Stating Jessica Fletcher

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by whswhs

But you know, if you don't try to build characters, you aren't going to get better at building characters. Conversely, "build character X" could be a good form of practice, especially if you have a clear concept of the character in your mind.

It is. In my early days of learning GURPS, I built all kinds of characters: myself, people I knew, and characters from other game systems. A little practice teaches you a lot.