Fear and loathing

What does your character ...

... fear?
... dread?
... want?
... want to avoid losing?
... want to avoid gaining?
... love?
... desire?
... need?
... crave?
... hate?
... loathe?
... have a passion for?

If your character doesn't want something badly, there isn't much reason to read about them.

"As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." -- Scarlett O'Hara

While in real life happiness is a great thing, it's boring in a character ;-) Their desire needn't be a huge thing like saving the world. It can be simple personal quest like recreating Mom's lost recipe for cherry pie or a war on the invading bedbugs.

This can work for a current character, a dropped character you were fond of but couldn't make work, a brand new character.

(The above words are intentionally similar to need. Some words may feel the same to you. That's okay. We each have slightly different connotations for words and words you feel are the same may spark very different ideas in someone else.)