I'm really infatuated with anime, so I'm usually influenced by it. So I might take some references from different shows or book, but only tiny ones. Being the otaku I am, there's going to be a lot of ties with Japanese culture. When making characters for my stories, I usually see them styled as a person in an anime or manga, rather than a real, live human being. There's a large probability that I won't add a cast to my stories.
Most of my stories will be random, I like to switch up genres here and there. I like writing about mind-screwing plot lines/situations, but I can't execute them very well right now.
Some of my stories I'll start, but I'll leave it alone for about six months after I realize, "Hey, I haven't picked up on that one in a while." so if there is occasional pauses from time to time in my stories, this is how it'll usually be with them.
I realize I use a various amount of male characters, but I try to put in female characters as much as possible. I don't know why I use male characters more often though.