When I outline my stories (short fiction and novels), I outline my characters but without going into each and every detail.  I don't write a character biography (though I can see the point, it can be a useful start) but I have to have the character's major trait as my starting point.  In the case of my rebellious fairy godmother, Eileen, her major trait is stubbornness combined with courage/honour.  So she lands herself right in it but is also brave and upright.  I think it's a good combination.  Knowing what their major trait(s) is/are then helps me to give them a physical presence on the page.  I've got to know what their driving force is first.

But I've found as I've written more stories, my characters can surprise me.  I realise as I'm writing that Character Z would do this, rather than that, and then stop to think about exactly why this is.  I also don't think it is  possible to know everything about your character right from the start.  I think the whole point of the first draft (and often the second one too) is to find out if you really do know what the story is and to discover just what your characters are made of. 

I love that voyage of discovery because to date I've found that yes, my outline was right but there was more to Character Z than I initially thought and I use that discovery in my editing to deepen my character portrayals as I'm now writing about that character with more knowledge than I had at the outset.  I do not think the character biography would bypass this process.  It would only help me to get to describing their physical presence a bit quicker and I believe that is not the most important thing about them.  I see my way of doing things here as having the bones first (the character trait) and then fleshing them out with the physical presence, their way of speaking and so on. And all I can say is it works for me.

I also think you need to put your characters into your story so they are in "action" rather than just have them on a biography (which is inevitably a static bit of writing).  Only seeing them in "action" reveals what they are truly like but it is such fun finding this out and I really love this aspect of writing.  Hope you do too.

I know I have a tendency to overwrite, whether I'm working on short stories or novels, but I don't worry about this.  It's what the editing side of writing is for - to get rid of all that is not necessary.

One advantage to writing flash fiction is, by definition, you have to keep it short.  There is no room for any waffle and it really does help focus the story.  Flash fiction can be huge fun to write and I must admit I bless Scrivener's project targets as I can watch the bar graph change colour as I get nearer and then achieve my word count.  I know it sounds silly but that traffic light colour change from red to amber to green really does keep me writing until I reach my target (which of course is the idea). 

I haven't tried this yet (though I plan to at some point) but given a flash piece really has to be to the point, it in turn could be a useful starting point for a longer short story and, I suppose, eventually a novel too.  I'm writing more flash fiction and find it a fun challenge to keep myself to a very low word count.  I like 100 words flash pieces in particular (some I've written have appeared on Cafelit).  The link takes you to one of my more recent published pieces.  Hope you like it.

Enjoyed a wonderful evening meal out to celebrate a family event.  What would characters do in your fictional world to celebrate?  What form would meals/restaurants/cafes take?

What strange foods exist on your fictional world (though of course these wouldn't be strange to your characters)?  What styles of cooking predominate?  Can all cook? 

Do your characters use magic in food preparation/cooking or are there machines?  Just what is eaten on the world you've set up (and is there a class difference here)?

What is the preferred drink(s) for most?  Are there food shortages anywhere? Of course the meal can be a good scene in a story/book where vital information is passed on, a changing (for the character) incident occurs and so on.

I'm deliberately not including anti-heroes here.  I wanted to focus on the majority type of characters most writers will feature in their works.

1. Courage.  Courage to face the situations you put them in, courage to face enemies, courage to face up to their own weaknesses and courage to get help to try to overome those.  Villains can show courage too, particularly courage in battle.
   
2. An Open Mind.  Ideally the character should already be friends with many from different groups in the world you've set your story, perhaps even be a trailblazer for improving relationships between species.
   
3. Flexibility.  Especially the flexibility to admit when they've got it wrong.  From my experience, characters who do this are the ones who are flexible enough to change their minds in good enough time to get out of harm's way. 
   
4. Faithfulness.  To their principles, chiefly.  In the case of villains I'd expect them to show some faithfullness to their cause (though naturally they will betray all those who try to help). 
   
5. Kindness, especially in the way they treat others.  Naturally this ruling doesn't applyto villains.  Their idea of kindness is to flog someone slowly!
   

As well as interviewing your characters, a good tip I've found useful is to ask myself questions when I'm editing. 

I ask myself questions about the structure of the story I've written (is there a structure, is it strong enough to take the plot created and so on).   I ask myself how I would react to the story if I was buying it (in a magazine or a book, online or in print)?  I also ask myself if I would buy the tale if someone else had written it this way?

I check for the sense of the story, spelling, grammar and so on.  I also ask myself if there was anything I could have left out, anything else I need to add in?  And it is at that point I start getting my story out there!

How your characters react to being questioned can also be insightful.  And who plays the role of inquistor here?  Is their role accepted or resented?

My current Chandler's Ford Today post is called Away Days:  Salisbury, which sums up what the post is about nicely!  I love getting out and about on our local train service and Salisbury is just one of many places I can get to easily from our shuttle.

Tourism is, of course, a major employer/money earner in the UK and ranges in scale from day trips to lengthy holidays here.  This led me to wonder what would your characters in your stories do when they wanted a break from the routine.  What form does tourism take in your fictional world?  Is it a case of most people never travelling anywhere (so strangers in town really do stand out)? Or does your world encourage people to visit other places (to colonise, to encourage good relations between different species or because it too wants to earn money?!).

How do your characters earn money from tourism?  Do others, not directly involved with the industry, resent visitors or welcome them?  And where magic is involved, how does that affect the tourist trade (it could be based around magical artefacts and places to visit for one thing)?