hd_writers | Characterization

I'm almost afraid to admit this in a Harry Potter Community for fear of being stoned but....I haven't read the Harry Potter series. THERE.

More recently, I'm starting to wonder if that's one of the reasons I'm having difficulty with characterization. I mean, reading the books would allow me to know the characters more intimately and maybe then, I'd have a more solid/realistic image of who they are? (I do think it's strange that I haven't read the books and write fanfiction, but that's a story for another post.) It's been a little less that a year now since I took a dive into writing fanfiction and I thought that characterization was something that would come with experience. You know, the more I write, the better I would get to know the characters but that's only happened to some extent. Sometimes they still feel like strangers to me and even when I finally work something out, Harry and Draco feel like cut and paste characters. Like there's nothing to them but the fact that one is a noble Gryffindor and the other a selfish Slytherin.

I don't mind reading or writing fanfiction where the characters are a bit OOC--you know, realistically. (That's a bit of an oxymoron, but I hope it still makes some sort of sense.) But I think it's important to know the characters well enough to be able to tell their story like they would.

I WANT THEM TO BE REAL!!!

So, the million dollar question: does anyone have advice on characterization and character development? Showing vs. telling?

Much thanks. =]

Edit: I've seen the Harry Potter movies more times than I dare to count and I've been reading Harry Potter fanfiction for five plus years. For some reason, I thought that was a good enough background =/. After reading the books, is there anything I should know about characterization? Any tips? Not reading the books is a major fault, I admit, but are there rules and techniques?

READING.