It's all About the Characters III

To conclude my series on creating characters I want to offer some advice on how to think through the process. To get at the essence of character I suggest that as the writer, you must think like an actor.  You, however, get to play every part!  So remember these basics that an acting coach would tell yous:
#1 - what’s my motivation?  You need to know why every character does everything he or she does.  Love is a motivation.  Greed is a motivation. Guilt is a motivation.  Fear, envy, jealousy, ambition are all motivations. “To help move the plot along” is not a motivation.
#2 - no one is a villain!  In life, we are each the star of our little drama.  No one thinks they’re the bad guy.  Even Hitler had a very good reason for everything he did – in HIS mind.
#3 – There are no small parts, just small actors.  Make sure nobody in your story behaves as if he’s just a walk on.  Every move that character makes is vitally important – to him.
All that having been said, how do we then distinguish between the heroes and villains?  Well, that’s the job of point of view.  You will decide whose eyes the reader sees the world through.  That character is the person your reader will most identify with.  That character then becomes sympathetic for the reader.  He, or she, is now the hero, the protagonist.  And whoever opposes that person’s goals and objectives becomes de facto the villain.
Heroes and villains need to have one thing in common – strong character.  We admire people with character, and people with character are the ones who make things happen in our world. 
Let me be clear here that character as I’m defining it is not good or bad. Character as I’m using it here is the person’s dedication to making his actions match his beliefs. It takes a certain strength to do what you believe is the thing to do, whether you’re a hero or a villain.  
But how can we hate the villain and love the hero if they have so much in common?  That takes us back to point of view, and what i call the yin-yang of personality.  For example:
Heroes are determined – villains are obsessedGood girls are observant – bad girls are noseyGood guys keep you in the loop – bad guys gossipHeroines are leaders – villainesses are manipulativeGood people are thrifty – bad people are cheap
The only real societal standard that separates your good folks from bad folk is a single motivation – if they work to help others, no matter what else we know about them, they’re heroes.  If they work only to help themselves, no matter what else we know about them, they’re villains.
There is a lot more to creating good characters but this should give you a start. If any of you have great ides, please post them in a comment to this blog.