My returning readers might remember, I was recently traveling for work and doing a little
blogging/people watching in the Philadelphia airport. As I sat waiting for my flight back home, I thought to myself, this would make a great blog post topic!
People watching is a fantastic exercise for both creating new characters and working on your character description skills. Any public place will do, but I especially love airports. They offer the opportunity to see a variety of people you might not otherwise encounter in your daily life.
In the past, I've actually volunteered to pick someone up at the airport just so I could arrive there early and have time to observe the people coming and going.
Don't mind me, I find joy in strange things.
I'd like to give a few examples of the potential character notes I made while in the
Philadelphia airport. Keep in mind these descriptions are from brief glances of people as they walked by, so most of these notes are short and sweet. When using them to create a potential character, there are often details that I couldn't see clearly (like eye color, if their teeth were straight or crooked, do they wear perfume/cologne, etc.). These are things I'll come up with myself later as the character develops, along with their personality traits.
Character #1:
Male, early 30's, pale skin, square jaw. Hint of stubble on his face.
Reddish/brown hair reaching down to his lower back in thick dreadlocks, tied together with a band.
Dressed in simple trousers and a white button down shirt with a long overcoat.
Moved fluidly through the airport crowd, obviously not in a hurry.
(For whatever reason, I imagined he had a thick regional accent, like he was from Boston, or possibly even a European accent.)
Character #2:
Female, mid-late 50's, olive complexion, strong nose. (Mediterranean extraction, perhaps?)
Full silver hair tied in a loose chignon. Minimal makeup, black-framed glasses.
Black pencil skirt, black button down shirt tucked into her waistband, fuchsia heels.
She had a worn, brown leather satchel over one shoulder. Walked with a purpose.
Character #3:
Male, late 30's-early 40's, Korean-American (He was speaking both Korean and English on the phone, so I feel confident about that detail. Sat across the aisle from me in the terminal for several minutes while he was on the phone.)
Thick hair long enough to be slicked back with gel. Clean shave, straight teeth.
Impeccably dressed, dark suit and sapphire blue tie, black pea coat, black dress shoes.
Had a black computer bag resting on the floor between his feet. Alert, constantly taking in his surroundings even while he was on the phone.
***
Whether you're celebrating the (US) holiday this week or not, I encourage you to take the opportunity to observe people. Whether you're traveling far away or sticking close to home, choose two or three people you don't know and make a few character notes!
Tell me: What is your favorite character building exercise? Do you find inspiration from the people around you, or does your imagination do most of the leg work?
The first, which I'm still finalizing the logistics for, is to do an entire What Am I Reading/Author Interview Christmas series in December!
I want to take the YA science-fiction novella I wrote for a competition last year, and serialize it for The Writing Desk Blog!
