Free to Write

He was always watching...people whenever they were around him....their environment. He opened all his senses when he was watching. At work, in the park, at a shopping center or in a store, queues of people in lines, anywhere and everywhere he watched. He would make notes of clothing and hair style choices, facial expressions, mannerisms and other bodily movements, manner of interactions between people -- whether strangers or companions. Whatever he could observe, he noted. He kept copious notes. He was intentionally rather nondescript so very few of his subjects were aware of his observations. When he was alone he used his notes to help him craft characters, settings and situations for the books he was writing.