[@MyCatGinger] I can wait however long I need to, gives me more time to plan and come up with more trial ideas anyway.  I think it'd be best to wait til everyone's ready, I'm just self-conscious about making other people wait too long.  Maybe I'm worrying too much.  Insomnia puts me on edge sometimes.  

[@Silver Carrot] The main thing I would emphasize is just to design the character as though they were an actual person that you could bump into on the street.  

If I were making a character based on my own CS, I'd start with their general appearance, how they would fare in a social situation, and a broad idea of their personality, specifically one that appealed to me.  A personality I would enjoy seeing interacting with other people and reacting to what goes on around him/her.  Then I'd think 'okay, what would this person have done or seen in their life that would have led them to the present day?' and then 'what sort of things would that kind of person like, dislike, and aspire to?'.  After that I'd consider what their current situation would be like, their job, marital status, how things have changed since childhood and why, etc.  At the end I'd look over it again and add a few little touches, like 'since they care about their appearance, they'd have really neat hair' and 'after that run in at the junkyard I really doubt he'd like dogs'.

Think of it like meeting someone in real life for the first time: you get a general sense of who they are based on the way they look, their mannerisms and how they talk and carry themself.  Then as you get to know them better you learn more about their past, what they enjoy/hate and basically why they are the way they are.  I would try to create a character's traits in the same order that I'd learn about them if they were real and I was trying to befriend them, rather than pick a couple specific things I like and design everything else around those couple things.  

Though I apologize if that's stuff you've already considered or too broad to be helpful.  Not saying my way is best either, just that that's how i look at it. 

If you want to you can PM me about any ideas you have and I'd be happy to talk about them with you.  I pretty much don't sleep so feel free to hit me up anytime.