What, to you, is the 'tell' that makes you think "Yes, this person understands how to make good characters?"
For me, it's detail with no context. Character reactions to things, tell me a lot about their personality and history. If you have a good backstory, you're set in my eyes.
if your backstory explains, in depth, your character's personality, you're gold. (More than just "she went through x trauma, so she feels and reacts like x." I'm talking like what little things happened that effect their method of speech, what went through their heads and changed when the small stuff happened? Those are good details)
When a character's behaviour has real-life psychological explanations that fit their backstory perfectly 🥺🥺🥺🥺
One word: deVelOpMenT. If they have an extremely good ending with some solid development, it seriously can make the character. For character to be able to change like that is extremely important. Peoples ideals, morals, beliefs, etc. can all change for better or for worse. But if they change nonetheless, it shows that they aren't a solid brick wall and a person who can adjust and change to things that influence them.
a breaking point. almost every person hits a point in life where they feel like they can't take it anymore and fictional characters aren't an exception. no one's bulletproof. it's just realistic. so really i think the essence of a good, quality character is realism. not just with the breaking point but with every aspect of their personality and backstory and how all the aspects interact with each other.
When the cast is diverse (and I don't just mean in appearance or background), then I call them great characters. Everyone has different worldviews, reactions to things, little ways of speaking and moving, methods of problem solving, etc. If an author can remember that and stick to it so each character truly acts in a unique but consistent way, they have my deep respect.
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