For each trait character trait (greedy, lazy, always annoyingly happy), list three bits of characterization that could inform the reader that the character possesses this trait.
— William Bernhardt - "Creating Character"
Three is the number that moves a trait from assertion to pattern. One detail reads as incident, two could be coincidence, but three forms a shape the reader recognizes without being told what to call it. This is characterization by accumulation rather than declaration, and it respects the reader enough to let them do the assembling. Take greed: a character who recounts change twice, who steers conversation toward inheritance, who grows quiet and attentive the moment money enters the room. None of these says greedy, yet the pattern is unmistakable. The caution is saturation. Once three signals have landed, a fourth or fifth starts to feel like the author tapping the reader's shoulder, worried the point was missed. Trust the pattern once it's formed, then let the character act freely again.
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