TECH: How do you "get into" your characters?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original Posting 16 Feb 2011

Over here http://www.sfnovelists.com/2011/02/15/simple-writing-tricks/ S. C.
Butler talks about the way that some writers develop extensive background biographies for their characters, filling out character sheets, writing up interviews, and such, before they start work on the stories. He suggests that he has found a single-word summary such as Dogged, Devious, and Greedy also works pretty well.

(anyone remember Everyman and the morality plays? Well, maybe not. Anyway...)

He suggests that this is kind of a shortcut (or shorthand) for motivation. It might also be a way of summarizing where they are on their character arc?

What do you think? When you start a short story, or perhaps a novel, how do you "get into" the characters? Do you have a mental or real picture of them? Descriptions, character sheets, or something else? Do you start out with a well-defined cast of characters or does it develop while writing?

Does your character description change while you are writing?

I have to admit, I tend to have a mental sketch or picture, but often not much more. Names... I usually come up with those beforehand, but sometimes end up adjusting them while writing. I tend to the pantser side of the house, even though I appreciate all the guidelines and worksheets around...