As a writer, do you often find yourself projecting your own traits onto your characters?

I don’t think traits so much, I don’t insert myself in that way into stories. I feel if the author is invisible, that’s a better experience for the reader. It always seems hugely egotistical to me, although I suppose some authors make their stories about themselves for reasons other than ego, such as therapeutic self-exploration. But that’s really not who I am as a storyteller, I think.

But a case could be made that my beliefs show up in characters, certainly. I think that’s hard to avoid. I still like to write characters who don’t share my convictions at all, that’s a pleasure for me. But I know sometimes characters end up sharing knowledge that I myself have somehow managed to pick up through misfortune or providence.