When writing a novel, how can a character be developed well, but QUICKLY?

“So you didn’t meet any cute boys at the club tonight?” Claire called as she bustled about the small kitchen.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t spend all day reading—” May prodded the book with its garishly-coloured cover with her foot. “Bizarre comic book porn…”

“I’m just a fan of your catch and release program.”

What are some fun/kinky things to do with your partner?

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

“Nope, I mean a cat followed me home. A black cat, to be exact. All the way from the club. Probably still out there, for all I know.”

Do that and you can ground your characters quite quickly.

Can anyone or anything overthrow your belief in the Jewish God?

“Well, maybe if you’d wear more clothes, they wouldn’t feel so cold. Hussy!”

The agent had only one bad thing to say (the synopsis was crap; writing synopses is hard!), but praised the characterization and particularly how well we introduced a character’s personality quickly.

“Thanks. You’re looking pretty ratty yourself. Have you been in that bathrobe all day?”

Why do most people care so much about what others think? Are they afraid of society norms?

“From the look of you, if you try to sleep now, you’ll spend the next three hours hanging onto your bed trying to stop the world spinning. Since you’re not going to sleep anyway, you might as well keep me company.”

“About wearing more clothes? How am I supposed to catch any fish if I don’t show off the bait?”

Engaging in conversation that also shows something about their intelligence, personality, wit (or lack thereof); and

What's an underrated/unknown novel or series that you think deserves more attention?

“Yes way. It’s washing itself under the street light. Uh-oh, I think it spotted me. It knows I’m watching it. I swear it’s looking at me.”

“I’m serious!” Claire said. “It’s staring straight at me.” She let the curtain fall. “Weird.”

In the kitchen, Claire set out a battered pair of mugs: May’s black, with “PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair” in white letters; Claire’s white, with “This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays” in dark blue. She carried both mugs into the living room. “A moggie followed you home? Is this some weird Internet slang I’m not current on?”

Why does Africa have all mineral resources but she is suffering economically?

They both burst out laughing. “I’m right, though,” Claire went on.

“Damn straight. So get to it! This time next week, I want to hear some moans coming through that wall.”

Claire, one of May’s three flatmates, former university roommate, and best friend in all the world, shrugged expansively. “It’s a Saturday night. What else would I be doing?”

Has anyone experienced an out of the body experience, as a child, years before you had ever heard the term or understood the implications?

“Exactly.”

“Fine.” May collapsed into the warm spot Claire had just vacated.

Doing something they enjoy, that expresses their personality, and that is in some way unusual or noteworthy;

The Witcher 4 is being developed with a ‘console-first’ mindset, CDPR devs say - Polygon

“They are! He broke the rules of the boarding house by petting this character while she was in cat form, so they invoke the ancient rules of single combat via ping-pong, and—”

“Number one, it’s not porn, it’s ecchi, and number two, why would I waste a perfectly good Saturday doing anything else?” Claire pulled at her tea and sighed. “The only thing that could make this day better is if you'd come home with some cute boy, so that after you kicked him out tomorrow I could live vicariously through you.”

“Nary a cute boy in sight.”

Why is Canada letting too many Indians in Canada?

May pushed Claire’s feet away. Claire rose to peer out the window. “Huh. It’s still there.”

“I need to do laundry.”

Here’s how we presented the character Claire when she was introduced, which the agent particularly singled out:

I have BPD. Why do I destroy everyone I love?

After Eunice and I finished London Under Veil, I entered the first chapter in a contest at a convention where you could submit something and have it critiqued by a professional book agent.

“Tart!”

“I try not to, but thank you for reminding me. I know I don’t need a cat. I don’t want a cat. What would I do with a cat?”

Have husbands and wives ever had a threesome with someone in real life? How did it happen?

“I don’t know. Partying. Going to a pub. Anything besides sitting on the couch reading…” She squinted. “What the hell are you reading?”

Claire sat back down, legs tucked elegantly beneath her. “You are looking a bit sloppy,” she said, inspecting May through narrowed eyes.

“Claire! Why are you still up?”

Have you ever had sex with sisters?

“I know! That’s why I’m putting them under you!”

“May! You’re home late! Early, I mean. Well, I mean, it’s early in the morning, but you’re home before I expected. Er, after. Before?”

“Cute girls?”

Was Jesus Christ Jewish?

“It’s a cat. All cats are weird.” May sipped from her mug, inhaling the warmth. She closed her eyes. The room spun. She opened them again. “Ugh. I think I drank too much.”

May studied the black and white comic panels. “Oh, my. She looks…anatomically implausible. What is she doing to that poor man? Wait, are those cat ears?”

“Exactly.”

Why am I sweating so much when I try to do anything?

“No, about the cat. You don’t need a cat. You remember what happened to your spider plant, right?”

“Why is that always your first suggestion? I do not need some tea. It’s three o’clock in the morning! If I have tea, I’ll never get to sleep.”

Create a context between this character and other characters.

Which is the worst Bollywood movie you have ever seen and why?

“It’s not looking at you.”

“You don’t need a cat. You can’t take care of a cat. You can’t take care of a ficus.” Claire flopped on the other side of the sofa and wriggled her feet beneath May.

“But they’re cold!”

I broke up with my boyfriend because he wasn’t transparent about his past, it hurts me and he doesn’t care. I told him in the beginning of our relationship that it was a deal breaker for me what do I do?

“You need some tea!”

“Claire, I—”

“Hang on, are they playing ping-pong?”

“Perv.”

“None of those either. Look upon the wasteland that is my sex life, and see that it is barren. Naught but a moggie followed me home.”

“Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs!” Claire turned the book around.

Essentially, what you do is show the character:

“No way.”

“Yep!” Claire chirped. “There’s this schoolboy, see, and he’s homeless, so he lives in this boarding house that used to be a hot springs bathhouse, which is cheap because it’s haunted, so he decides—”

May yelped. “Hey! Your feet are cold!”

“You know what? Never mind,” May said. “I am way, way too drunk to be having this conversation.”

“I’m glad my sex life is so entertaining.”