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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/1524
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/1524
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I highly recommend Orson Scott Card's [_Characters and Viewpoint_](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0898799279). It's an excellent book (probably the best book on writing that I've read), and he discusses a lot of important issues in building characters that are very insightful.

Not only shopping lists of details, but how the character is viewed by others; their past; their motivations. He talks about how you can choose characteristics, traits, and quirks that dovetail well with the character's role in the story, and how to portray those elements and make them significant.

Beyond that, the details you mentioned are all good directions - and any one idea can be the germ of a great character. Actively look for interesting ideas you haven't seen much, or even commonplace ideas you haven't seen much and why they might be interesting after all. For example, one author I read wrote a story about a high-school band master; I'd never read a story about someone of that profession before, and he did really neat things with it - and got a lot of compliments from band masters who were thrilled to see a great story about one of their own :)

Original score: 5