How do I instantiate a class Object, then store it in an Array of Class Objects in C#?

I'm trying to create an array of class objects containing the info on the different player characters in an RPG. I created a class called CharacterAttributes that holds all the information about each character. That class has a few simple methods for leveling up etc.

But I can't for the life of me figure out how to create the class object, the fill it with information, then store it in an array. I get the error "NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object".

 using UnityEngine;
 using System.Collections;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 
 public class PartyInfo : MonoBehaviour {
 
 
 public List<GameObject> partyArray;
 
 
     
     // Use this for initialization
     void Start () {
         
     GameObject charlie = new GameObject();
     charlie.name = "Character Object";
     charlie.AddComponent<CharacterAttributes>();
 
     GameObject.Find("Character Object").GetComponent<CharacterAttributes>().Init(Player.Charlie,"Charlie", CombatPosition.PlayerFrontCenter, "TBA", Element.none, Element.none, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 56000);
     Debug.Log (GameObject.Find("Character Object").GetComponent<CharacterAttributes>().mName);    
     AddCharacter(charlie);    
         
     }
     
     
     // Update is called once per frame
     void Update () {
     
     }
     
     void AddCharacter( GameObject character) {
         
         partyArray.Add(character);    
         
     }
 }

I've tried a lot of different things. I tried converting my class to a ScriptableObject, but got the same result. This code represents my attempt to create an empty game object, then attach my script to it, then call that object by name. I get a "Character Object" in my hierarchy when I run the script, but that's it. I clearly am missing something pretty basic here. Any help would be much appreciated.