Characterization is all important.  Below are links to articles and websites which will help you build characters.

Tami Cowden's great book, Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes, is amazing but she gives away some of her secrets on her website: 

www.tamicowden.com/archetypes.htm

Caroline Myss has another great site for archetypes. It isn't a writer website - she teaches how to use archetypes in life - but it rocks as a source for character arcs.

http://www.myss.com/free-resources/sacred-contracts-and-your-archetypes/appendix-a-gallery-of-archtypes/

Alicia Rasley has two books on my 'favorite' list, The Power of Point of View and The Story Within series of workbooks. Here are a couple of her articles on character:

http://www.aliciarasley.com/artpovquestions.htm

http://www.aliciarasley.com/artexternal.htm

 

 

This particular site (fictionfactor) has a WHOLE bunch of great articles - I just gave you a few that I really like.

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/casting.html

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/unforgettable.html

http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/flaws.html

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/platypus.html

http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/mannerisms.html

Here's one for villains!

http://horror.fictionfactor.com/articles/villains.html

Remember I told you we'd interview our characters in this class?  Here's some of the many lists of questions to ask.

http://www.tarakharper.com/k_char2.htm

http://suspense.net/profile.htm