My friend, let’s call her Minnie, and I often have conversations about the characters in a series of books we both love.  We talk about these characters as if they are friends we know well. Once someone else came in during one of these conversations and thought we were talking about real people.  How does a writer create characters we love? In my humble opinion, as writers if we create characters that have flaws and range of emotion we can’t help but create such characters. The characters I treasure most have a relatable characteristic, something to identify with, but then they dare to do and say things I would never fathom myself.  I like to think in all the characters I create in my writing a little piece of me exists, sometimes it’s so small no one would recognize it. I know as a reader, the characters I love become a small part of me long after I have read the final words.