by: Candace Hartsuyker

Writers are known for being people who like to observe their surroundings. Character watching can help writers get all sorts of ideas they may have not thought of before. I started a “character watching game” after I realized it helped me create fleshed out characters for my stories and novel ideas. Here are my four steps to creating fully developed characters:

1. Pick a setting. Think of a place that has a lot of people: a movie theater, gym, bowling alley, grocery store, or whatever you can think of.

Ex: I pick the grocery store.

2. Observe the different types of people. Note their age, whether they are male or female, hair color, and anything that stands out about them. After you gather these clues, you can make other observations that you think could be plausible.

Ex 1: Woman, late 20s, blonde. Wearing a black leather jacket and jeans.

Ex 2: Woman, early thirties, brown hair in a ponytail, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt with athletic sneakers.

3. Type of food they bought (note: vary with setting – for instance, type of movie they watched if you’re at the theater ).

Ex 1: Buys alcohol, breath mints, a pack of gum, and graham crackers.

Ex 2: Buys a water bottle, nutrition bar, and fruits and veggies.

4. Inferring from observation. What possible careers can you think of for these women through the clues you’ve gathered?

Ex 1: Perhaps she is meeting her husband and having a party to celebrate an event. Graham crackers may indicate she has just had a kid. Or to make it more interesting, she could be a college dropout who had a kid out of wedlock.

Ex 2: Perhaps this woman runs marathons or does triathlons. Or maybe she is an athletic trainer and her job requires that she stays fit.

As you can see, creating three dimensional characters is easy. All you have to do is pick a person or create a character and judging from their actions and their appearance you can pick up some possible motives. Why is your neighbor leaving his house so suddenly? Did he forget to buy an item at the store or is it something more sinister? Let your imagination run with you and you’ll be amazed at what you can come up with!

Candace is currently a college student majoring in English with a minor in Journalism. She has been published in Sweet Designs Magazine, Imagination Café, and Writing Kid. Her hobbies include swimming, reading, and writing. She enjoys spending her free time with her two Australian Shepherds.