When writing a novel, how can a character be developed well, but 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—”

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

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

Humans have evolved and become hairless and odor free. How do other races learn about evolution since evolution does not apply to them?

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?”

Essentially, what you do is show the character:

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

If we do not know the name of the father of a child, e.g. a foundling, an illegitimate, etc., then to whom should the bin or the binti of the child's name be applied?

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

“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 need to do laundry.”

How do you stop your balls from sweating?

“Exactly.”

“Claire, I—”

“Nary a cute boy in sight.”

Paleontologists Uncover 465-Million-Year-Old Secret: The True Purpose of the First “Teeth” - SciTechDaily

“You need some tea!”

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

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

Is the Chinese economy currently collapsing? If not, what could potentially cause it to collapse?

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

“But they’re cold!”

“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?”

When a black man and a white woman have a child, does the child become white? If a white man and a black woman have a child, does the child become black?

“Exactly.”

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

“Cute girls?”

Have you ever heard of the god Priapus being the same as the god Phosphorus?

Do that and you can ground your characters quite quickly.

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

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

What are some ballbusting stories?

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

“Perv.”

“It’s not looking at you.”

What was the weakest period in US history in terms of military strength? Was it during World War II or the Vietnam War?

“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.”

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

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

When gallery photos are deleted at the same time, why are Google photos also deleted?

“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.”

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

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

Are there any real-life examples of prisoners who escaped from hospitals and were never caught?

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

“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.”

My landlord just sold the house I’m renting from her. She included all fixtures, that I bought and installed. Does she have this right?

“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.

“No way.”

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

Why are so many US conservatives in this day and age still against racial mixing? They won't say it in public, but they are still against the mixing between Blacks and whites? Why?

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

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

“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.”

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

“Claire! Why are you still up?”

“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.”

Create a context between this character and other characters.

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

“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?”

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.

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.

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

“Tart!”

“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…”

“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.”

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

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?”

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?”