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?”

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

Beautiful European women were killed by inquisition but Russia was not Catholic. Is this the reason for a drastic difference explaining why Russian women are the prettiest?

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

“Perv.”

“Cute girls?”

Can you share 100 facts about yourself?

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

Create a context between this character and other characters.

“No way.”

Do you think all these charges that have been brought against Trump are just a coincidence? If he was such a big threat why did they wait 3 years to bring these charges? Or is this all just election interference?

“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?”

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

“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?”

Are there any political parties or groups that have a mix of conservative and liberal beliefs? Why are they not as prominent in the media?

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

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?”

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.

Has anyone tried bestiality and been caught?

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?”

“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.

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

Are you offended if Democrats call Republicans "weird"?

“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.”

“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.”

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

From 1 to 10, how dark is the Naruto fandom? Why?

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

“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 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?”

Why do people who aren't trans feel the need to put pronouns next to their name or picture? It seems so cringeworthy to me, to participate in that SJW paradigm of thought, like they are a spineless person who just goes along with the trends.

Do that and you can ground your characters quite quickly.

“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.”

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

Do Americans realize how much goodwill and credibility they've lost in the past two weeks?

“I need to do laundry.”

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

What is after school detention like in your school?

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

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

“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.”

“Claire! Why are you still up?”

“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—”

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

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

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

“Nary a cute boy in sight.”

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

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

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

“Tart!”

“Claire, I—”

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

“It’s not looking at you.”

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

“But they’re cold!”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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.

“Exactly.”

“Exactly.”

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

Essentially, what you do is show the character:

“You need some tea!”