Write out the names of your characters and explain
1) how you thought of their name
2) what made you create the character in the first place
3) how the character has changed over time (if they have changed)
4) any random fun fact about that character

Francisco "Paco" Fonseca
1) This I have explained in a previous meme.
2) I always write about white guys, despite being a Hispanic girl. I wanted to write about a character who was more like me, but I was afraid to reach too far and the best I could do was a Mexican guy.
3) He used to be much meaner. The personality I had in mind for him did not match up to how he was acting, and because he was acting in a way that moved the story along I changed my perception of him rather than changing his actions. I also made him shorter, because he grew up malnourished. I also changed the college he attends and his job.
4) He doesn't know how to swim.

Garret Schuttmann
1) Also in the old meme.
2) I needed someone who would take most of Paco's shit, but would also get on his nerves.
3) I turned him from being nosey about Paco to being nosey about everyone. I made him less of a manwhore and gave him a set relationship history. I also finalized his hangup, which kept changing. His green eye is less important now. I gave him lots of fun extracurricular activities.
4) All of his girlfriends have been redheads.

Jimmy Whewell
1) Old meme.
2) Originally? I needed someone to share a drink with Paco and give him mono.
3) He's much more fleshed out and much more important than that now. He's not just some random guy int he dorm, he's Garret's life long best friend. He used to be pissy for no reason, but now he's got his reasons. He's also taller now.
4) His parents chose his name by accident.

Rodney Creek
1) Old meme.
2) Paco needed someone to teach him to be better person. It needed to be someone who shows rather than tells, and it needed to be someone with a similar amount of pain in his or her heart. Most importantly, it needed to be a child so that Paco wouldn't perceive the person as self-righteous or condescending.
3) I'm making him read more because it helps justify his age-inappropriate vocabulary and works better with Paco's new job. I also gave him some childish tastes to balance out his more adult qualities. I'm trying to flesh out his past more.
4) He will get bratty later on, but it's temporary. In his own words "I was already gypped a childhood. I should at least get bratty teenage years."

Ryan Hatch
1) I asked for a random name and that's the one she gave me. I looked up some last names and was torn between something and Hatch. I asked and she chose Hatch. Also, Hatch is like hatchet, which is like axe, which is a guitar, which is a stretch, but it's true.
2) I wanted an original character who was gay. It was something I needed to help me break away from the world of fanfiction slash. He is a musician because the most feedback I ever got was from writing about musicians.
3) I never was able to make him sufficiently fake. I either have to give him more opportunities to do some good faking or I need to drop the whole idea of him being phony.
4) He had a crush on his band's guitarist when he was in high school, but he hasn't realized it yet.

Benjamin Griffith
1) Pretty much the same story as Ryan, though I definitely needed a sophisticated-sounding last name.
2) I needed a love interest for my gay character.
3) He's just as friendly, grabby, and into his art as ever. Some of his actions don't sit well with me, though, so I will either have to give him a better justification for them or accept that for all his kindness, he can be pretty heartless at times.
4) He doesn't like working with markers.

Tom Roderick
1) Same as Ben. I really didn't try very hard to name these guys. It was just going to be a writing exercise, but I showed some people and they really liked it.
2) I needed conflict for my story. A rival in love tends to provide that.
3) He's more fun to write about. I expanded on his family.
4) He is named after Tommy Trojan.

Hiroyuki Yoshimoto
1) I had a friend in middle school named Hiroyuki and I always loved his name. I couldn't very well steal his last name, too, so I just picked something. I figure people can call him Yoshi sometimes since there are plenty of Hiros.
2) Honestly? I wanted an otaku character, and I wanted to make him Japanese American because I wanted him to say "actually, most of my friends who are in to anime aren't Japanese. In fact, half of them aren't even Asian."
3)I haven't written much about him. I think he's getting more bitter.
4) He's very popular among his friends because he's the only one who can read Kanji.

I think that's enough for now. Next time I'll try some girls.