The examination of character

I guess I am developing a saying. Which is funny because I don't know if you develop it as much as someone else decides to attribute it to you. In this world of the internet, I find interest in how quickly conversations or posts online have been assessed with real conversations with actual people. I've had philosophical conversations which have been maligned in how I present things, even though a portion of which is silly because, I should be able to convey myself as a writer. People want to read anything into what you post, so here is my saying (developing of course):
"If your characters aren't good enough to star in a book by themselves, they aren't worth having even as a supporting cast."
Take that for what you will. I am starting to believe in it. That doesn't mean every character needs to be so colorful that they blind you from seeing the storyline or the main characters. However, they need to be focused enough to run their own lives. Instead of merely waiting for the main character to show up because the storyline calls for it. If you look at each character as their own person, their faults and assets, as well as their abilities and surrounding situations, and if they have enough "character" to exist by themselves, then they are worthy of being in a story.
What really makes a character? Is it that every character needs to have a special talent? No. But that doesn't hurt. Sometimes, it was the way that you convey how they grew up. If every character grows up the same, something is wrong. It makes the reader feel as if the mundane is the norm. That is not to say that they cannot do mundane things such as going to work, but something needs to be happening to show how they are different. Make them enjoyable too. That helps.
I base a lot of my characters on real people that I meet in a bar or restaurant. When people are commonly themselves, guard down, and there is little if anything to impress you on. Sometimes, other venues hold true to finding a character of a person. Because when someone doesn't need anything from you, their true character shines through. No bullshit from them allows you to see them, warts and all. That being said, it is best to be honest with the person in question. That doesn't mean telling them that you are observing them, but interact with the subject in order to see how they take life. Because no one is the same. If they were, it would be an awful waste of space.

Passion and writing uncomfortable

Writing is best when you are uncomfortable. I know that sounds weird, but follow with me on it. You have to have some itch going through you. Something that makes you want to write more than do anything else. You get that burn, not the type when you don't wear socks and get athlete's foot, but still... There has to be a burn there. A need to write beyond anything else more important. Some people refuse to eat, sleep or do anything else until they get that story down. I've been guilty of that several times.

Today was weird for me. I started redrafting a story, and instead of writing about 5,000 and quitting, I logged about 8,000.

This doesn't just happen when you want it to. The need has to take over all of your other wants and desires. Think I'm wrong? Ask those who write the most why they do it. Because they don't know what else to do with it.

I've tried to cease writing sometimes. Do anything else. And if I get a story lodged in my head, a really good one, it stays there. I could be doing anything else and still have my thoughts haunted by the story. It keeps me up at night and sometimes the only therapy for that is to write it out. What's funny is how it changes once you start putting it down on paper. No longer is it is the simplistic story you formed as an idea. Now it's a full-bodied mess of ideas, complications, emotions, family history, and whatever else goes in there.

I get people talking to me who say funny things. Once in a while, I put it in a story as something a character says, does or recalls someone else doing. What I marvel at is how it enhances the story overall. Changes the characters for the better. You don't get that without inspiration.

One of my friend swears to me that he is writing a novella or short story. It's been a few weeks, haven't heard more about it. That doesn't mean that he isn't trying, but the inspiration is different when you have to write every day. It makes you push yourself harder for subject matter. There are no days off in this business. If there are, or you just want to sit with a donut and force yourself to write three words so you can watch Dr. Phil or mow the lawn, then you don't really want it.

That's my take. Doesn't mean I can't be wrong. I'm wrong at least fifty-two percent of the time about everything. But getting me to admit it is a different story.

Passion is important. The readers can feel it when they select something that you decided to put down in a document. It matters because if you don't have it, what's the point? I was at a bar last night where the announcer was sick, so for trivia night, they had one of the managers announce the questions for everyone to play. But she was withdrawn, unsure of herself, didn't really know the subject matter. It made it uninteresting to listen to.

You get that with writers who are more enthused with being writers. They don't want to write with passion because that might mean that they have to rewrite what they are putting down. I love to rewrite, especially after the first draft, because its the only way to improve what you are seeing on paper.

The last thing I want is some read suggesting that I don't care about the subject matter. That I don't really want to have the best interests of my reader out there for everyone to see. If you do that, people abandon you until you do figure it out.