Characters and How to Make Them Real

I was searching the internet for something else entirely when I came across this on io9.com. Memorable descriptions (taken from well known speculative fiction) are analysed so we can see just what makes them work so effectively. It sent me back to my latest work in progress where some of my characters, perfectly clear in my mind, were resisting going on to the page. They are not anymore. There's much more information on writing skills too, all well worth reading, I think.