How much do novelists know about how their novels are written?

Certainly more than I do. For example, they know how to coax characters to come forward, take on a life of their own, and work with them.

But where do their characters come from? Are they from inner, creative realms where stories already exist? Is there a limited number, or more than novelists would imagine? Is there any way for novelists to find out?

Perhaps novelists could follow the same procedure they use to encourage characters to come forward, but instead of looking for characters, per se, they could look to see if there are other narrator and editor personalities, and if there are any wise and knowledgeable personalities who could serve as guides to their inner world and their personality system.

Would their creative process be jeopardized? Probably just the opposite. The best writers probably know more about their various personalities, and more about how to work with their personality system, than lesser writers do.

If I am wrong, I hope novelists will tell me.