Whether your characters are drawn from life or are complete figments of your imagination, you should know them as well as you know your best friend, your spouse or yourself. This means that, in addition to being able to describe their external traits—what they look like, how they dress and how they talk—you need to understand what makes them tick, and this means knowing their internal traits such as their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, their passions and their personal histories.

An important element of characterization is motivation, that is, what makes your characters do what they do. If you're writing nonfiction, what your characters do (or have done) is a matter of fact, perhaps even of public record. What may not be as evident is why they did it. Introducing readers to the motivation behind a character's actions will give a nonfiction piece more depth and, ultimately more satisfaction.

If you're writing fiction, you may think the sky's the limit, that you can push and pull your characters through your story, acting out whatever outlandish scenario or surprise twist your imagination can conjure up. Not so. Readers have no patience with characters who act out of character. If your brave, muscle-bound hero becomes suddenly weak-kneed at the idea of being trapped in an elevator, he'd better have a good reason (maybe he was locked in a dark cupboard as a toddler).

Characters, real or imaginary, can be motivated by external forces; war, natural disaster, the loss of a job or a loved one are a few obvious examples. But more interesting, and more difficult for the writer to portray, are the internal motivations: the fears, ambitions and desires that drive people toward or away from events, situations and other people.

As we look at the process of building a character, remember that traits and motivations are closely linked. A character may have a personality trait (shyness for example), that results from a physical trait such as a stutte. A personality trait can also result from an experience in a character's past; your shy character may have been publicly humiliated by a bully in school. But however you justify the shyness, it becomes a motivating force behind this character's actions in your story. And if your story calls for your character to overcome his shyness and speak publicly to an audience of thousands, he'll need strong motivation for that as well (maybe the speech is necessary to raise money for a cause of vital concern to the character)...  Think about it!

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Once you find an interesting subject to write about, you will probably find the research into that subject even more interesting. You will be satisfying your curiosity about the subject, and traveling a path that could lead you to even more fascinating article ideas.

Even if you are writing a personal experience article which could be anything from an inspirational piece about your recovery from a serious illness, to an article about your legal struggles in a child custody case, to a travel article about a destination you've recently visited. You still have some research homework to do. Your piece will be much better rounded if you include interviews with people who have had similar experiences, factual information to help your readers (contact information for social agencies, statistics on child support payments), and quotes from professionals involved such as doctors, lawyers, and social workers. Travel articles, in particular, even though they are essentially personal experience pieces, must include a lot of solid information of benefit to the traveling public to be of any interest to an editor.

Acquaint yourself with the reference section in your local library. Here, you'll find indexes for everything from book reviews and directories frequently used by all writers. There are hundreds of subject-specific directories in print. Many of these directories are available online, but most require a subscription to get to the listings, so a trip to the library might be necessary.

You will use the library and the Internet to learn what's already known about a topic and this is secondary research. But you must also use them to locate people who can provide you with original information, primary research material. No matter what kind of article you're writing, you cannot rely solely on secondary research; you must go directly to a primary source if you want an editor to take you seriously as a researcher, the only possible exception being the personal experience article, where the primary source would be you.

Once you've identified some primary sources, it's time to start interviewing. There are three basic ways to interview: by letter (or by e-mail), by telephone or in person. If you are interviewing your next-door neighbor, then naturally you will interview her in person. If your interview is with the mayor of your town or an official of your state, then you might ask your questions by telephone, letter, in person—or a combination of all three: You can make your interview request in a letter that you follow up with a phone call, and then perhaps organise an appointment to finish the interview. Which method you use depends on distance, the availability of the person you want to interview and your own personal preference. Whatever you do, be flexible. If the thought of interviewing someone frightens you, don't worry about it. Your ability to interview will evolve with experience. Remember, too, that everyone likes talking about him or herself, especially if they've got an interested listener.

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