Learning as you go

Today Carol Williams posted some great questions about "The Vehicle of Character" in her writing blog. I'm basically finished with Joy to My Love but sometimes I'd like to rewrite the whole thing! Not really. There are some good parts. I actually like my characters though the plot is not fast moving. So I hope the sequel and the other two books I'm working on will benefit from those questions. 

I'm going to concentrate particularly on this:

• Make your character relatable. “I get that!” “How do you know how I feel?” “I’ve been there.” When we connect with a main character, we’re interested in sticking around. Write a list of 50 things about your main character. Now do that for each of your other major players. Think outside the box. Think backstory. Think, “Who is she, really?

My problem is that I want to write those 50 things and backstory! It's particularly hard when you're writing historical and you have to give explanations of the culture both from a different country and from the past! I have too many conversations giving background and I need to find another way of adding this stuff without an information dump.