Think of the people around you. So many different characters and personalities. Keyword: personalities. Our personalities are really what set us apart. Yes there may be profiling for about 4-5 personality 'types', but each of us is still so unique. Which means your characters need to be unique. There needs to be certain qualities or traits about your character that confuses even you. Why? Because you can't relate to that certain personality... but a reader will.
One of my favorite books is " Atonement Child" by Francine Rivers (not recommended for younger ages because of themes). The reason it's my favorite is 1) it deals with an issue I am very passionate about. 2) The characters were so well developed I was getting SO annoyed with some characters (because I just couldn't understand why they were doing such and such because I'm not that personality) and I was also feeling, literally feeling, the pain and misery of another because I could relate to that personality. See, sometimes it's not about the experiences the character goes through, but the way they go through it and handle it that our readers relate to the most.
My family and I took a personality test recently. It was neat (And slightly creepy) seeing how accurate it was. However, as I was listening to my sister read off all the descriptions of the our personalities, I realized something. I didn't understand or know why my family members did half the things they did until I heard their personality. It was a 'light bulb' moment of "Aha! I see why they get upset over this or why they sometimes just need to hole up for a few days to 'recharge'..." (from that comment I should say that was dealing with my sister. I'm the kind of person who usually recharges by being around people. Very rarely do I need to 'hole up'...)
When you're writing, you're developing characters. You're doing your best to make them come alive, to make your readers love or hate them. Yet when you are doing this, you are only writing from your perspective. Your personality may match one character, but it shouldn't match all of them. Which means Bob may not react the same way to a situation like Susie does. Which also means this should frustrate you.
I know it sounds really odd... but think about it. If you get frustrated with your family members because you just don't understand why they're doing something a certain way or WHY they have to be SO stubborn over something else, then you should get that same feeling with your characters. If you don't, you're making them too much like you. You understand them too well.
Now wait a minute, you say. How can I write a good book if I don't know my characters that well?
I'll tell you.
You need to understand them... but there also needs to be an air of mystery. No one understands another person perfectly. Even married couples have a hard time understanding one another 100% of the time. So how do you write a character and develop it well enough that your readers love/hate him?
P.e.r.s.o.n.a.l.i.t.y.
You need to get to understand your characters personality. There are many different personality profiles you can follow (DISC profiling, ENFP profiling, etc, just to name a couple). You need to pick one and then follow it. Read up on all the different personalities. DISC profiling can especially get creative because you might have a character that is CD with a bit of I thrown in... or ID with some C.
Or you might want to go with an overall basic covering of a few personalities, highlight some of the bigger 'traits' and work from there. Our family did the ENFP type test. (Quick overview below). Just look at all the different character traits you get right there! And if you want more detail, you can go to the test sight and view all the different personalities in depth: http://www.16personalities.com/
Another great way is if you sort of profile a character off of someone you know (generally a good idea to get permission first!). Then you can ask them how they would react to certain situations. I know that, being a woman, I really don't understand guys. I mean, growing up with a great dad and two brothers definitely gave me a better perception than some, but I still don't *really* understand them. I tend to want to put a romantic/soft/unrealistic side to them that maybe only exists in a few guys. If you think about it, guys tend to like your macho man (think Jason Bourne, Captain America, James Bond, etc). Whereas we girls tend to write them up as being these super sweet, always sensitive, way too romantic, there to catch us when we faint, unrealistic guys. Now, I'm not saying that guys *aren't* sweet and romantic.. but they do those things in their own way!!! In fact, I remember another woman talking about how her husband bought her a football jersey of her favorite team. Now to her, he was being the most romantic man on earth. For me (who doesn't care for football much), I was thinking, "Really?" However, it was a good lesson for me that everyone has their own way of showing affection or anger or sadness, etc. (And just a tip, I've asked my dad and brothers countless questions of "if you were doing this, what would you be thinking about.." or "If this situation came up, what would you do?". Trust me, it's awesome having insider information!)
Therefore, let your character be different! Don't limit them to being your perception, but let them come alive as relatable characters to your readers!
