Crucial scenes move fast, action scenes move faster, reflection is slow like a relaxing bath. A slower pace in between scenes permits tension to rise as the next level of danger arises. Find out where and how to use pacing in your stories. Character Sheets - These 10 facts will give you enough info to reveal how your characters will react in any given situation and is general enough to fill in quickly without sticking to the here and now of contemporary fiction. People from a character's past make good fiction.
All characters have a history and that history involves family, teachers, old friends and lovers.
A story where only new characters appear is not very plausible, this is especially true in novel length works. Learn how to avoid these pit falls.