I think I'm putting too much detail in.

I've been working diligently on this profile for an OC of mine - and it's pushing four pages. Four pages! I feel incredibly nerdy, and I realize that a lot of the space may be taken up by the list format I'm [s]raping[/s] using, but it doesn't help. It really doesn't. xD;

What's the longest profile you've written - if you write them - and what do you consider excessive information?

[If this is in the wrong thread, feel free to move it. Ohgod.]

Hi Eddykins, I'm peanut. I can tell you're new here so welcome to YWS. This is the right forums so don't worry. When you are writing, it's important to get to know your characters, get inside their heads. Four pages is a lot but it will help you when you are writing because you will know how your character reacts to certain things.

PM me if you have any questions.
~peanut~

peanut19 wrote:Hi Eddykins, I'm peanut. I can tell you're new here so welcome to YWS. This is the right forums so don't worry. When you are writing, it's important to get to know your characters, get inside their heads. Four pages is a lot but it will help you when you are writing because you will know how your character reacts to certain things.

PM me if you have any questions.
~peanut~

Thank you.

Yeah, this profile really isn't just for me to use, but also for my friend, since this is a collaborative work, so he'd need as much information as I can give; and it helps me collect everything I've figured out about this OC and keep it organized.

I should stop worrying about it. xD

When it comes to characters, you really can't have too much information. If I were to write out everything for my MC, it would probably take up a good portion of my notebook.

The trick is not forcing yourself to put every, single detail into your prose. It's like in the Character Answer Game thread on YWS (found under Writing Activities). Some questions will never show up in your plot and wouldn't fit in a million years, but they let you get inside your character's head. If you put too much detail about your characters in, then it'll probably push readers away.

So, make the profile as detailed as you want, just don't try to force all that stuff into your book.

~Rosey

I tried profile things, for me they really didnt help. Then ofcourse I am carrying every single detail of every single one of my characters in my head, which can cause problems when I want to sort through it all.
My friend on the other hand has a 5 page profile for her MC, and I think a 3 page average for the rest. So really you're not the nerdy.

Guess it just depends on the person.

Rosey's right. You can't know too little about a character. Real, breathing characters are like people. They have quirks, complexes, likes and dislikes, secrets and habits.

But she's also right about how you can't really put in every itty bitty little detail into your story.

Here's a good metaphor. A character is like a tree. During the story, the readers and the other characters see the branches, trunk and leaves. But only you, Miss Author, know the roots.

Personally I've been working my butt off on one world. I've got 3 page profiles of all the Gods, 1 page for each religion, and am working on the last 2 of 5 3 page Character Profiles. I know there will be more of those profiles. I have a certain formula, one page basic, one page detailing before *insert crucial point here* and one page detailing after that point.

You can have a profile as long as you like-just make sure you don't spend the rest of your life worldbuilding and character building-make sure you actually write the novels they belong in.