Spend more time looking at the people around you. Figure out why you like some people and not others. One of my really good friends is a complete snob and kinda a jerk, but I love hanging out with him, and I know why.
Pick up books with characters you've enjoyed reading about, and figure out how the writer builds their personality. Make notes. If you can't think of any characters, try looking at Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver series.
Isabel Culpeper is a really interesting character to analyze, especially across all three books. Then write a story using what you've learned. There isn't a magical One Step To Complete Characterization.
It's a process. You write and write, and learn from your mistakes and write some more. Then you get some feedback and write even more.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.