First, the cast. I already have Jack, He will be a handsome but non-descript man. Blends in when he wants, stands out when he wants. A tall short man, slightly on the fat thin side with light dark hair. My female lead is Sarah, though she doesn't go by that name. Sarah was and is a very popular name. Sarahs get known by the name and last initial, like Sarah M. Sometimes, they can be known as Sara without the H. My Sarah dealt with that by using her middle name instead, starting when she reached Grade 9. Of course, that means she needs a middle name. First, though, Sarah is in her early 30s; I'm going with 32. Babycenter shows that the popularity was high in 1982, ranking fourth, but also starting growing around 1975, about the time Sarah's mother was thinking about future baby names. Sarah's mother, who also needs a name, would have noticed the popularity growth and went for a more individual middle name. Possibilities include using a grandmother's name or using an interesting name from popular culture of the time. Rose and Louise are out; those are insanely popular as middles. For now, I'm narrowing the name choice to either Ione or Meredith.
Next, the opposition. The main threat is a rogue angel. The name isn't important; no one who knows it will use it. In the brief description I gave earlier, I mentioned that names have power. Powerful beings have powerful names; using them will just alert the being. Jack knows better. But the rogue angel isn't the only being involved. The angel's confederates have as much reason to stop him or her as Jack does, thus a counterpart for Jack. How well the two get along may come out as the story develops. Sarah will also have her own antagonist, a British agent investigating the events of the first chapter*. He needs a name, though it may not come up right away.
The supporting cast needs a quick look. Sarah (or whatever she'll be going by) doesn't live in a vacuum. She has a job, family, and friends. Her supervisor appears in the second chapter. Sarah's support system will appear after that. Some quick notes for the supporting cast: Sarah's four-years-younger sister is Amy, her supervisor is Ray Beaulieu, her parents are Robert and Deborah (Rob and Deb for short), her closest friend is Karen, her ex-boyfriend is Patrick, and the cat is Diesel.
Last bit that needs to be taken care of, the setting. Fortunately, urban fantasy is set in today's world with fantastic elements tossed in. Sarah is Canadian, which surprised me but it works. And, since her job is technically in the public service, she lives in Ottawa. Does she live in an apartment or a house? Rent or own? How does she get to work? Does she drive, and, if so, what does she drive? What does she wear? What does she even look like? A friend had a really good idea that I want to try - have sketches of my main characters handy while I write so I have a visual reference. Also means I'll need my Playbook working. Good thing I have a month.
Oh, one other little detail that I'll need at some point - how the story ends. Last year, I didn't have that, leading to the near-abandonment of the story. This year, if I can figure out how the story ends, then I have a goal to aim for while writing. Key events are starting to populate the plot, but that final conflict still needs to be worked out.
* Not a prologue. No need. The point of view through out the story is Sarah's, including the initial action.
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