I think of writing as a courtship with my characters. I often ask them questions out loud and, usually, after some wrangling, these personas will reveal themselves by page 40. By that point, if I don’t know their deepest desires and what they’ll regret most on their deathbed, I know I am in trouble, that I am missing my mark as a writer…

via Courting Your Characters: Subconscious Writing : Women Writers, Women’s Books