One of the most labor intensive parts of starting a new book is the planning. Now, there are a lot of authors out there who absolutely LOVE this part of the process. They enjoy creating a character from scratch, knowing everything about them down to the toothpaste they buy or what they think about when they go grocery shopping. It can definitely be fun to create characters!
But there are also times when you have a deadline or you have three kids asking for dinner or you're just tapped out of good ideas, and you need some character information to get you started. Also, you may be a writer who doesn't do a lot of planning. You like to figure stuff out as you go. Then you get to the 50% mark of your book, and you wish you had spent five minutes on developing that wily character ahead of time.
Never fear! AI is here to help you!
All you really need is a character building template and then you're good to get started. I've put one together here that you'll be able to copy and paste over into ChatGPT (or OpenAI Playground) or Sudowrite's First Draft feature (my affiliate link). You can fill in as much information as you like, add or subtract questions from the template, and go! I'll give you the template, and then I'll show you what kind of outputs I've gotten.
Hello! Today I need for you to be my writing assistant and help me with building a character profile for a fiction book I'm working on. I need you to create a detailed outline for a fictional character filling all the details requested in the character sheet below. Please do not add extra blank lines. This all needs to fit in a singular response.
CHARACTER SHEET
Type of character:
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Ethnicity:
Race:
Likes (list 4):
Dislikes (list 4):
Specific mannerisms:
Personality traits:
Childhood events that shaped their life (list 3):
Fears and Phobias:
Loves:
Has a Fascination with:
Biggest dream for their life:
A secret that no one else knows about them:
Quotes or sayings they are known for:
Accomplishments/Achievements they are proud of:
Actions they have taken in their lives they are ashamed of:
Deepest Secret:
Enneagram Character Type (provide summary details):
Chinese Zodiac Animal (provide summary details):
Astrology Sun Sign (provide summary details):
Astrology Moon Sign (provide summary details):
Astrology Ascendant Sign (provide summary details):
Astrology Mercury Sign (provide summary details):
Astrology Venus Sign (provide summary details):
Astrology Mars Sign (provide summary details):
Character Archetype (provide summary details):
Myers-Briggs Character Archetype (provide summary details):
Religion:
Favorite Meal:
Family Members (provide summary details):
Pets (provide summary details):
Based on astrological signs, what kind of person attracted to romantically (provide summary details):
Favorite music:
Favorite dessert:
Favorite drink:
Their best friend and why?:
Their recurring nightmare and what it means:
Okay, I put this bad boy into ChatGPT and I gave it a little guidance. I filled in two fields - Type of Character and Age. I gave it "A noodle shop owner" and "32." I wanted to start with a prompt that I surmised would give me an output of an Asian character, and I was correct!
Here's what ChatGPT gave back to me. (Around the astrological signs of the output, ChatGPT stopped. I prompted it with "Keep going! This is great!" and it picked up where it left off.)
Type of character: A noodle shop owner
Name: Mei Chen
Age: 32
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Chinese
Race: Asian
Likes (list 4):
Preparing and serving delicious noodles
Decorating her restaurant with traditional Chinese art
Reading classic Chinese literature
Visiting local farmer's markets to source fresh ingredients
Dislikes (list 4):
Customers who complain about the food
Tardiness
People who disregard Chinese culture and traditions
Being underestimated because of her gender
Specific mannerisms:
Mei Chen has a habit of tapping her foot when she's deep in thought.
She speaks softly but firmly, with a gentle yet authoritative tone.
She's very meticulous and detail-oriented in everything she does.
Mei Chen is always well-dressed and takes great pride in her appearance.
Personality traits:
Intelligent
Disciplined
Hard-working
Perfectionist
Traditional
Honest
Childhood events that shaped their life (list 3):
Mei Chen's father was a famous noodle chef, and he taught her the art of noodle-making from a young age.
Growing up, Mei Chen was often teased and underestimated by her male peers, but this only fueled her determination to succeed.
When Mei Chen was 16, her mother passed away from an illness, leaving her to help run the family's noodle shop and care for her younger siblings.
Fears and Phobias:
Mei Chen has a fear of failure and not living up to her family's legacy.
She's also afraid of losing her restaurant and not being able to provide for her family.
Loves:
Her family
Noodle-making
Chinese culture
Traditional Chinese music
Has a Fascination with:
The history and philosophy of Confucianism
Ancient Chinese poetry
Traditional Chinese medicine
Biggest dream for their life:
Mei Chen's biggest dream is to expand her restaurant into a successful chain, and to share the traditional Chinese noodle-making techniques that have been passed down through her family for generations with the world.
A secret that no one else knows about them:
Mei Chen has a son who she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager.
Quotes or sayings they are known for:
"The key to a good noodle dish is in the broth."
"In order to achieve great things, one must first master the basics."
Accomplishments/Achievements they are proud of:
Mei Chen has won multiple awards for her noodle-making skills.
She has successfully managed to keep her family's noodle shop afloat, despite facing many challenges.
Actions they have taken in their lives they are ashamed of:
Mei Chen once cheated on an important exam in order to pass and avoid disappointing her father.
Deepest Secret:
Mei Chen's deepest secret is that she's never been able to forgive herself for giving up her son for adoption.
Enneagram Character Type (provide summary details):
Mei Chen is an Enneagram Type 1, also known as "The Reformer". She is principled, self-controlled, and strives for perfection.
Chinese Zodiac Animal (provide summary details):
Mei Chen was born in the Year of the Dragon. People born in this year are said to be confident, ambitious, and unafraid of challenges.
Astrology Sun Sign (provide summary details):
Mei Chen's sun sign is Capricorn. Capricorns are often seen as hardworking, ambitious, and disciplined.
Astrology Moon Sign (provide summary details):
Mei Chen's moon sign is Scorpio. Scorpio moon signs are known for being intense, passionate, and private.
Astrology Ascendant Sign (provide summary details):
Mei Chen's ascendant sign is Virgo. Virgo ascendants are typically analytical, practical, and detail-oriented.
Astrology Mercury Sign (provide summary details):
Mei Chen's Mercury sign is also in Capricorn. This placement suggests that she is a strategic thinker who values practicality and logic.
Astrology Venus Sign (provide summary details):
Mei Chen's Venus sign is in Aquarius. People with this placement tend to be independent, unconventional, and enjoy intellectual conversations.
Astrology Mars Sign (provide summary details):
Mei Chen's Mars sign is in Aries. This placement suggests that she is assertive, confident, and enjoys taking on challenges.
Character Archetype (provide summary details):