The Writer's Guide To Character Traits

I know this may sound a little rude, but how old are you? You see, the older you get, the more people you've encountered; some nice, some not so nice, and some are just so-so.
You also know yourself, hopefully, and know that there are many facets about your personality, including ones that you would never show to other people, not even those you love dearly.

Now, out of all those people you've met, and all those little facets of your own persona, you can build a whole character world out of them; one single small trait will make one new person/character. See, you already have thousands of characters inside of your own head. Good luck with the book though

I have this book, and I like it. Samantha's Song's got a point though - it won't create your characters for you. I've used it to broaden my understanding of characters with complexes I don't always know everything about firsthand or from meeting people - I've never met a murderer, for instance. Also, when writing about child characters, I've found the book helpful, as there are charts that take you through what's considered normal levels of thought and development for each age. It's helped me make a seven-year-old girl in my novel come off as seven, not five or ten. Overall, it's a good reference, but definitely not a replacement for crafting good characters. Think of it as supplemental.

Oh, and enjoy it. It's pretty fascinating

I have a copy.

I'm 48 and I've found it useful.

Cheers,
Rob