There's Always More To Learn

I read a lot of comics regularly. Most of them use recurring characters. TV shows usually work the same way. One of the techniques I find interesting is learning about a character's past. Something happens in the present that makes us learn of a person or event from before we ever met the character. I think it's cool because it both creates a new story and adds depth to an existing character.

Characters don't need to have a dark and mysterious past for this technique to work, either. They simply need to be alive. If you have an adult character, they were obviously kids once. They had parents and may have had other caretakers. They may have siblings or other family members. Even as adults, they have probably had other jobs, other friends, or lived in another place where they had other experiences.

There is always more to learn about your characters. Even for you, their creator. You don't need to know their entire lives from birth to present. You can create their histories as you see fit. If you know who your characters are and how they feel, you can create instances from the past that explain why the characters are the way they are.

If you want to know who your characters are, explore their past. If you want to come up with a story, explore your characters' pasts. No matter hohw much you think you know about them, there will always be more to learn.