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

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

Do that and you can ground your characters quite quickly.

“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.”

I’m wondering about attachment and transference with the therapist and the idea of escape and fantasy? How much do you think your strong feelings, constant thoughts, desires to be with your therapist are a way to escape from your present life? I wonder if the transference serves another purpose than to show us our wounds and/or past experiences, but is a present coping strategy for managing what we don’t want to face (even if unconsciously) in the present—-current relationships, life circumstances, etc. Can anyone relate to this concept of escape in relation to their therapy relationship? How does this play out for you?

“Perv.”

“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—”

“Claire! Why are you still up?”

What are the pros and cons of arranged marriages?

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

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

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

What are examples of real life forced feminization?

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

“Tart!”

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?”

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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.

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

“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?”

What is the reasoning behind conspiracy theorists claiming that there were multiple shooters involved in the JFK assassination?

“Exactly.”

Create a context between this character and other characters.

“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.

How is the legalization of same-sex marriage impacting societal norms in the USA?

“Claire, I—”

“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 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?”

Who are some good social skills therapists in Pompano Beach, Florida?

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

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

Which Korean female celebrities look the best in a bikini?

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

“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—”

“I need to do laundry.”

Why does the UK Labour MP Jess Philips seem to be such a divisive figure?

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

“But they’re cold!”

“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.”

My boyfriend won’t tell me his past and it hurts me so I broke up with him what do I do?

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

“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.”

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

Can a barracuda kill a human?

Essentially, what you do is show the character:

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?”

“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.”

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

“Exactly.”

“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.”

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

“You need some tea!”

“No way.”

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

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

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.

“Nary a cute boy in sight.”

“Cute girls?”

“It’s not looking at you.”

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

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?”

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

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

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

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

“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’ll put the kettle on.”