What Inspired You to Start Writing?

This post actually includes three questions, all from the same asker. I won't be saying names or anything, but here is question #1.

What inspired you to start writing?
Well, when I was little - second grade - I moved to a new school. One thing that was different was that they had Writer's Workshop. We got almost an hour daily to write and come up with ideas. I started writing short stories. I even made a series out of them. It was mandatory to write during those daily hours, but I started to love writing because of it.

#2: How do you develop your characters?
When I start thinking of a story, I find myself imagining the characters to go with the storyline. To help my characters grow and become realistic, I find questionnaires online and fill them out. Here's an example of one: http://www.writingclasses.com/InformationPages/index.php/PageID/106 I usually fill out two or three per character, but I make sure the questionnaires are different. It also helps to print them out and save them so if you ever forget the character's parents' names or anything, you can just look it up real quick.

#3: What's your advice for me, the girl writing a vampire love story?
Like you, I'm writing a vampire novel. A lot depends on what "type" of vampire you have. You want to make your story original. You don't want to be a Dracula replica or a Twilight minion. Add traits or characteristics to set your vampire apart. Make people go, "I know that vamp!" when they hear about your book in a year or two. :D Here's a wiki page with a good questionnaire for vampire authors: http://new.spork.com/players/index.php/Vampire:Character_Creation Depending on your vampire, you may need to skip questions or even add your own in. Either way, it's a good idea to fill out what you can and help yourself become closer to your vamp.