(writing like a historian...)

I wonder if the process of writing-- or caring-- about a character like Draco (or Luna, Neville, etc) as compared to Remus (and Sirius, Snape, Ron, Hermione, etc) is just qualitatively different in terms of approach. I've always found it pretty effortless to write about Draco, because he has these base emotive driving forces in his mind, to me (rage, need for attention, frustration, fear, envy, compulsiveness), whereas a character like Remus (or Harry, say) is so much more... complex and uncertain. It's like the difference between starting out with primary colors and then mixing them into unique combinations vs. starting out with a pre-made palette, with the edges hemmed in and the boundaries well-defined. All you need is your own spin on the line-art that's there, shading included.

I'd actually never had a -spin- in terms of having an idea of what I think about a character or a dynamic of several characters before writing them. I just start writing and see what seems to 'work' in my head at the time. It seems like to write a more complex character (like Remus), one really does need an idea of where one is going, though, and what one is trying to say on a conscious level.
    Interestingly, though, I think I've finally reached the point where in my mind, (my) Draco is as complex as canon!Remus, so I do end up thinking consciously about my characterizations lately.

( ...Especially when I should be asleep, obviously. )