I tend to do a mixture of persistent characters and creating new ones. When I first started RPing here on RPG, I made a few characters that were essentially "updates" to some of the very first RP characters I had created. But I also made a huge host of new ones. Now that I essentially GM a persistent RP-verse with [@BlueSky44] I will have characters pop up in multiple RPs, since it is a continuation of their storylines. It's like how in the Arrow and the Flash TV shows, the characters can make appearances in shows that aren't their own - same thing with the MCU really. Doesn't mean I don't create new characters though - I do. It honestly is just whatever the mood strikes me for. If I have a character I made who I want to use again, then I'll use them. If I have a new concept I like, then I'll go with that.