So, my first "new" character (all the others so far are reused from Book 1).

Going into this exercise, I had only the vaguest idea of the antagonist. So I just started writing whatever came to mind, and eventually she emerged, like Athena. No, that's not her name.

The power of freewrites. Don't underestimate it. At least, that's what usually works for me when I'm stuck. It also helps to know that everything is still in flux - I don't have to use all the ideas, or keep the profile in its current form. Some people have a problem with the blank page - how to fill it. My answer is fill it with anything, anything at all, while keeping your theme and plot and characters in the back of your mind. Don't expect to use any of this material, at least not in its raw form. Actually, expect not to use it. It's the chaos from which a pattern later emerges.

What works for me won't work for everyone, but hopefully it'll work for some.