Debbie Moon at 2013-08-02 17:21:03:
You know, that's a question I'd never really thought about? Which probably shows, because I always start with too many characters, and then realise none of them fulfil this function or can serve that story beat, so I have to create new ones on the fly...
Several projects I'm prepping at the moment are team-led - a group of spies or thieves surrounding a protagonist. I find those easier, because I'm consciously designing a group of people who can get the job done but who also create conflict. Maybe I need to think of the characters in my other work more like that too?