I love this. It's so helpful. I worry over finding balance between writing a story that helps me understand my character and writing a story that judges will find interesting. In the end, the former always wins out, which is a win for me in November. But like Storm said in "Story means Conflict"  , and you further point out here, conflict = interesting. I find it good practice to invest thought into finding a background story that not only shapes my character for his role in my upcoming novel, but that will also be an interesting read. Whether I succeed or fail at meeting both goals, it's fantastic practice for November.

Cheers,
Michelle