I'm pretty sure creating book characters was not the 'hot water' Eleanor Roosevelt meant, but it's one of my favorite things about writing, and also one of the most difficult. 

That's when I pull out one of my favorite tools, the phone book. 

People are innately interesting, and no more so than when you see a name, and can immediately visualize what that person is all about. That happened to me after finding the name, Mrs. Loretta Cunningham.

I've been working on Copper's story for a while, and although I knew the setting (1960's Alabama), and her family pretty well by now, I didn't want her to reside inside a small, safe bubble. She has way too much personality for that. She needs to explore the town and run into people. 

The first line of the chapter came to me immediately. 

"You can learn a lot about life standing in line at the Piggly Wiggly." 

But what kind of life lesson's can be learned at a grocery store? Enter Mrs. Loretta Cunningham who arrived on the scene with sass and full command of herself. I immediately wanted to know more. What would make her so different from anyone else? 

"I’d seen it quite a few times now, and it never ceased to entertain me. You see, while most folks walked into the Piggly Wiggly, took a right down the vegetable aisle, then headed on over to the dry goods, finally ending up in the meat section before getting in line, Mrs. Loretta Cunningham’s version of grocery shopping had been reduced to its simplest form."

When you are in the writing zone, and a character starts creating themselves as if they are sitting right next to you over a cup of tea -- that is when the magic happens. But what I have noticed about character development is that it doesn't happen when your mind is racing with all the other things you should be doing. It only happens when you've given yourself (and the character looking to be born) permission to sit down, take a breath, and have a cup of tea together. 

So, whatever your mode of creation, I encourage you to take the time for it and you. It might well be your favorite part of the day.