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

“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…”

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

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?”

When Trump blames DEI, isn't he just saying "it must be because there's black or brown people involved"?

“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.”

“It’s not looking at you.”

“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?”

Why do women need to wear bras, in spite of the fact that the breasts are an integral part of the body?

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?”

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.

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

Why do girls in Indian top colleges wear shorts?

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?”

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

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

Is it common for girlfriends to have close male friends who are single and not related to them?

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

“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.”

“Cute girls?”

Why does it smell so bad? I noticed that when I move around my vagina has a stench. It’s usually a wet liquid, almost like pee. There’re little to no discharge and it doesn’t hurt or itch.

“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—”

“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—”

“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.

Why do most atheists in debates with theists take Bible verses out of context much of the time? Are they lying maliciously or do they not understand theology enough to understand the meaning?

“You need some tea!”

“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?”

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

What thing happened to you as a child that you haven’t let go of to this day?

“Claire, I—”

“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.”

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

Have you ever been forced to undress for money just once?

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

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.

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

What exactly is female squirting? Is it only urine or a combination of liquids?

“No way.”

“Perv.”

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

Why do Indian parents force their kids to do stuff?

“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.”

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

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

Has anyone ever had sex with their cousin? How did it start, and would you do it again?

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

“Nary a cute boy in sight.”

“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.”

What if Supergirl was a baby and not a teenager when she left Krypton? Who do you think will find her? What do you think things would be like?

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

“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.”

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

Are LGBT people accepted in Japan?

“Claire! Why are you still up?”

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

“Exactly.”

How do you perform a lap dance for your boyfriend or husband?

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

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

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

“Tart!”

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

“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.”

“But they’re cold!”

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

“Exactly.”

Create a context between this character and other characters.

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

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

Do that and you can ground your characters quite quickly.

“I need to do laundry.”

Essentially, what you do is show the character: