Have Your Characters Write Their Own Bios

A slight departure from story theory & analysis to something a bit more traditional.

For characters to be compelling, your readers will need to think of them as real people, not just dramatic functionaries or collections of traits.

As someone deeply invested in all things Dramatica, I can admit that this can be an issue. And while the following isn't exactly original, it is nice to see that one of the inventors of the theory ascribes to something a bit more traditional:

To help make this happen, have each of your characters write a short one-page autobiographical piece about themselves in their own words, describing their childhoods, backgrounds, activities, interests, attitudes, relationships, pet peeves and outlooks on life.