McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

People Watching

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WonderandAwe:
I was wondering if anyone else practices people watching.  I usually people watch at the mall or while I wait at the bus stop.  The reason I asked is that I have picked up this habit of creating personas of the people I watch.  I usually don't use the in any of my stories (I should start carrying a note book around so I can write the descriptions down). 

One variation of this is to try to imagine what that person would be in a different time period/setting.  For example, I would see a business man walking down the streets of downtown as some sort of nobleman, while the guy trimming the grass on the side walk would be a field hand. 

Does anyone else do this?

Danielle/Evie:
I do, sort of. I don't generally right anything down, but I go through possible senarios in my head. It's fun, and a lot of the time it ends up giving me a ton of new ideas.

ShadowInTheDarkness:
I do that.  I don't generaly use them in storys, but do it more so to entertain myself.  ;D

WonderandAwe:
I don't use them in stories either, but I think it does help when I do need to create a character for a story. :)

Tersa:
I don't generally base a character off of just one person I observe, but I love people watching.  I also evesdrop, though I don't tell anyone what I overhear.  I actually learn more about human behavior that way than I do interacting with other humans a lot of the time.  It's amazing what people act like when they think no one is watching.

Plus, people watching is a nice way to spend time... if you sit in the right place you can see every emotion in the space of an hour or so. 

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