I have never, in my entire writing career, ever sat down and asked myself whether a character will be male or female for the purposes of the story. The characters just . . . are. They're already there, in my head, partially formed, before I sit down to write. The same is true for the story. So for me, I'm not building or creating a character; they already exist and such basic things as their gender is already there.

I essentially made this point before, but that is totally the case with me. The characters just "appear" (not literally, just in my mind) and start telling me or showing me their story. I don't really have control, aside from sometimes asking them questions. If one char goes into an inn, I'll see the room but I'll have to almost ask HER who she sees. Obviously she won't recognise all beings in the room (human tendency) but she will tell me what she notices. So that's what I write. It almost wouldn't matter what gender they are. Their gender is just part of their biology, not their personality.