The Goose Girl
The main character in "Enna Burning" was first developed by Hale in her debut novel, "The Goose Girl". Hale sought to create a protagonist very different from that of "Goose Girl", saying that Enna "had more spunk, boldness, made more mistakes, and the differences were fun for [her]" to write. She has also said that this dichotomy influenced the second novel's becoming much darker than the first. While writing, Hale chose to focus more on the development of a particular character rather than the elements of fantasy. Both "Enna Burning" and "River Secrets" stemmed from Hale's desire to further explore characters she'd previously created; she "wanted to hear their own stories."