Well yeah. Personality will tell you more than age. lol Age is there more for my memory than anything. So do you think learning how to write a character bio better is a waste of time? Not that I intend try to publish bios or anything. Just for fun and to help keep me straight and not blend some of my characters that are similar. Oh and as a consistent way to show my friends instead of just randomly information dumping every time.
I think @ChickenFreak was riffing on my silly notion of running across the moor, pursued by sheep! I'm delighted to hear that you're struggling to write character bios because you're immersed in writing chapters instead! If you find yourself polishing your talent for creating character sheets, well fair enough. As long as the story gets written, and has life beyond the character sheets. No problem. Whatever floats your boat.
Yay! I was beginning to think I was crazy or everyone thought it was a bad idea. So is there any idea you think about writing a better character bio? I mean if it focuses on personality what aspect to focus on? Obviously too much and too little information are equally bad. lol Right?
Well, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, no. It's not as if when your book/story is done, your readers will read and enjoy your character sheets. I see the character sheets as something that you create if you're having trouble creating the book/story. If you're not, why create them?
I found this article helpful when fleshing out my character bios (http://writerswrite.co.za/15-questions-authors-should-ask-characters) I didn't find all the questions useful, but the idea of asking questions in general is great - it's an easy way to get past the superficial and into the more obscure elements of your character's personality/motivations (well, so I find anyway). This overview might be helpful as well (https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/74731675043246077/)
Apologies for the dud link, I couldn't find it in the same form but here's a summary someone else drew up in response to it: http://www.quotev.com/artisticskater/journal/1857421/Creating-a-Fictional-Character-A-guide-to-creating-a-realistic-character-when-writing/
When I first started writing fiction, I would make character sheets with endless features about each and every one. I'd do the same with outlines, scheduling out every minor occurrence in the plot. Later I found this restricted my creativity and pacing. Physical characteristics were useless in first or limited third person. When looking at something, why would anyone acknowledge their own eye color in casual thoughts and actions? "South's amber eyes followed the couple as they left, baffled by their irritation." vs "South watched the couple as they left, baffled by their irritation." Sure the first is more...poetic but the second gets the same information across and makes sense from my limited point of view. I can't see my own brown eyes unless I look in the mirror, and when I'm doing that I don't suddenly note their color.
