I just learned this from one of the greatest ever

I,just learned this from one of the greatest ever: Douglas Adams, the man who could tell so much better than I can show. Beware! spoilers ahead for H2G2 (which everyone must have read by now). Think,back to the first chapter of the first book of the Hitchhiker’s guide trilogy of 5 books: his characterisation is established in the first paragraph of chapter 1: Arthur Dent, just out of bed (so sluggish, drowsy), describes the few simple steps to brushing teeth which apparently takes concentration at this moment. Making tea (yawning a lot) he’s startled by seeing a big shovel in the garden. Mr. Prosser bureaucratically overwhelms him, rendering the (somewhat dim, slow on the uptake) Arthur desperate to save his house. Soon afterward, his friend Ford Prefect is introduced (quickly, so with telling), described as a shrewd extra-terrestrial, not easily outwitted, because he knows so much more than earthlings. The contrast with Arthur is striking and comedically valuable. It feels as if the bits just slotted into place, but Adams probably put a lot of thought into this design. I discovered that http://www.nownovel.com has some good resources for characterisation: look for Character voices: how to write persona using voice.