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

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.

“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.”

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

“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 glad my sex life is so entertaining.”

“It’s not looking at you.”

If Republicans say that Biden goes to shower with his daughter, how do Democrats support it?

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

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

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

Why is Reagan seen as the best president in the USA when he literally destroyed the American economy with trickle down system and was strongly against worker unions?

“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.”

“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.”

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

Why is Matt Gaetz being investigated but not Sarah (Tim) McBride? Why do we only care about grooming when it's the Republicans doing it?

“Nary a cute boy in sight.”

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.

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

Which bands became massively popular for covering songs rather than recording originals?

Essentially, what you do is show the character:

“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?”

Trump has a plan to remake the housing-finance system. It’s baffling to many lawmakers and experts. - Politico

“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?”

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?”

Do happily married husbands cheat?

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

Create a context between this character and other characters.

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

Why did Obito, a supposed "bad person," do good things for Kakashi?

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

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

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?”

Is there a stereotype that South Indians are physically strong and muscular compared to other regions of India?

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

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

“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.”

There is any scientific evidence that we live in a sphere. Why do others say that we lives in a flat Earth but there is no evidence that they have proven the existence of a flat earth?

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

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

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

Why do I feel worthless most of the time?

“Claire, I—”

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?”

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

Are there any guys, crossdressers, or transgender girls here who wear tampons?

“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.”

“No way.”

What seemingly minor decision or moment in your past ended up having a massive impact on your entire life trajectory?

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

“Perv.”

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

Have you ever forcibly sucked someone’s dick?

“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?”

“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.”

For an unpublished short story writer, what magazines or online publications offer the best chance of being recognized?

“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.

“Exactly.”

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

“Claire! Why are you still up?”

“You need some tea!”

“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—”

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

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

Do that and you can ground your characters quite quickly.

“Exactly.”

“Cute girls?”

“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…”