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@j-a-penrose Most of my characters exist not only to drive the plot forward, but to create the plot itself–in the form of conflict. In my most recently published novel, titled “The Cry of the Lost”, Tory Hayfield and Ruby Westhouse are literally faced with conflict at school, in the form of several bullies who give them no peace. How the girls overcome this conflict is what drives their end of the plot. On the other side, Lauren, another young character, is faced with internal conflict as well as conflict with her father, because she faces an abusive family situation. She deals with it in a completely different way, however, when she tries to find relief from her circumstances, but instead finds herself pregnant. How she deals with that is yet another major part of how the plot moves forward. I suppose this is a long and complicated way to say that I think how characters deal with different types of conflict is one of their main purposes in a story.