QUIZZING!

I've mentioned before that one great way to find out more about your characters is to interview them.  Some of the questions I've "put" to my creations include:-

1. Why are you acting this way?  No superficial answers allowed to this one.  The character has to explain in depth and be able to justify what they are doing, whether they are villainous or heroic.  The justification has to be enough for them.  It doesn't have to be right.  They just need to be convinced they're right otherwise they won't go through with it.
   
2. What do you really want?  Again no superficial answers here and I like my characters to also explain why they want what they say they do.  Sometimes it is not always what "they" (i.e.  you as their creator) think.  Sometimes hidden motives can come out but that's a good thing.  You've discovered what your character is really made of and will write for/about them much more convincingly.
   
3. Have you any regrets?  This is a useful one as regrets so often change the way a character behaves in the future.  This is partly to avoid making the same mistakes again (so you don't have the same regrets again) and partly if the character is on a collision course with someone else, regrets might hold them back.  You can then look at how your character will deal with those regrets if they must carry out the course of action you've set them.  Do you want their regrets getting in the way?  You might do, of course.  Equally you might want your character to "bury" those regrets and not lose their focus.