characters

i'm attempting to get back into the groove of writing down all of the ridiculous nonsense that flows through my head. i'm also attempting to do this in a fashion that is slightly more interesting than 'dear diary.' as i try to think up characters, and envision how they might behave, i'm struck with the knowledge that i honestly have no idea how other people function. this is going to be a bit of a roadblock for me, i fear.

i've tried a few different things, so far. experiments, if you will.

first attempt - slight variation on jacquie and how she might attempt to negotiate a given situation. Ends up looking just like jacquie. at least to me. this is not a challenge, and i end up far away on tangents that have nothing to do with a plot or story and are just masturbatory looks inside my own silly psyche. which is cool, i guess, but not the goal.

second attempt - jacquie's polar opposite. utter failure. i don't like this character at all, so i don't want to spend any time with her.

third attempt - someone jacquie knows, cleverly disguised. this one ends up being even harder than the other two because i spend time trying to accurately portray the person as they are in real life. i get bored and start tinkering with other things.

when i see actual human beings react to situations, i can often sympathize with them, but i'm finding it daunting to predict their behavior. i don't know why people do the things they do. this is why life is so confusing for me and exactly why i feel the need to write in the first place. gah, this is incredibly frustrating.

how do i create a character that i want to get to know better, to investigate, to place in difficult situations? how do i create a flawed, sympathetic (at least to a degree) character, who isn't me, and who is interesting enough to keep my attention?