Show, Don't Tell

The first rule of good character development is simple.  Use action to show your readers the personalities of your characters.  Try not to tell them important character traits through narrative. It’s boring, and your characters will come across as wooden. Like any rule, this one has exceptions, but for the most part, you would do well to follow it.  

Everything you write about a character should give the reader some insight into your character.  For example, a character dressed in a fine, blue, pinstripe Armani suit, with a white Egyptian cotton shirt, and a solid silk, navy blue tie tells us something about that character.  We immediately know he has money and, whether you like Armani suits or not, has a sense of style, which is probably important to him.
 
Contrast that with a character wearing a frayed U2 T-Shirt and baggy cargo shorts.  All of a sudden we get very different images.  The same can be said for accessories.  Does your character wear an antique Rolex like Charles Sheppard from Fourteenth Colony or a Mickey Mouse watch like Robert Langdon from Dan Brown’s novels?
 
You get the idea.  All of our characters start naked.  It is our job to dress them meaningfully.  

Jeff Altabef, author of the new political thriller, Fourteenth Colony.  I donate half of my proceeds to the Covenant House, so enjoy a great book and help homeless kids as the same time.http://www.amazon.com/Fourteenth-Colony-Jeff-Altabef/dp/1625104529/ref=tmm_pap_title_0