What Can a Character’s Pocket Tell Us?

A character doesn’t always need a grand speech to feel vivid. Sometimes a small object does the talking: a key kept long after its lock is gone, or a scrap of paper folded and unfolded until its edges soften.

When you’re imagining a character, which detail would you rather discover first: what they choose to carry, or what they make from whatever they find? What might that choice reveal—and what would you leave for the reader to wonder?