With art with writing, it is my belief that the key factor is observation. The closer you look at whatever it is that you are doing the finer the detail of the finished work. With art and writing, it is that fine detail that separated the ok from the really good and just that little more effort to make it great.
So where to observe? Everywhere, surely. You need to get into the habit of looking all the time, gathering tidbits, mannerisms, little details you can use in your stories.
I used a couple of expressions the other day, “pool perving” and “street perving” I had a lot of inquiries asking what I meant by those sayings. It sounds too kinky if I don’t explain properly. There are a couple of levels to this. On the surface, it is just looking at people either on the street or by the pool. But in all honesty, there is a voyeuristic element to it. I believe a lot of people take part in this kind of activity either consciously or subconsciously. Observing people on the street is a great way of observing human nature. A street café in Paris is an especially good place to look at life. For the cost of a couple of coffees, you see all the life you could ever wish for, all the characters you could ever need for your stories. The same goes for watching life by the pool, the same but with fewer clothes. Yes, I agree a bit pervier, but with dark glasses and a book, or seen discretely from a balcony a safe pastime that hurts nobody and can further your writing. We are writing romance and erotic romance for goodness sake, nobody said it could not be fun too.
I know I am potentially opening myself up for criticism, but I am only voicing what I believe the majority of us do covertly, both male and female. We look at people all the time. In a way, we are checking people out, it is more about browsing and appreciation. Right?
I would love to hear your views, thoughts, and stories you might like to share, on the blog, Facebook or Twitter.