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

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

“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.”

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

What do you think of Andrew Tate?

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

“Nary a cute boy in sight.”

“You need some tea!”

Why does my girlfriend keep asking me if I love her?

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

“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—”

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

What are some photos of female sexual organs?

“Tart!”

“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.”

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

Do you think the number of sissies is on the rise?

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

“Claire! Why are you still up?”

“Exactly.”

What is the sum of X+XX+XXX+XXXX?

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

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

Essentially, what you do is show the character:

Do you think that drug addiction is a symptom of larger societal ills? What is it about our culture that leaves so many feeling like they're inadequate, trying any ill to find a cure?

“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?”

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

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

Why am I attracted to older men?

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

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

“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.”

Have you ever been physically attacked by a demon?

“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.”

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?”

“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.”

Why do some children hate their parents?

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.

“No way.”

Do that and you can ground your characters quite quickly.

What would Spanish sound like if only latin and Greek words were used, like some romance analogy to anglish?

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

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

“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.”

Why do so many men on the internet try to compete with women, or try to "humble" and bash them? There's so many videos across my tiktok and YouTube of men claiming how they're wanting to get back at women and put them in thier place.

“Cute girls?”

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?”

Create a context between this character and other characters.

It has been said that people with ADHD can often hyperfocus. Can that be an advantage?

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

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

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

Are today’s baseball pitchers faster than a few years ago, or is it that radar guns have improved and get the pitch speed as it is released rather than as it reaches the plate?

“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.

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.

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?”

Why won't my mom let me come home if I'm homeless?

“Exactly.”

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

“I need to do laundry.”

“But they’re cold!”

“It’s not looking at you.”

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

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

“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?”

“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.”

“Perv.”

“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—”

“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…”

“Claire, I—”

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

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