People-watching is often a great way to come up with characters. Find a place with lots of people and observe the people for a while. Pick someone who catches your eye or maybe someone who's as boring as possible. Then look at their appearance, including clothes, hair, shoes, makeup, accessories, and companions. Look at what they're doing. Watch how they carry their body and how they react to their surroundings.
Now comes the fun part -- make up stories about them! You're not judging them -- they're just stories based on your perceptions. In fact, it's fun sometimes if you find out you're 180 degrees off! You can't judge a book by its cover!
Here are some places you can do some great people-watching:
Book store (This is a great one since you can sit and write about them!)
Popular public park
Restaurant
Hotel Lobby
Drinking establishment/club
Grocery store
Fitness center
Airport (try to find the terrorists)
Not all of those places are good for writing while you watch, but you can casually people-watch while out to dinner. Sometimes it's fun to share your stories with your dining partner!
This one can bring a lot of giggles. You might even notice that the hottie sitting at the table at your 11-o-clock is cruising you!
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