Are you struggling to get that character a solid voice? Do you have main players that you're fighting with? Let me give you a few tips.
Step One, your characters MUST speak! Let their voices be heard! One of the best methods that I've found in editing manuscripts is to speak FOR them. No. Really. Say it out loud. Write your dialogue, take a minute and talk through it. When you're reading your own work, you automatically tend to fill in the blanks and change words to fit what you INTEND to say, not what you've written already. When you start saying it, you'll automatically say what you meant.
Step Two: While you're talking your characters through their dialogue, make sure they don't have the same voice, speech patterns, and expressions. Make their voices different, unique to the character. Your leading lady needs to have more authority than the maid, but less than the leading man. Put away the waffle iron and make them decisive, strong, passionate.... Different..... Give those characters a breath of life and watch them crawl off the pages and into the room with you. Let them bicker and argue.... Let them just BE. Let them take control of the pen, pencil, keyboard, or typewriter. It's their life, after all. Take the RULES, tie 'em up, gag 'em and stuff 'em in the closet and write from the soul!!