Week 4: Experiment – Observing People in Public
Get out in the world with your notebook in a place where people congregate. Your task
is to note dialogue (spoken words) and behavior by people in a public place. Don’t try to
eavesdrop on private conversations; focus on easily observable public behavior. How do
people greet the barista? Describe the man standing across the street at the bus stop, the
little girl running in the park, the teenagers as they walk down the street together.
Spend about an hour observing people and type up your notes. I’m looking for concrete
detail of behavior, words, appearance – not judgments or stories about people, but what
you can directly see and hear with your senses.
This can be hard to do. Often we go instantly from an observation (female, white hair,
walking slowly) to a judgment or opinion (frail old lady). Stay with the direct information
as much as possible.
This is practice for writing character studies and dialogue – the basic materials of story
telling.
Submit your notes by Friday, April 29.