Writing a personal description is an exercise in self-examination and self-reflection. Whether your purpose is to increase your facility at creating character descriptions for fiction or simply to take a long hard look at yourself, writing a personal reflection can be a challenging exercise. The key to writing a candid personal description is to promise yourself that the minute you have read over what you have written, you will trash the document. Once you make yourself that promise, you open the door for some real honesty.

Write a straightforward physical depiction of yourself.

Describe your personality. Consider such characteristics as your level of sociability, how outgoing or shy you are, how much individuality you transmit to others, how easily you are intimidated or embarrassed and how compassionate or selfish you are.

Devote a paragraph to your personal preferences. Go for the simple as well as the tough ideas; mention your fondness for green tea but also talk about what kinds of political candidates you admire. Talk about how you like to spend the weekend and how you examine your spirituality.

Write a couple of sentences describing your worries or fears. Explain how you feel these have come about and how you deal with them. Write about your three greatest strengths and any problematic weaknesses.

Craft a succinct statement that describes your values. Include what you believe to be your responsibilities and priorities in life. Make it clear what you feel you would fight for if it came to that. Write about how well you feel you live up to your values.