Character Bio Poems
A quick way to get to know your characters (template included)
There are a lot of questionnaires and sketch activities out there to help you develop your characters, but there’s a shorter technique that helps me nail down my characters’ interests and personalities – the bio poem.
Bio poems are not long (11 lines), but they cover some of the most important things you need to know about your characters, and they always follow the same format.
Here is an example of my bio poem for my main character from The Bloodstained Key.
Marianna
Intelligent, Curious, Kind, Perceptive
Sister of Annette, Daughter of Henry and Paulina
Lover of books, learning, and adventure
Who feels love, curiosity, and fear
Who needs to find real friends, the truth, and the strength to face it
Who gives kindness, friendship, and help
Who fears the unknown, Thunderwell’s spooky hallways, and Dusten
Who wants Will to be alive, her family to be safe and provided for, and to be free of Bludington
Resident of Prosera
Locklear
I’ve also included a template you can use for your own characters: here.
How about you? What techniques do you use to develop your characters? Let me know in the comments!
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This is a great idea! Poetry always helps me overcome writers block so maybe it will help me with character creation too! ❤️
This is really cute! I love this! Super simple, and doesn't take hours to fill out a character sheet 😅 I may have to try this sometime <3