. Do their thoughts align
with what they say out loud? Are
there some things they might think to
themselves but not share with others?
Think about what those thoughts
communicate to the reader. Do they
show that your character is genuine
and kind-hearted? Do they show
that your character is an unreliable
narrator or someone who is not
always going to tell the truth?

5 of 9
 Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

Effect on others: Write at least

two examples of the types of
interactions your character is likely
to have with another person.
This could be another character you
plan to include in your story, or just
something you imagine could happen
in the background. For example; if
your character is out to breakfast and
they receive the wrong order, are they
the type of person to outwardly show
their anger or frustration, making the
café worker feel uncomfortable? Or
are they the type of person to calmly
communicate with the café worker
who would happily correct their
mistake?

Actions: Write at least two

examples of the types of things that
your character might do.
This could be in relation to your
story’s major plot points, or it could
be in response to a hypothetical
situation. For example, your character
sees someone leave their headphones
on a table and walk away. Do they
call after that person and go out of
their way to return them? Or do they
happily keep the headphones for
themselves?

Looks: Describe the sorts of clothes

your character is likely to wear/
their style.
Are they the sort of person who takes
great care in their appearance? Or are
they not bothered by looking a little
ruffled at times?

Well done! You have now created a rich and interesting character
full of depth and intrigue that your reader will be able to understand
clearly. Your challenge now is to plan a story around this central
character. Use Table 4 on the next page to outline the important plot
points in this narrative.

6 of 9
 Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

Table 4

Introduction:

Complication:

Rising Action:

Climax:

Resolution:

7 of 9
 Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

Now that you have an understanding of the events that will take place in your narrative, use
the space below to write your story:

8 of 9
Character Profile Narrative Writing Activity

9 of 9