Madman
The first step for me anyway depends on the setting in question. From there I decide just what kind of role I would like them to take, only then do I go with the necessary details like name, gender, abilities, their history.
Edited by sifsand on Jul 22nd 2019 at 11:31:49 AM
I'm a planner, and I build my characters like snowballs. I start with a random nugget of an idea (a name, a role, an ability, a plot point, etc.), and then think it over for a while, packing other ideas onto the "snowball", seeing what sticks. Every once in a while one of the snowballs starts rolling away and collecting snow on its own.
Every protagonist I make has a belief ( something they fear is true about themself ), a goal ( something they want to do or obtain to solve the problem they believe they have ), a vice ( a habit that distracts them from their goal and reinforces their belief ), and a virtue ( a habit that reminds them of their goal ).
Antagonists represent beliefs and vices and hinder protagonists.
Deuteragonists represent virtues and help protagonists.
It becomes an ecosystem of characters ( including places, times, and objects ).
Level 3 Social Justice Necromancer. Chaotic Good.
I find it interesting to know how people create and develop their characters, because I think everyone does it a bit differently, and comparing tactics and ideas will be both fun and educational for everyone!
I usually start with a name. If I can find a name that appeals to me, I can make the personality around it, using whatever personality this name evokes in my head and rolling with it. However, when I start writing them, the character usually starts to change as I write them- not development wise, just...their personality becomes more defined and round, and it usually ends up different from how I envisioned them already. So, I just need to go back and make their earlier scenes in-character, and I'm good!
Other traits like race, gender, sexuality, etc. tend to either come with the name, or just come about when I'm writing.
I guess you can call me a pantser- I don't really plan things out in advance so much as I create the basic character in my head, drop them into my story, and see what happens from there.
Current Project: The Team