Let's work on character today. Build an adult or young adult character or use one you've already created - not one from a fandom or built/owned by someone else. Make them so that they are not like you in significant ways, such as socio-economic background, accent or way of speaking, outlook on life, different life/childhood traumas. You should be able to answer the following questions about them.
- Where did they grow up?
- What do they do - e.g. occupation, homemaker, student, unemployed, homeless, etc.?
- Name one of their good habits and one of their bad habits.
- What incident/event from their past haunts them? It shouldn't be a good event, but doesn't have to be disastrous. For example, it could be as simple as in seventh grade, they said something to someone that they really regretted. You should know what happened and what they said that they regretted later.
Now, write a paragraph or two of them relating a recent event to a friend. Keep in mind the things above and use them to make them speak and behave in-character - use the right accent, make appropriate word choices and phrasing, have them react in accordance to the way they've been shaped by past experiences.