DT Character Development

I was thinking this morning about how SK has mentioned before on how he puts his characters in a situation and sees what happens to them, if you will. He's said that he doesn't really do outlines but has a general idea of the story - letting the characters go where they may (to heavily paraphrase him).

Most of my thinking of nebulous things typically happens in the shower (apparently there is a subReddit dedicated to just that) and this morning I thought about how ballsy King had to have been to have Roland, a gunslinger, lose some fingers at the beginning of book 2. I have to wonder if it was a part of the general idea of the story or if it was one of the things that "happened". Either way, what balls he has.

Yes... he is a MASTER at character development. To do this well without boring the reader is a skill few possess.