PSA: I was stuck on a character for months until I saw a kid at the Denver library

I've been trying to write this detective, Leo, for a novel, but he felt flat. At the library, I saw a kid explaining his favorite book character's 'weird walk' to his mom, acting it out. It hit me that I'd never physically imagined Leo moving through a space. I started writing him just walking across his messy office, and suddenly he had a limp from an old injury and a habit of touching doorframes. Has anyone else had a tiny observation completely unlock a stalled character?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley7298d ago

Observing real people is the best writing hack.

quinnr408d ago

Totally agree. I started keeping a small notebook for random things I overhear in coffee shops. It gives my dialogue a way more natural flow than anything I could make up.