Building characters through living life

Relationships aren't always easy. Feelings get hurt, harsh words are spoken, and emotional wounds are opened and then closed again as time passes. With this in mind, how else does an author learn to build believable characters that readers can relate to? She must live through heartache, stick her foot in her mouth a few hundred times, and admit when she is wrong. She must bask in her accomplishments, smile at simple pleasures, and genuinely be happy with those individuals that she has deemed important. All of those emotions are then relayed into her writing. A great author gives it all she has even if it pains her to do so. In the end, a reader will hear the author's life experiences through her character's words and actions, and they will both call it a success.