One of the notes I occasionally get (as many others have as well) is that my characters are good, but could use some more depth.

No matter how big or small a part a character plays in my stories, I try to make them seem like real people. Sometimes it works, and most of the time it needs more work.

I don’t go through the whole “create a detailed character history” thing, but as I work progresses on each story, I get more of a feel for what kind of person that character is and hope I can transfer that to the page.

So today’s post is going to be a little different, and involves audience participation.

How do you develop depth in your characters?

There’s no one right answer, and everybody has their own way of how they develop a story and its characters, so it would be great to hear what works for you.