ANYWAYS, I've been poking around for in-depth character profile questionnaires, and I've found some really great ones. Here are some links that you should really follow.
http://www.squidoo.com/character-development-questions (this one is really long and in-depth. It helps to fill out all of the questions)
http://www.squidoo.com/CharacterProfiles (I pick and choose from this list. It's not as professional as the one above, but it gives you some cool things to think about. One thing I would recommend would be the "If I were a..." section. It really makes you think about your character in an abstract way, plus it's fun. I found it amusing to read the one pertaining to my character to my dad and then quiz him on my character's characteristics [wow, awkward phrase])
http://suspense.net/profile.htm (This is the first profile that I used. It's great for covering the basics, and it has an interview where the character responds with their own voice, which is incredibly helpful)
http://www.andyshack.com/2009/07/09/writing-characters-using-the-proust-questionnaire/ (This one gives you some traditional questions, but it's better to just paroose this and use it for inspiration. As the author says, it's dry and boring. The comments are useful, though)
With those handy links aside, I give you the MOST AMAZING CHARACTER PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE, compiled, written, and edited by me. It may resemble some of the profiles above, format wise, but it includes what I think was missing and excludes what I think is unimportant.
THE BASICS
First name:
Middle name:
Last name:
Nickname: If any.
Sex:
Age:
Birthday:
Birthplace:
Current residence/location: Where are they now?
Do they have an accent?: Bonus: does it mean something about them?
Ethnicity: What is their ethnic background?
Sexual orientation: Most questionnaires skip this question. I think it's important.
Gender orientation: Again, important but sadly skipped over.
Do they have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?:
Zodiac sign: I don't believe that the position of the stars when you are born has anything to do with personality, but it can give you some good ideas on traits for your character.
Chinese zodiac sign: I dunno, it's something good to know about your character.
APPEARANCE-how do they look? Be as descriptive as you can.
Height: approximately
Weight: approximately
Eyes: color, shape, are they close or wide set?
Hair: what color? What style? Is it greasy? Thin? Long? Short? Beehive?
Other facial details:
Skin tone: Are they Snooki orange? Dracula pale? Edward sparkly?
Body type: are they wiry? Athletic? Gangly? Thick?
Piercings?:
Tattoos?: Bonus: Do they mean anything about them?
How do they dress?: Bonus: Would they dress this way if all options were open to them?
Do they alter their appearance regularly?: With hair dye, makeup, etc.?
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being drop-dead gorgeous and 1 being hideously deformed, where are they?: You could also just say that they're physically attractive, fairly plain, or unattractive.
Do they have an accurate mental picture of themselves?: E.g. They think they're a 5 when they're actually a 9, or they think they're fat when they're not.
Do they have any scars? Where are they from?: Bonus: are they important in the plot?
Do they have any distinguishing features?: A mole, birthmark, whatever.
Other appearance details:
BACKSTORY-it's important for your character to have a backstory. After all, we must know where we came from to know where we are going.
Mother: Biologically? Socially?
Father:
Siblings?:
Step-parents/siblings?:
What was/is their education like? Specify what school or what type of school they went/go to.
What did/do they want to be when they grew/grow up?:
What do/did their parents want them to be?:
What is their earliest memory?: Bonus: does it say something about them or connect to the plot?
Do they have any children? If so, how many?: What are their names and their ages?
What is the most noteworthy thing they've done?: Bonus: To themselves? To people around them? Are they different things for different people?
What is the most embarrassing thing to happen to them?: Bonus: Has it affected the way they act today?
What is the most frightening thing to happen to them?: Bonus: Again, has it affected the way they act today?
What is their best memory?: The memory they would use to create a Patronus charm.
What is their worst memory?: The memory left after a run-in with Dementors.
RELATIONSHIPS-not just romantic ones, also friendships. It shows a lot about a person by what friends they have.
Do they have a significant other? What is their name?: Bonus: How long have they been together? Do their parents approve? Are they also a main character? Is their relationship important to the plot?
Do they have a best friend? What is their name?:
Any other friends?:
How is their relationship with their parents?: Is it tense? Is it loving? Is it distant?
Do they have a lot of romantic relationships? Serious, or short term?: Give examples. List them and say how long they lasted.
Do they fall in and out of love quickly, or do they tend to get stuck on a single person?:
Do strangers an acquaintances actually LIKE them when they meet them?:
Can they get people to do what they want them to? If so, how?:
What is their "social group"?: Are they a jock? A nerd? A prep? Emo, scene, outcast?
Do they like children? Do they want children of their own?:
Are they married? If so, to whom?: Bonus: Do they matter?
What's their temper like?: Bonus: Does it affect their relationships?
Who is their worst enemy? Do they even have a nemesis?: Bonus: Are they important to the plot?
Are they a leader or a follower?: Bonus: If they're a leader, what kind are they? A quiet leader, or a bold and brassy one?
Do they have any pets?: If so, what are their names and how old are they?
TASTES-what do they like? What do they dislike?
What is their favorite color?:
Favorite food?:
What kind of books do they like?: Bonus: What's their favorite book? What is their least favorite genre/book?
What kind of movies/TV shows do they like?: Bonus: What's their favorite movie? Favorite TV show? What is their least favorite genre/movie/TV show?
What is their favorite kind of music?: What is their favorite song? Favorite band? Bonus: Does it differ from what music they like to make, if they like to play music? Do they even LIKE music? What's their least favorite type of music/song?
Are they hedonistic? Or does practicality rarely/sometimes/often/always win out?:
Are they addicted to anything?: This can be anywhere from heroin to diet coke.
