On the Second Day of NaNo Prep my Novel Gave to Me...

Hey all!  So today, I won't be rambling on and on about why you should join NaNoWriMo, I'll just get straight to the point.

On the Second Day of NaNo Prep my Novel gave to me… my Main Character.

I feel like character and plot play off of each other, and it doesn't particularly matter which on you start with, except for preferences.  If you start with plot, you end up with morphing your character around your plot, and if you start with plot, the character shapes the plot.  I personally prefer the latter, so I start with character.
So there are a few things you should know about your character before you write them, for instance, their gender.  That's slightly (not slightly, it's really a lot) important.  Let's go over a few!
1. Their Name.  Okay, so actually, I have heard of someone who has began their book without a name, but I feel like even a name adds conflict, and personality.  Why do you need these for your first draft?  Well, actually, I'm not sure you do.  But preparation for your first draft in ways like this lets you edit easier later on.
2.  Their gender.  Yes.  This is important.  Boy or girl, it matters.  I am not really sure if you can bypass this, but either way, I wouldn't.  It's a bit of easy prep (It should not take you hours to decide whether or not your MC is a gal or guy) that is pointless to bypass.
3.  Their favorite color.  Okay, this probably does seem a bit excessive, but I have heard multiple quotes about knowing much more about your character makes them feel more real because they actually have their own opinions and thoughts backing them, even though they may not show it.  You know I'm opinionated when I state my view on the Civil War with as much passion as I am wont to do, but you won't know my favorite color, my political position, my favorite book, or anything like that, unless I tell you.  However, even though I don't tell you what they are, you still (should.  I promise I'm not cardboard) get this sense or knowledge that I have a favorite color, political position, and a favorite book.  The same goes for a fiction character, because we're trying to help the reader trick their minds into thinking they're not reading fiction, but instead, living in fantasy.  The characters should have things like a favorite color (among other favorites [my friends will tell you that this is my favorite introductory question.  What is your favorite everything]).  Again, this you could probably skip, but knowing the most about your character before sending them into their story is better, because weaving personality into an already woven work is a lot harder than weaving it as you weave the work.
4.  What they look like.  I'm sorry, yes I did say things you need to know earlier, but I actually do consider these all necessary when I make characters.  I'll go on Pinterest and find who looks like them, then I'll save that mental image in my head, as well as to my board.  Why do this?  Because as your readers read, they don't hear the name, they see the face.  Our brains remember things so much better when we have a mental image of it.  If you, as the writer, don't see their face every time you type their name, picturing how they act in the scene, then you probably don't know what they look like enough to keep that mental image in your head, which means the readers don't either, which means they're probably seeing a blur when they think of the character, which ruins the illusion that they're in a real place.  This can be edited in later, but again, it's so much harder to put it in later, because it's part of the character's fabric of reality.
5. Their MBTI (optional).  See, this time I put optional down.  But I do highly recommend it.  Knowing their MBTI is very helpful in creating a cast for your character so they don't occasionally slip out of character and shake the reality of the book.  (I believe I've said it before, but I'll do so again, I don't believe that using whatever site you're using says you are [i.e. INFP] as a cast for you.  You can be whatever you want to be, as long as you're not being fake, but characters are a different thing because in reality, they are fake things pretending to be real, and in the long run, you decide what they do, not them.)

So I like to take all the information I deem necessary and I like to spill it out onto a single page.  I'll give you an example of one of my character sheets (I make them even if they don't have a book they belong to.)

SAGE OWENS- ENTJ
Female; 22; Ginger hair; Pale skin; British; Freckles; 5'5; 120lbs (Yes, I know the Brits use a different measuring system for weight); ...  Despite her TJ (Of the ENTJ) part of appearing evil, she's actually a good girl at heart, and always endeavors to see things from other people's perspective, even though she mostly fails.  She's very smart, though she never planned on following her parents' plan of several doctorates.  Instead, she simply decided on a doctorate in engineering...She hasn't got time for relationships, since her parents siphon money off her like a blood bat, but she secretly hopes that one day a tolerable man would come along.  ...  She doesn't make jokes often, but when she does, you'd probably miss them.  Emerald eyes; thin upper lip, thick bottom; round face; long legs, short torso; delicate skin.  She's allergic to dairy, and doesn't like it anyways.  She adores flowers, but doesn't tell anyone that.  Born February second.

So why did I give you half my info load on one of my characters?  As an example.  When she is in a book, you will probably never know she loves flowers, or is allergic to dairy.  So why in the world is it there?  Because it adds to her, giving her a richness she wouldn't have if I simply put:

SAGE OWENS
Female; 22; Ginger hair; Pale skin; British; Freckles; 5'5; 120lbs (Yes, I know the Brits use a different measuring system for weight);  Emerald eyes; thin upper lip, thick bottom; round face; long legs, short torso; delicate skin.

One feels more real, doesn't it?  Writing the latter Sage Owens would be hard because I wouldn't know her.  Writing the former would be much easier, having spent time with her.

So what are your thoughts?  Do you like to think of plot or character first?  How do you get to know your characters?  Let me know in the comments!

Viola June HFA-DGN