[name]Hi[/name] all,
For those who are interested, here’s a great article from author [name]Holly[/name] [name]Lisle[/name] on how to create character. There’s a click-through link to a character creation exercise as well. I’ve found her techniques in other areas (plot, dialogue, etc) to be very helpful in my writing career.
http://hollylisle.com/how-to-create-a-character/
[name]Happy[/name] writing!
Thanks for this, it was great! 
Thanks for sharing, this was a helpful read! I agree with the thing about empathising and not sympathising. You can usually tell when an author sympathises far too much with their characters and ends up twisting the plot completely in their favour. ><
Totally agree, amber. The novels I end up hating, and the characters I hope get bumped off are always the ones the author sympathizes with. Empathy is a much stronger emotion for a writer to relate to her characters.
I often bear in mind a quote a friend once referenced to me : “It is our obligation as writers to torment, torture, maim, break, and otherwise abuse our characters in every way imaginable for the sake of the plot and the entertainment of our audience. No character worth being written emerges unbloodied and untested.”
I find it’s much easier to abuse and torture my characters when I empathize, rather than sympathize. They tend to end up better for it.
I prefer [name]Orson[/name] [name]Scott[/name] [name]Card[/name]'s book myself. Also, I attended a character workshop with the late [name]Pam[/name] [name]Conrad[/name] many, many years ago, and I continue to teach my students the way she taught me.