This post is by Wendy Fletcher.
She shares her thoughts on people watching and how the way they interact with each other and their surroundings. These thoughts inspire her stories that form from the pictures in the mind’s eye. An interesting piece, an observation on observations.
Wendy’s new book, The Railway Carriage Child is launching soon for details follow this blog or follow the link to her site at the end of her post
I started watching people having conversations and wondered what they might be saying to each other.
Poetic licence allowed me to record these conversations without ever hearing a word.
Body language played a big part in this.
Were the couple on a bench leaning in close?
Were their knees touching?
Did they hold each other’s eyes as they talked?
Another couple in a restaurant looked far more distracted. He pushed his vegetables around with his fork. She wiped her mouth nervously with her napkin.
A man with a dog sat in the park. Every time he threw the stick, the dog bounded back, dropped it readily and waited for a fuss. The man leaned over and gave him a hug; not just a pat but a real hug.
Here were characters for a story.
Without eavesdropping, without intruding, I could incorporate their unspoken dialogue into an imaginary scene.
Maybe the young couple were being drawn closer together by some adverse reaction to their relationship. Did they face opposition from parents who perhaps thought them too young for a serious commitment?
Could the older couple in the restaurant be those parents, could they be disagreeing about handling the situation?
And the man in the park; probably Granddad, lonely after the death of his wife, relying on the closeness he feels with his dog, but about to realise how much his wise words are valued by his family as he steps into the role of mediator; to listen to the concerns of his daughter and son-in-law, to feel the pain of his grandson, torn between teenage love and parental concern.
Yes, the idea is growing. I can meld together this family of characters who have never met.
Now I just need to go and write their story.
Wendy Fletcher
Wendy has a blog feel free to visit it Wendy’s blog
Soon to be published.
Whittlesey Wordsmiths 
People watching is my all time favourite hobby. I too make up stories about the people I have seen, and often wonder if they would prefer the lives I give them to their own.
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Now, that’s where I go wrong; I’m always in a hurry to get somewhere.
I’ve just remembered, I used to do this with my first husband in our early days, BC (Before Children). We used to comment on people in the pub and what they were talking about. I suppose we stopped once we had other distractions (such as said children and the mortgage) and, of course, stopped going in pubs so often. In those days you couldn’t take children into a pub. (On the whole, I preferred pubs when you could take your dogs in but not your children.)
Maybe that’s when I should have started writing.
Thanks for the reminder, Wendy. I need to slow down when I’m out of the house and people-watch.
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