Fiction prompt: watch someone

but not in a creepy way

Take your notebook out to a cafe or public space. Pick a person (or other being) to focus on. What can you learn about them by just watching and listening? A person who is constantly touching their hair might indicate nervousness. Someone who is arranging and rearranging the things on the table might show issues with control. If they are with someone or on their phone, listen to their conversation. What do you learn from this conversation? Do they repeat themselves, laugh nervously, raise their voice?

Make it a habit to do this exercise repeatedly. Get used to paying attention to the way people behave and what is revealed without exposition.

When you are writing fiction, use these sketches to help you create your characters and describe a scene. This helps to avoid pure exposition.

This technique will help to create compelling characters that readers will care for and relate to in some way, to make a story that readers can imagine and be invested in, to keep them reading.

Here are David Sedaris’ 5 tips for observing the world.

If you’re reading this and you are inspired, try it now. Then write one short paragraph about a character from your work-in-progress using what you learned from observing someone. Write in third-person from the character’s point of view. Put on a filter: you want the scene to reflect the character’s fear or nervousness or sadness? How does a nervous/sad/frightened person behave?

When you are reading fiction, notice how the author conveys characteristics about the characters and moves the story forward.

I’d be happy to help you with your fiction as part of my editing service. I’d love to work with you. Let’s start with a page of your writing.

May your day be full of creativity and joy.