so i wrote this talking to a friend of mine and i really like it so i'm posting it:
see here's the thing
it's not just a character
they're never just characters
your characters are people
you learn more about them than some of your best friends sometimes they mean everything to you and they're an extension of you so when they're sad you're sad and when they ache you ache and that's how you know you've created a good character, when they mean so much to you that you can't function without thinking of them when you see certain things or whenever a song comes on you instantly associate it with your character. they matter and you learn things like their birthday and their favourite colour and the things that they like, where they first broke a bone or some of those influential memories at the age of five.
characters are people and that's why they're so important, because they're everything. maybe they can't sit next to you and discuss the weather, but that doesn't mean that they're not real.
they're people too.