Where do our characters come from?

This question is really plaguing my right now because THEY WON'T GET OUT OF MY HEAD. I’m trying to write one story yet other characters keep popping in. They’re annoying, demanding and downright aggressive in trying to get my attention. They’re clamoring to be written. So where do they come from? I come up with some very interesting ones with vast and varied backgrounds and they are never based on anyone I know, no-one I have ever met and they don’t look like anyone I can relate to. To me they seem completely fictional so how are they born? They usually burst in unexpectedly with something to say, usually in some interesting scenario with their counterpart. Sometimes it’s the hero, sometimes it’s the heroine, but sparks (or heat) is usually involved. I can’t resist diving deeper and the characterizations just explode from there. I jot down what I can in my ‘idea file’ and try to get back to the task at hand. It usually placates them at least for awhile. Needless to say my idea file is about to burst and is overflowing with unwritten stories. I guess that’s a good thing, right?


If I told this to anyone else they’d probably think I was ‘crazy as a loon’ nuts and suggest I see someone. A professional. Man, is this what all writers have to deal with?