Characters aren't just invented - they're drawn from past experience and/or discovered.
The background research for the main characters - Felicity (Flea) and Mia took many months. While I had a lived experience of drought in country areas and the devastating impact on the landscape and people, emotionally, physically and financially, I found building Flea's character was relatively easy. There were still a few surprises. However, Mia was unknown when I started my research.
When I was young and travelling overseas, I had witnessed a young Italian woman who had had a "breakdown" in the UK. She had no support, little language, and I observed the difficulties which arose from this. Support came from an unexpected source, and I hope this woman recovered well. From this, I took the idea of a young woman adrift and travelling alone in the Australian outback where she knew no-one. A frightening situation for anyone!
Not only did I put the two characters in difficult situations on their journey together. This brought out their best and their worst characteristics. Then I investigated their "props" — i.e. alcohol for Flea and prescription drugs for Mia. In a rural context, the overuse of alcohol was easier to research. But in Mia's situation, I had to engage with doctors, nurses and people who knew the workings of the Rural Health services to gather information on the impact of drugs on a young person's life. I read many articles including those associated with the opioid crisis in the USA to develop Mia's character.
And then there were the minor characters! They rolled in from my memories of the characters of the bush. Somehow, these mainly male figures stood out much more than they would in an urban environment. Was it the wide-open plains shaping them, really defining their quirks? I could see them throughout my childhood on a farm in rural NSW.
Character development is not for the fainthearted. Research is a must, but there are always surprises as a story twists and turns to the end.