R is for...

 

Research...

As in research what you are putting in your profile thoroughly so that you know what you are doing, or rather you know what they are doing. 

Research isn't everyone's cup of tea, some people can find it boring and time consuming. Me I like it, I love rabbit holes, twisting and turning, making notes, and applying the information as needed. I like learning new stuff, and love the difference it makes to creating well rounded characters. 

Knowing how they look, dress, eat, act, view things, and their little quirks is all part of their creation. 

Research can take the form of computer searches, book searches or even down to watching or asking people. 

Personally I believe that if you are going to be a writer you should have at least a shelf load of books on writing in your home, and on your computer (that you can access with your phone and tablet), local libraries should have a section or a list at least of books that you can access on the subject of writing as well as creating characters. 

Watching people to figure out how they do stuff, how they look, and how they interact is time worn advice to writers, you can learn a lot sitting in a café facing out to where people are walking and talking, while noticing how they are doing stuff.