Tip #66: Character-driven story

Most of my stories start with an idea, which usually consists of a person in a situation:  a woman who’s the daughter of superheroes, a werewolf who’s a talk radio host.  The process of writing the story is figuring out how that person got into that situation, and what comes out of it.  The situation... defin{es} the character... What had to happen, what did that person have to do and be like to be in that position?  And how does that situation change that character?  Where is she likely to go next, based on the decisions she’s making in response to that situation?  It’s like an oil painting — you keep adding colors and layers until the picture shines through.

http://www.genreality.net/trying-to-explain-characterization