Designing characters

I was re-reading Elizabeth George's classic how-to book Write Away yesterday, and I came across the concept of designing characters.  I like that description.  I think it tells us something about the process that goes on when we bring a character into being.

Where do we start with the process of designing a character?  With choosing the name.  Names define characters, and I couldn't write about one without knowing what they were called.  Nicknames are useful too, often they hint at the nature of the person.

Names can tell the reader about the character's social class, ethnic and religious background, and geographical location.  Names need to be chosen carefully, for they affect how readers feel about characters.  Think of JK Rowling's Harry Potter books and the Hogwarts house names.  Someone in Slytherin house just has to be a snake.

Designing how our characters talk is another major way to show who they are.  Do they speak formally, or use a lot of slang, or are they always joking?  How characters speak can also show how educated they are - or not. 

Although we won't use most of it in our work, we need to know our characters' back stories.  Have they experienced tragic events in their lives?  What bad luck have they encountered?  What life-changing events have they experienced? Did someone they trusted let them down badly?  These events will shape their beliefs about the world and affect their motivations.  

Designing characters before we start to write about them makes them seem like old familiar friends, and helps us to introduce them to the reader as old friends too.