L.A. Garnett – Author

My method for writing characters boils down to one thing: just start writing. Often I start with a basic name—Jane, for example—and then I build it out from there. If the plot demands an age, I specify it early; if it doesn’t, that ends up being one of the later details. For The Spiraling, Tamora needed to be relatively middle-aged, as far as the Azha people go. As they live hundreds of years, this allowed me a bit of wiggle room before I settled on a final timeline.

As a general rule of thumb, I try to have the following ideas when I start a new outline or draft:

1. Gender
2. Rough age
3. Identifying physical traits
4. Why are they here?

As far as a first draft goes, this covers all the basics! If they are a vampire—identifying physical trait. Are they an assassin? That factors into why they are involved in the story, to some extent. The fun thing about writing is that you only include what matters, so therefore anything you include matters. This lets me play around with tropes and the minor details so that I can start fleshing out a new character.

Once I need something more than these four categories, that’s when I try to go through a more itemized formal process. The fifteen questions I use for this are below—I’d love to hear your thoughts!

1. Do they have any nicknames?
2. What does their family look like?
3. What are their bad habits?
4. Are they introverted or extroverted?
5. How many people can they call close friends?
6. Would they change anything about themselves?
7. Do they like animals?
8. Were they nurtured or neglected as a child?
9. Have they been in love?
10. What is their socioeconomic status?
11. Do they have a natural talent?
12. What are their religious views, and are they superstitious?
13. Describe their home—is it cluttered, or tidy? Small, or spacious?
14. What is their greatest regret?
15. What is their idea of happiness, or their own happy ending?

Naturally, this is very writing specific. I’d love to hear what process artists use to develop an original character, and if they consider some of the same things!