We're starting a new game on Saturday and I'm working

>>55134962
characters need three things
>a goal
This needs to be an understandable goal for everyone at the table, something people can empathise with. It should also be something the character is incapable of in their current state, they need to change in some way before achieving it, whether or not they know that is up to you.
>a motivation
A simple statement about the world from your character's point of view, a statement they believe in which forms the basis for their reason for wanting their goal. My usual advice for motivations is to see if the statement can be convincingly counter-argued, for example, 'evil should be vanquished' isn't exactly a controversial statement, something more like 'I am the only one who can be trusted to judge and vanquish evil' works better as the room for debate means you allow for your character's morality to be flawed, leading to development as the game goes on.
>a personality
This should principally be about how your character prefers to deal with problems. You should be able to name at least three things about your character which you admire and also at least one trait that causes more problems for them than it solves.

>>55134962
I just ask myself the following questions

What does my character want?
Why does he want it?
How does he go about trying to get it?
What's kept him from getting it so far?
Does he want anything else if he achieves it?

From there it's just a matter of throwing in a few character quirks and flaws. Double points if it's his flaws and not his circumstances which have kept him from achieving his goals thus far and this encourages character development for my character to progress through his arc.

>>55134962
The other posters are forgetting the most important question of all.
> Why is my character willing to team up with those weirdos and wander the world, killing monsters and risking his life every day?
Adventuring is not a job that everyone will take willingly. But if you can't answer why your character is a) an adventurer b) a team player, you failed at chargen.

>>55134962
>What steps do you guys go through to make sure your characters are fully realized and three-dimensional?
I come up with a basic concept and then play the game.

Create a small novel as background of the character and act based in this novel i mean
if you have a tragic past act like you have a tragic past dude, just imagine how your character would act

Okay this stuff is great and I'm gonna be sure to keep it in mind. With regards to the actual character, I want to avoid making it cringe-worthy. The base concept is a halfling girl who was considered 'off' as she grew up in her village. Her parents were concerned when she said she heard voices in the woods and called upon their village elder, a member of a circle of druids. He noticed her affinity for nature and took her under his wing. Now she is of age and is completing her training by leaving her village, becoming more worldy and wizened. I want to give her a more thorough goal, but mostly I want to make sure she doesn't sound sue-ish. Her general personality at the moment is pleasant and kind, with naivete and a childish bend that might manifest as tricks or foolishness.

>>55143045
>with naivete and a childish bend that might manifest as tricks or foolishness.
check up with your fellow players every now and again to make sure this isn't getting annoying OOC (perfectly fine if it's annoying IC)

>>55134962
Just run through some simple scenarios. If you cant reflexively answer how they will respond, you dont have a character.

>>55134962
I mean I come up with a concept like: (ripping off your pic)
>little girl who talks with nature
I then jam that into the mechanics of the game
eg; say we're playing D&D that probably makes her druid
In this case (because I don't like playing children) I'd fast forward her into her 20's and think of a motivation to follow (na, not follow she's not a follower) accompany the party
might be as simple as pappa tree told her there's something she needs to do

I then I ask them questions, and try to think how they'd answer. personalty matters way more then the "history"
I also try to give them a voice, (no not a shit accent) like a fitting voice

and at this point I've got a filled out character sheet, a voice, a personalty.
and I'm ready to pitch it to the DM

If there's something he doesn't like/ would like me to include (like say he wants everyone in the party to have met a demon, or be from the same village)
then I'll tweak it.

and I'll probably make a back up one, because well deaths happen