I always play a character who has something in common with me, if not multiple things.

Brian has my love of science and knowledge, Simran has my disdain for academia, Ariadne has my affinity for languages, Serene (aka Yue) has my love of dance and reading, Amrita has my undying loyalty, and Faith has the kindness and good heart that I aspire to have and my love of cats. Beyond that, however, they're all their own person and I have a lot of fun playing them. It excites me.

However, I have yet to create a character who has nothing in common with me. I'm really looking forward to the time I finally have the confidence to create a character that I don't relate to at all.

I also have a tendency to create characters who align with the gender they were assigned at birth. It's even somewhat tropey. My male characters tend to be emotionally stunted and my female characters tend to be flighty and/or dramatic. I have yet to write a tomboy character, or a man more in touch with his feminine side. I'd like to, but I'm forever paranoid that I will never do them justice.

Maybe the fear is a good thing, though. It keeps us in check, keeps us asking questions. I think I'd prefer that over plateauing as a writer and RPer.