Giving those Characters Depth

I love starting a new book and that's what I'm doing just now. I'm starting a new romance provisionally titled That Kiss in Egypt. But don't get the wrong idea about the goings on during my writers residency in Egypt last year- there was no kissing- the entire story is one that originated in my mind. But I am using my time there and my recent trip to London to assist with my setting. My main characters meet in El Gouna but live in London, I even have my main lady, Kendra, working at The Royal Opera House which was just opposite my hotel in London.

When I start a book I always start with character bibles and my plot map. I want to get my characters solidly in my mind before I start writing or it will lead to lengthy rewrites when they decide to become vegetarians half way through the book or they suddenly pull out their 10 year old son. I want to know these people before we spend the next months together.

Sometimes writing down who they are is not enough. This morning before I started writing I was thinking about my characters. I realised I knew my man, Asra, but Kendra was not clear. I couldn't see her. If she passed me on the street I might not even know her.

This is when I need to go searching. I look in magazines, sometimes on line to try and find Kendra. Sometimes she can't be found in one whole. Sometimes you need to see her bits and pieces in a few photos. And that's what happened to me this morning. So this is what I got, here is my Kendra. Now we can get on with things.