I very much agree. Creating characters is an complex act of impersonation. One may be a straight rendition of someone I know, another may be a mix of several known persons, and still another may be a complete stranger. Some characters follow my orders, while others dictate to me. It’s a mixture of design and accident, and many acting performances are like that, too. The other analogy that often occurs to me is ventriloquism: you “throw” a voice and character into something inanimate, and it takes on a persona of its own. The important thing is not to plan too much; characters that rise from unconscious impulses are often the ones who are most memorable and lasting.
Amen!
I think there’s also a fine line we have to walk, too, between keeping the characters confined to our pre-conceived plot, and allowing them to take the story in new and interesting directions. There have been times when I’ve thought about exploring a story thread, only to realize, “Person X would never, ever do that.” Unless part of the plot is that the character changes during the course of the story, a character should always be true to himself or herself.
I also write back stories, especially for major characters. I make an outline of his or her life, sometimes as a simple chronology of major events, but more often as a prose essay of several thousand words. The story gives me a better feel for who this person was in his/her 20s, 30s, and so on. I also want to see that life in the context of larger events, like a war or a depression. This outline helps me to avoid anachronisms, it provides snatches of memory in flashback scenes, and it gives the character some independence.
One interesting character I found was in Dean Koontz Dragon Tears.
The character was a dog and he had me laughing so hard because he was very “doggish”
There’s always a bit of someone I know well in my characters. Sometimes a lot, sometimes so little that I don’t recognize it for a very long time. For my major characters, it is very useful to me to give them an astrological sign. It’s an easy way to keep track of their personality type. Then I have a better feeling for beliefs, emotions, and what they would or wouldn’t do.