From Toasted Cheese:
12 Baby Steps to a Complete Story
This tutorial takes you through a twelve-month process to writing a story.
e.g.
January: Characters
Exercise #1
Make a list of your characters. Remember, if you’re writing non-fiction, you still have characters, your characters just happen to be real people.
Complete a full character biography for your main character(s). A character biography sheet can be found here or you can make up one of your own. Do a simplified profile for your secondary characters: e.g. name, age, appearance, job, etc. For minor characters, just list their name and why they’re included in your story.
Post and ask for feedback on it. Do readers like your characters? Hate them? Are they eager to find out what happens to these people? Make changes/additions incorporating the suggestions you’re given.
Note: All of the exercises/months assume you have a posse that will provide feedback.
[via the comments thread at Miss Snark]