The Art of People Watching

 

I am a people watcher.  Are you?  Especially in large crowds where people of all types, ages, sizes, and nationalities gather together.  Do you ever wonder what the lives of those you observe might be like?  I do.  It’s the exercise of people watching that sparks my imagination and begins to build new characters in my mind.  Some of these characters actually make it to the pages of my stories.  I love breathing life into them, building them up and making them believable.  It is an art form, taking a blank canvas and fabricating a realistic picture through the use of words. 

Not only do you have to visualize what your characters look like, you have to visualize who they are at the core.  You have to know who they are in order to build them into your plot.  I am amazed that when I become familiar with my characters, the plot changes to fit them.  And though I stay with my outline and begin and end the story as planned, the journey throughout varies. 

To begin, I start with a name, first and last.  I keep a small notebook where I record an assortment of names that I run across that are unique or that I like the sound of, that I can sort of picture in my mind.  The latest addition would be the name Timber (which came from contestant Timber Brown on the hit reality series America’s Got Talent).  I won’t use his last name but rest assured, one of these days you will run across Timber’s name in one of my novels and you’ll know where the name originated.

The next time you find yourself watching other people, take notes.  It’s a great way to spark your imagination and jumpstart those creative juices.  Whether you like to write or not, it’s remains an enjoyable exercise for the mind.