Do they drink coffee on a regular basis? What about tea? Soft drinks?:
What's their favorite ice cream flavor?:
Is there any store (it can be a restaurant or a café) that they frequent at?: Like how people have that one coffee shop that they just ALWAYS go to.
What do they do to amuse themselves when there is nothing around like print or technology?:
Other tastes that I missed?:
MORALS AND BELIEFS-this section focuses on what they believe is right or wrong.
Do their morals match up with the people/society around them?: I've never actually seen this question anywhere, although it's very important. This distinguishes a villain from a hero.
Religion: Bonus: Is religion an important part of their life? Do their beliefs manifest physically (ex. a kippah, a cross necklace, a burqa, etc.)? Is it different from their family's religion? Have they ever converted? By force or by choice?
Political association: Bonus: Is it different from their parents'?
Do they have an internal or external moral code?: Do they get their right and wrong from inside themselves, or from a book like the Bible, the Tanakh, the Quoran, etc.?
Do they value faith/instinct more highly than logic/reason?: Bonus: Is what they value different from what they often act upon (do they value logic but often act upon faith, vice versa)?
Do they have any specific non-religious beliefs that manifest obviously?: Are they vegetarian because they believe in animal rights, etc.?
Are they respectful of the beliefs of others? To what extent?: Bonus: Is there a time when they were disrespectful? Was it for a good reason?
Have they ever harassed someone because of their beliefs/differences?: Have they ever been racist? Have they yelled anti-gay slurs at someone? Have they ever beat someone up for these differences?
Have they ever been harassed by someone because of their beliefs/differences?: Bonus: Did these events shape this character in some way?
Would they be more likely to act for the good of many, or for the good of one?: Bonus: What if the "one" was someone they knew personally/loved? Would their answer change?
Are they glass-half-full or glass-half-empty?: Other options include: There's a glass? My glass is shattered on the floor. There is exactly one millimeter of water more than air. I MUST MEASURE THE GLASS! We're all going to die; accept that and drink whatever's left of your poisoned water.
If someone hit (physically or metaphorically) them, would they "hit" back or turn the other cheek?: Do they believe in "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" or do they believe in not sinking to their level?
Are they superstitious?: This can range from doing voodoo magic to ward off evil spirits to knocking on wood.
Is there anyone or anything they would die for?:
GENERAL KNOWLEDGE-what do they know about, not counting academics?
Can they navigate their local area alone without getting lost?: Bonus: What about Toledo (a maze-like castle town in Spain)? To what extent do their directional gifts/lack of gifts go to?
Are they politically knowledgable?: Bonus: In their own country? What about the rest of the world? Do they generally know conflicts going on in other places?
How are they with technology? Are they a code-monkey? Just average? Completely hopeless?: Bonus: Does this match up with their background (e.g. are they 60 years old and a computer whiz, 17 and completely hopeless [digital native or digital immigrant])?
Could they paint a house? WITHOUT making a complete mess of it?:
Could they back a cake? Would you eat the cake?: Would the cake eat you?
Do they know how to change the oil and water in a car? How about the tires?:
Do they know the price of a loaf of bread?:
Would they be able to successfully order food in another country of which they didn't speak the language? Would they waiter spit in their food?:
SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE-what do they know, academic wise?
Do they have any specific qualifications in a particular field?: Like a GED, AA, doctorate, etc?
Is there something that they would be considered a genius in?:
Do they have some sort of special talent?: This can be from wiggling your ears to memorizing 500,000 digits of Pi.
Do they actively seek knowledge, or just let is come naturally?:
Have they ever been bullied for knowing a lot about something?:
Does their cultural background effect what people think they know?: People may be surprised at a kid from a bad area of town setting the curve for his math class.
Have they ever been publicly acknowledged for being good at something?: Like an award or medal, ranging from a 3rd place ribbon at a track meet to a Nobel Prize.
WHAT IF...?-these questions explore a more abstract side of your character.
What if they had been born a different biological sex?: Bonus: Let's say that their gender orientation did not match with their biological sex. What would they do to cope?
What if they had another sibling? Would it matter if they were older or younger, brother or sister?:
Pick a key event in their history. What if it had gone differently? Where would they be today, in what situation?: Bonus: Would their life be changed for the better, or for the worse?
What if they lost a limb?: Bonus: Would it matter which limb?
What if they were betrayed by someone they loved?: Bonus: Would it be different for romantic love vs familial/friend love?
What if he lost a limb?: Bonus: Would the reaction depend on which limb?
Any other What If questions you want to answer?:
CHARACTER INTERVIEW
This is sadly left out of many profile sheets, but I think it's so necessary. You need to learn how to write in your character's voice, and what's better than an interview to help you along? These are pretty random questions because the main point of this exercise is the voice. These are all from http://www.squidoo.com/CharacterProfiles, but I weeded out what I thought were the best/most interesting. There are many, many more on there, though.
Who was your first crush, and when?:
If you could bring someone back from the dead, who would it be?:What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?:You run into someone from your past whom you hate. What do you do?:If you had to kill your best friend to help them, would you?: Like if they were a vampire and didn't want to be, got bitten by a zombie, became one of the Borg, etc.What is the one thing about society that aggravates you most?:What is your opinion on rabbits?:Do you believe in an ever-lasting love?:Do you have any hidden talents?:How would your best friend describe you?:If you encountered the Mirror of Erised from the Harry Potter series, what would you see?:What is the first thing you do when you wake up?:What is the last thing you do before you go to sleep?:If someone came and slaughtered your entire family, would you seek revenge, or turn to the path of peace and try to put it behind you?:What makes your easy or hard to get along with?:How do you take your tea?:If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?:What is your favorite weather?:
It's also helpful to have your character fill this out:
