Lessons from a Bug
by Sable Jak
"Legal Voyeurism"
People always ask me where I find my characters. I tell them I'm a voyeur. If they get a little huffy, I remind them
that there's a bit of the voyeur in all of us. If there wasn't, people watching
wouldn't be such a popular past time.
As a writer, it's rare for me to just sit and watch. I see people and my mind
goes off on tangents. I invent stories around them, I put together biographies, I try
and figure out what they're favorite pet might be, and I even try to imagine being them for a little while.
The other day though, I came up with a new game to play. Instead of inventing lives for the people I was
watching, I'd describe them in just one word. The game had only one rule. The word could not be something
like: pretty, old, handsome, short, dirty, etc. It had to describe what my emotional impact was when I saw
the person. In other words, I had to react to the person's inner workings as reflected by his/her outer
appearance. By outer appearance. I don't mean body language. No way. I mean the array or
disarray of their clothing, their cleanliness, general attitude, and everything else that made them what they seemed to be.
I've never consciously done this before. Oh, we all have the odd individual that we meet and like or dislike
immediately, but I've never consciously tried to get an emotional reaction off of someone with just a quick
look. The experience proved to be both interesting and enlightening.
Hear are a few of the things I came up with:
A man in his 50's (I think) walked by with a quick, rather precise walk. Almost as if he were on his toes,
literally. He had a preoccupied expression and fingered a button on his
unbuttoned jacket. His lips were pursed. His back was straight, but his shoulders were slightly
hunched. It was his walk that affected me the most and my one word description was
"fussy".
A 20-something blond girl walked by. She had a slow, almost languid walk, which had to be difficult,
considering she seemed to be made of stone. The rigidity of her posture was accented by a highly held
head, making her look down her nose at everyone around her. The first word that came to mind was
"haughty" but it was immediately overrun by "insecure."
Enter the "quester." She had her purse tucked tightly under her arm. Her
head snapped (yes, it really did) from side to side, eyes darting (I know this sounds very much like a
cliche, but they WERE) from people to
tables to a newspaper rack. She reminded me of a dog looking anxiously for a tree.
Next came "easy". I figure he was in his early 30's. Jeans, loose but not sloppy t-shirt, small
ying/yang tattoo on his very nice left biceps. His walk was free and easy, not a swagger, not a "Hey look at me" walk,
just relaxed and easy. His face has a pleasant expression and he exuded a confidence that was
palpable. The walk lacked ego.
And then my favorite person walked by. One word descriptions did not magically appear. Had I been a
man I probably would have whistled or at least let loose with a heartfelt "Oh Baby". She was petite, about 5' 1"
tall, slender, with a one-shouldered top and a slim sarong style skirt. Her black hair was pulled back in a
braid that was as thick as my wrist. If she wore any other makeup than her lipstick I couldn't see it. I used
to do theatrical makeup, so I can spot a makeup job that's supposed to look "natural". Her eyes were dark,
her nose had a very slight hook, and her smile had all the warmth of a heartfelt promise to a child. I called her
"elegance". There wasn't a man or woman who didn't turn to watch her walk by.
My people watching time was up and I had to get back to work, so I went home and worked on a script, and
finished the design on a piece of cross stitch and went to bed. And then I woke up around 3:30 and started
writing this article. You see, I can't get these people out of my head!
Each one of them, simply by their walk, their posture, their very nervousness or lack of nervousness, has
created new characters for me. I may never see them again, but everyone one of them has become a living,
vibrant being, and I know that even though I only gave them a one word description when I saw them,
my emotional attachment to them has grown. I was so surprised! It had just been a simple little game.
I know that I will have to write about them. And you know what? I think I'll put them all in the same story.
The next time you're out people watching, try my little game. Try it on a lot of people, try it on only a few.
Then go home and forget about them, if you can. A friend of mine says he has a hard time developing
characters for his stories. I think I'll tell him about the game.
Sable Jak is a screenwriter who is still questing after the secrets of screenwriting. She loves Celtic art and finds a correlation between its
mesmerizing intertwining lines to both the craft of screenwriting and the business of film
making. If you'd like to reach her, do so at
sablecat@email.com.
Read Sable's past "Lessons From a Bug" by
clicking the buttons on the left navigation bar.
