I first learned this tip from an early writing mentor of mine. When she told us she made a 3x5 color-coded card with information about every character in her story, I thought she was crazy. Now I do the same! This was reiterated by one of the well-known speakers I heard at the recent SCBWI retreat I attended. There are many ways to do this; but the simplest is to start with physical traits, habits, flaws, family history, pivotal point in life - you get the picture. When you are well acquainted with your characters, it makes creating a believable story that much easier. This may sound like a lot of work, but when you're in the middle of writing your novel and you get stuck, if you really know your characters you can figure it out. What would Winnie the Pooh do? :O)
