You can’t tell me that the Dude wasn’t sparked by someone the Coen’s saw in person…
Good morning! Off-topic, today was my first day without medication for my back, so THANK GOD FOR THAT. Turns out walking 8+ miles a day is exactly what a busted lower back needs…Anyway!
When it comes to embracing weaknesses and looking at parts of my writing that need improvement, I get notes on characters more often than not. I can find a pretty cool concept, I can twist a trope in a unique way, but sometimes characters can evade me. At least, they have in the past….UNTIL NOW!
No, they still kind of evade me actually.
UNTIL THIS ONE WEIRD TRICK THAT READERS WILL HATE YOU FOR–Sorry, enough of the clickbait.
But I have gotten better and that’s what I’d like to talk about in this post. There’s a little tool that I use when first starting off on a new story or even if I’m just out in the world. It’s a part of jow I now create characters that are interesting and fun to follow AND arc. As always, this is just “A” way to do this, specifically my way, and more than likely, you’ve probably heard advice similar, but again, it’s my way of looking at the world. Let’s all learn together and hey, if you’re not learning, this is a reminder 🙂
The Glory of People Watching
When you watch people just act as they normally do when they think no one is watching [but you are] you come to sense a kind of musical rhythm to the flow of language, body movements, and sounds they make. The way people talk with their hands, the emphasis on certain words, the way they talk with their mouth full, etc. All of these little quirks and traits help build a character in your mind and add descriptions if you’re working on a book (whereas it’ll be much briefer in a script). The beauty of this simple exercise not only bulks up your writing brain, but it helps the directorial brain as well. I’ve had it happen a few times where we’ll be in between takes and an actor I thought was maybe overacting would get a note from me like “let’s do the line, but you’re just talking to me, forget the script. Feel free to change the language, whatever, but the point I want to get across is .” 9 out of 10 times, I got the take I wanted almost immediately afterward.
One thing I’ve learned, and this goes for whether you’re writing a book or a script, people watching allows you the opportunity to watch strangers try to arc their own scenes. One person clearly wanting something, the other person not wanting it and sometimes, you’ll get one person in a coffee shop having a one-sided conversation and you can just imagine what the other person is saying based on their reaction.
As an example, one day in the coffee shop in LA, I eavesdropped (not an ugly word) on a business meeting with a very well-known musician and two reps from a company that did stickers, buttons, patches and other goodies for the band. This company was trying to take the musician to them, while the musician was explaining who the band was and why their immediate designs wouldn’t work. The off the nose way in which he would say reasons why “this wouldn’t work for our brand” and the exasperated way the marketing gals would try to take him out of his comfort zone was super interesting. That’s great stuff you can apply to your scenes as well!
I like to use this app called Inkpad Notepad (they’re not paying me, BUT I’VE BEEN USING IT FOR TEN YEARS SO MAYBE THEY SHOULD) and I have many notes of just lines that I overheard when I was paying attention to the people around me. So start people watching if you don’t–
BUT WAIT. You already do!
You’ve done it anytime you’ve ever gossiped or started a story by saying “I heard this chick at the grocery store shout at the checkout boy, because they didn’t have anymore Big Chewy Nerds, the greatest candy of all time.”
Because when you people watch, you’re not just getting ideas for lines. You’re also getting free character studies done. (more like “People Watching Part Deux”)
This can sometimes take the idea of studying people when they think no one is watching and totally put it on its head. What do I mean? Did you hear about the fight that happened over the weekend in Arizona? Here:
https://twitter.com/gendenslow/status/1368349510053756928?s=20
Gross as hell, right? But think about this; even that little sequence had a short story in it. Characters in that vertical cam had motivations, things they wanted, difficulties in getting them, and sure enough, a climax you weren’t expecting! Or possibly were depending on whether or not you’ve ever stepped foot inside Scottsdale Fashion for more than just the soaps at Lush.
So that’s my little rant on people watching today. Hope this helped. Now get out there and eavesdrop and watch people’s bodies drop!
…But not really…
Do you people watch? What have you picked up on?
~Nic
