How much of a character do you understand before you start?

A reader question (have forgotten who it was, though, so can't credit):

How much about your characters (if you can, use examples) do you know/understand before you start writing?


It depends on the character.

Some characters I know right from the start; I understand them bone deep.

Many but not all of my male leads, like Ilya, Sanglant, and Anji, I simply internalized from the beginning and I felt that even in early drafts I mostly got their actions and reactions right. I note them because while...
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Published on July 20, 2010 08:08
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