Recently I just wrote a characters physical appearance and started jotting down points about the character, I've done a few of these before but never have I started off with the appearance.
The initial note I wrote:
A Greyhound-like character with a sleek and slender build, long, narrow face, pointed ears, deep chest, wearing a short, smooth coat, graceful gait, athletic movements.
I normally write with a theme in mind not a character, so the characters I write often feel forced into the story.
I'd love to hear what you feel makes a character apt for a story and what order you tend to build a story in.
Not me, but Roger Zelazny would sometimes write an entire story about a minor character so that when it came time to put them in a book he'd know exactly how they'd act in a particular situation.
If you know someone who is creative, it makes a great game. One person names two actors who have never appeared together, the other has to come up with a scenario. Actors can be any age they appeared on screen. Best pair I ever got was Gary Coleman and Tom Hiddleston