Thanks for all of the great ideas about Olivia’s background. I’m still mulling over the suggestions and will let you know when I come up with her character sketch.

A lot of you have suggested getting to know the characters better would interest you so thanks for that feedback.

One thing I’ve learned when starting a new novel or new series is that I really do need to know the characters before I start writing about them. Some authors give their characters the Myer’s Brigg personality test. I don’t do this. I tend to get to know my characters over time, just like I would any other friend or person that I hung out with for several months. Bits and pieces of their personalities come through as I write the story. Sometimes that means going back and rewriting some of the beginning to make sure the character STAYS in character, but not often. Why? Because I think the reader likes to get to know the characters in much the same way that I do. As the story progresses. Sure, I want my readers to LIKE the characters right off the bat, but getting to know someone takes time. 🙂

Here’s what I tend to know (mostly) when I start writing Chapter one:

Name
Age
Physical description (find a picture on the internet to match)
City and State living in now
City and State he/she grew up in
Any past love interests
Married/divorced/never married
Do H/H know each other before the story begins?
Family – brothers, sisters, mother, father, step family?
Any previous crises
Current occupation
Previous occupations
Any special skills/training
Education level
Hobbies/interests
Personality – laid back? Stressed out? Intense? Focused? ADD? Bubbly? Brooding?
Sense of humor – dry? Sarcastic? Cutting? lacking?
Greatest fear/weakness
Internal conflict
External conflict
Kind of car he/she drives
Motivation in the story
Goals – what does this person want to accomplish by the end of the story
Best friends?

These are just a few of the things I like to know. Sometimes those things morph and develop as I write the story. Why? Because real people change according to things that happen their lives. Characters should too. And just because it’s fiction doesn’t mean the good guys always have to make good decisions. Good people in real life make wrong decisions sometimes. In fiction, though, your character/s (especially the main ones) should learn from those bad/wrong decisions and grow from it. It would be nice if ALL people in real life did the same!

So…as soon as I know a little more about Olivia, I’ll post her character sketch. Thanks so much for your input!