Characters and Dialogue.

I find the idea of having to experiment with and get to know our characters through description and dialogue, getting a little more insight into our characters` purposes and inner yearnings every step of the way, very helpful. This is hard because when I first sit down to write, I often times believe that I can create a character all at once in mind and then have the events and especially the dialogue conform to my preconceived ideas about these people and get everything right the first time around. This ends up handing me somewhat shallow characters.
The things that people say and do in different situations and with different people throughout a timeline accumulate to reveal a character. Only then once we have zoomed in closer and with more material can we get to a truer identity. I don`t like the thought of having to go back a couple of pages and change some things now that after three scenes I am starting to see the true character of this player in my world, and maybe I won`t always have to. But, I think this process in general will help give me better understanding of how my characters will actually speak and react with people and events in the story. It is almost as if we need to live with these characters through some experiences, childhood, as they grow up and into who they actually were before we can recognize them in action. Specifically regarding dialogue, I believe this might be my most neglected aspect of writing. Usually everyone talks fairly similarly and they all sound too much like me. I tend not to give them a fair shake at becoming themselves. They become my puppets. Maybe I need to live with them a little longer in rough drafts.