Character creation is a very important process for me and I tend to make it relatively more complicated then I think most do. However it's important to me that the characters I write for feel real, hold substance and significance. I want there to be a reason for them to push on through life.
I have just recently started a new character, it's been a long time since I've created a new character from scratch and now I get to partake on the adventure of fleshing her out and learning more about who she is.
I always start out with the basics, physical appearance, a key factor that is special to them, something significant that they struggle with, and a very brief history to their childhood in some form or fashion.
With this new character I had to ponder upon her for about half a day before I could try and write anything for her. Then I had to write and as I did more details came to me as she started to come to life. The most important part I think for me is that I have to be willing to wait and pay attention to what 'feels' right.
At first for Layla all I had was that she had Cherokee heritage that showed in her physical appearance. She would stand 5'1" in height, have a lean and well toned body to show she was active and did some sort of job requiring labor. She was raised by her grandmother from an early age, her parents died when she was young. Her special thing for herself was that she could play the violin very well.
That was all I had to start with when I first started to write. From there it expanded further as I started to write and describe her in a scene of waking up in the morning. There was inspiration from the introduction post my friend wrote for the beginning of this story. The scene had been set, she was in a house that secretly had been fitted with cameras all around, her every move watched unknown to her.
She had gained the interest of someone and it may or may not have lead to how she had just come to move in to the house she was in. So I was aware she just came across a major change in her life that sparked the need to move into a new place. I knew that the other character was a collector type or someone who focused on extraordinary individuals. Being able to play the violin well but not seeking employment in it was one aspect but I felt there was another element that would really make this all the more special not just for her but for any who may spectate upon her talent.
It took me a while to narrow down what it was, I knew it was there as I was writing and seeing what was coming out with her quiet demeanor. I had learned she was a klutz with unfamiliar things when she fell out of her bed to answer the alarm of her phone, I had learned she was confident in her own body and attire with how she dressed for bed. I learned she was neat as she made her bed when she got up. I learned she had put off unpacking for the two weeks she had lived there because it was to painful. I learned she had recently lost her grandmother and it was what brought her to this moment in time.
Finally though as I wrote and took in what she would have seen, touched, smelled, heard.....That was when I learned she was actually deaf. This really seemed to be a core element one would assume known from the start but for me and my characters it's like I'm on the outside looking in. To me they are their own people, and I have to learn who they are.
Perhaps it's simply because of how imaginative I am, or the fact I wonder if perhaps those of us who create stories and ideas, are we actually creating or are we capable of seeing into alternate realities that exist and meet people who live within them. What if that's what we are in our own lives, simply words on paper brought to life by something else's imagination, or is there someone else peeking in at us to write their own stories?
So this is in it's own regard the biggest part I think for how I go about my characters. I don't just go 'what would be interesting' and start with a basic outline of a character. But I focus on what naturally develops as I write for them and I leave the world open for possibilities. I suppose others may sit down and try and come up with a whole biography for a character before they will ever write for them. But for me it's different, I learn the past as we carry into the present and future together.
Looking back I will see and notice how there are so many elements from myself within my characters. Be them literal or metaphorical. Some characters will have specific things that are obviously taken from my own past and weaved into them, while others it takes a moment to see where those connections are actually made. These all happen within a subconscious level for me, it's never a conscious effort to which I write or what may hold significance for them.
I rambled here but yeah, there's some insight to my creating characters.