Step 1: Write 5 background and concept elements that you feel are important to your image of the character. These can be a concept overview, a list of important life events, a physical description, a personality profile...whatever you need to get an image in your mind.
1: She's tall, (5'11"), lithe and snarky. The snark is basically her standard way of dealing with people, but she's actually far more sensitive than she lets on.
2: Her dad taught her everything he knew about thieving, but he was more CE than CN so she was told, at several points, that if she wasn't able to keep up she was better off dead. She got the heck out asap.
3: She crashes in various locations, but one of her more frequent hangouts was the House of Satin Veils. Its closing upset her, as she felt welcome there and she can understand the twin ideas of revenge and wanting to bury her face in someone's chest.
4: The idea of killing someone herself makes her feel a bit queasy inside. She's not sure she has what it takes to end a life.
5: She's insecure to the point of being a little neurotic about it. She talks herself up constantly and reminds everyone of how awesome she totally is, but she does it because she thinks she's a waste of space.
Step 2: List at least two goals for the character.
1: Her primary goal is 'become successful,' since she lacks a lot of self-worth and really has a thirst to prove her life isn't some dead-end mistake.
2: My goal primary for her character arc is to get her to trust people and work as a team with them. She's selfish to a fault and needs to grow beyond that.
Step 3: List at least two secrets about your character. One is a secret the character knows, one is a secret that involves her but that she is not actually aware of yet.
1: A closet romantic. She is super into the classical knight and princess thing, only she wants to be the knight.
2: One time she accidentally committed treason by helping a seditious person out by showing her a good place to hide while she was on the run. She still has no clue exactly what was going on at the time, she just thought the girl was cute and wanted to help.
Step 4: Describe at least three people that are tied to the character. Two of them are friendly to the character, one is hostile.
1: Nora Dorso - Local curio shop owner. Mira sells her various odds and ends that she happens to find when she's picking pockets or breaking into homes. Mira appreciates that she doesn't ask questions, and her warm friendly demeanor.
2: Angello Felix - Owner of The Gentle Sting, a tavern in Jarvis End and Mira's favorite dive bar when she wants to drink. She maintains that is ale is better-tasting than anyone else's in town.
3: Drus Longustus - Mira's father and a freelance murderer. He specializes in breaking and entry, stealing, and quietly dispatching of people who someone doesn't like. He thinks she's an abject failure, she thinks he's a total bastard--needless to say, they don't talk much.
Step 5: Describe three memories, mannerisms, or quirks that your character has.
1: When she's feeling insecure or unsure, she starts ending her sentences with 'right?' This is because she's trying to subtly make people agree with her so that she feels her opinion is validated.
2: She enjoys sitting in high places and looking up at the sky, and says it helps her think.
3: Believes that heavy rain always means someone somewhere is having the worst day of her life. When it happens, she's always thankful it isn't her that the rain is 'for.'
