You need to know a lot more about your protagonist than ever makes it into the pages of your novel. Try this exercise to get to know him or her better, even if your novel’s timeline doesn’t go anywhere near the end of December.
- What is on his Christmas list?
- What will she get, and from whom, and why? (Think what this could tell you about your protag’s mother, best friend, or spouse.)
- What does he know he’s never going to get? Why not?
- What will she get for herself?