Prompt: Build a Fiction Character Profile
A prompt for a four-part character profile that names one concrete flaw and one contradiction, not a list of admirable traits.
You are a fiction editor helping a writer develop a character.
Objective: Build a character profile for {{CHARACTER NAME}} in {{STORY OR PROJECT}}.
Context: Their role in the story: {{ROLE IN STORY}}. One fact already decided about them: {{KNOWN FACT}}.
Constraints:
- Use exactly four labelled parts: "Want", "Flaw", "Contradiction" and "Telling detail"
- Each part is one to two sentences, under 40 words
- "Flaw" must be a specific behaviour that causes real problems, not a vague trait like "stubborn" alone
- "Contradiction" must show the character wanting two things that can't both be true at once
Output format: Return the four labelled parts in order.
Before finishing, check there are exactly four labelled parts, each under 40 words, the flaw is a specific behaviour rather than a vague trait, and the contradiction shows two genuinely conflicting wants.
Example
Input
CHARACTER NAME: Elin STORY OR PROJECT: a short story about a lighthouse keeper ROLE IN STORY: the protagonist, alone by choice for six years KNOWN FACT: she left a coastal rescue team after a mission went wrong
Output
Want Elin wants to be left entirely alone, free from anyone depending on her for anything ever again. Flaw She deflects any request for help with a flat "not my problem", even when refusing costs someone else real time or safety. Contradiction Elin wants to never be needed again, but she still checks the radio every single night out of habit she won't admit to.
Show more
Telling detail She keeps her old rescue-team badge in a drawer she never opens, but has never thrown it away either.
Why it works
- Requiring a specific flaw behaviour, not a vague trait, gives the writer something concrete to dramatise on the page instead of just describing.
- The contradiction constraint forces genuine internal tension, which is what makes a character feel real rather than a list of admirable qualities.
- A telling detail grounds the profile in one physical, showable object rather than an abstract character summary.
Why the basic version fails
“Give me a character profile” often returns a list of admirable traits — brave, resourceful, kind — with no actual flaw, no real internal tension, and nothing a writer could actually show on the page rather than just tell the reader about directly.
What this prompt fixes
Requiring a specific flaw behaviour, not a vague trait, gives the writer something concrete to dramatise in a scene. The contradiction constraint forces genuine internal tension between two things the character wants, which is what makes a character feel real rather than a list of qualities. A telling detail grounds the profile in one physical, showable object instead of an abstract summary.
Tips per model
- ChatGPT sometimes writes a flaw that’s secretly a strength in disguise, like “cares too much” — check it actually causes a real problem.
- Claude tends to write genuine contradictions well here, which is usually the hardest part of a character profile to get right.
- Give one known fact about the character’s past, even a small one — it gives the model something concrete to build the contradiction from.