Are you being watched?

If you think you're being watched, you probably are.

And the watcher is likely a novelist.

Writers use every occasion for 'people' research: Family reunions, board meetings, grocery store lines. No one is safe when we're on the hunt for a new character--which is all the time.

For instance, my family is headed to a certain Ozark Mountain theme park, which will be filled with folks who'll wind up in my stories. I'll borrow bits from each person, combine this characteristic with that facial expression, mash them together in my twisted imagination and...Bam! 

New scene, new character.

Take that woman next to me in line--tiny, well-coiffed, permanent smile. She's not as perfect as she seems. The backpack she's wearing has a secret compartment (they really should check better at the gate), and inside that compartment are two Glocks. Her ex-husband's here with his latest squeeze, and she's loaded for revenge.

That man over there? Hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched, grey-faced. He can't look anyone in the eye, doesn't respond when one of his four grubby kids tugs on his arm. His wife died last month, and he's barely holding it together. He's trying to talk himself out of the desperate plan endlessly circling in his mind. But the headlines next week will be tragic.

Yet, it's not all gloom.

That frumpy, unassuming woman next to the corn dog stand...the one in green sweatpants, who just bought cotton candy? She's going to break up a drug ring by listening to her intuition. No matter what that county sheriff says, it's just not normal to have so many strange cars out at the Mackey place. She'll have to bake a few pies to get people to listen, but her cousin-in-law Sueann is married to a DEA agent, who pokes around just to keep peace in his home. What he finds is a crooked sheriff with ties to a Texas drug cartel.

No one is safe from the prying eyes of a novelist.

So the next time you're in line at the DMV, look around. If someone glances at you, then looks away, beware.

You could be in someone's next novel.

Cheers...and Happy Writing!

-T

A Shot Rang Out, and In Walked Dirk...

Tall, handsome, with curly brown...no, wait, make that straight blond hair.

But maybe he's not that tall. I mean, Johnny Depp is only five foot ten. But if Dirk looks like Johnny Depp--swarthy, mysterious--then he ought to have dark, curly hair.

Okay, it's dark brown. Medium-length. Curly.

What's Dirk/Johnny wearing, though? Red flannel shirt and jeans...or a smooth-cut tuxedo? Think...(Taps chin thoughtfully).

Got it! He's in board shorts. Tanned, shirtless, showing off those Oh-my-God-are-those-photoshopped-abs. In fact he looks just like Matthew McConaughey; rumpled, unshaven, fresh off a surfboard and ready for a roll in the sand.

Except McConaughey's tall, which means Dirk/Matthew has to be tall...and blond. But at least he'll get to keep his longish, curly hair.

Although it would look nice short, like Daniel Craig's. And maybe with eyes like his...pure ice.

Dirk/Daniel has blue eyes, definitely.

***

In the end, when we think about fictional heroes, is it really their hair/eye color/build we remember? I say NO (except, maybe, in the case of McConaughey's abs.)

When I think about Depp, it's his sensuality I remember. And the way he talks--stringing his words together in loose abandon, like he's had a few pints. He listens, brings you roses. He's a long, slow weekend--with room service.

McConaughey, on the other hand, is a day at the gym. Lots of sweat and charm...and testosterone to burn. He's lovely--like a gladiator on display--but exhausting. And, like the gym, a few hours goes a long way.

Daniel Craig--the newest Bond--is harder to pin down, because there's a vulnerability beneath that stony exterior. He's a visit to the Louvre, followed by an intense, public argument that leads the best make-up sex you've ever had. And, while you're sure it's not going to last, you can't imagine living without him.

Now, a quiz: What does Dirk look like? (No peeking!)

Next question: In the second part, how many physical adjectives did I use to describe Depp, McConaughey, and Craig? (No, don't look. Just think!)

Okay, I went back and checked. We settled on short blond hair and blue eyes for Dirk, and I counted two adjectives: lovely (McConaughey) and stony (Craig)--neither of which describe hair, eye color, or build.

So maybe when I write about Dirk...

...I shouldn't worry about the color of his eyes.

Cheers...and Happy Writing!

-T