I know, I know. It involves numbers, not words. But it’s a quick look at the ways people spend money at different ages. How might spending habits change your characters?

More House, Less Booze: How Spending Changes From Age 25-75 : Planet Money : NPR

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2014/04/01/297289442/more-house-less-booze-how-spending-changes-from-age-25-75?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=npr&utm_campaign=nprnews&utm_content=04012014

We know Miss Jane Marple knitted, and we know she lost her love at a young age. “Cozy” mysteries are full of characters with hobbies that involve arts and crafts, the sorts that keep their hands busy.
Here’s a look at crafts from a psychological perspective that may help you view a character differently.

This is your brain on knitting
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/25/health/brain-crafting-benefits/

I took a playwriting class in college. When I took the last act in for a reading, the professor and several of the other students told me the ending didn’t give potential actors enough to work with. I should kill someone, they said. So I did. Have you tried it?

50 Movies Where The Main Character Dies | TotalFilm

http://m.totalfilm.com/features/50-movies-where-the-main-character-dies/

My favorite English teacher in high school taught me several lessons that have stayed with me. One was, briefly, “Don’t start sentences with ‘the.'”
Another was, “Don’t use ‘very.’ It means nothing.”
Imagine my delight when I found this post.

http://writerswrite.co.za/45-ways-to-avoid-using-the-word-very

A quirky trait or two help characters stand out from the crowd. Perhaps an expression he or she always uses might do the trick, n’est pas?

15 Delightful Foreign Terms of Endearment English Should Adopt | Mental Floss

http://mentalfloss.com/article/55564/15-delightful-foreign-terms-endearment-english-should-adopt?bypass=1