If you didn’t get enough help from the first two techniques, get on and try these ones:

Breaking and Entering

If spying doesn’t get you what you want, don’t be disheartened and don’t stop there! Break into your main character’s home and have a look through everything. Go through all their stuff, toss it around while you look for clues to their identity, their personality. At this point, all you are doing is a little bit of mining; the real gems will be found later.

Pick a good starting point, set your timer for the magic 6 and start your search. Write all the time you are looking, let your curiosity run wild. Look for what might be hidden and what is kept close at hand. What looks messy and what seems just a little bit too tidy? Does he/she hoard? Look everywhere, including:

The trunk of his or her car

Drawers in a desk or bureau

Their medicine cabinet

Bag, wallet or purse

Coat pockets

Pants pockets

The shelf at the top of the closet

Back of the drawers

Follow the Money

Look at the products your character chooses – you can learn quite a bit from this. Does he or she use additive-free products? Organic? Or do they use full-scale industrial stuff that needs a mask and gloves to use? Do they purchase what is on sale, irrespective of brand, or do they stick to the same kind? How many perfumes does she have?

Set your timer again, four minutes this time, and write down anything that you think will go in their shopping trolley on a day they shop for stocking the cupboards. Don’t limit yourself to the grocery store; think about the drug store, the boutique, garden center, big-box store, even down to what he or she gets for the library.

Read through the list when the four minutes is up and choose five products they use daily. Now choose just one and watch your character as they use it. Again, 6 minutes on the timer and write down everything.

Have a Good Gossip

You shouldn’t do this in the real world but, hey, we’re in a fictional world here, we can do what we like without damaging anyone. Gossip with friends, co-workers, family, anyone your character meets or knows. You might find a few new perspectives on your character – their choices, relationships, issues, even down to potential they haven’t found in themselves yet.

Who does your character trust? Who will talk him or her down in an instant? Pick a prompt from the list below and write for 6 minutes. Again, do not stop and read, just write:

Ask:

What is your character like when he or she gets mad?

What was he or she like as a child/young adult?

What are they good at?

What are they bad at?

What do they take seriously? Not seriously enough?

What is working for or against your character?

Do they have any blind spots?

Are they making the best choices they can?

Are they reaching their full potential?