Writing About People

All writing is about people and their reactions to each other, problems in their lives, or how they see their environment. We read fiction and memoirs because we desire intimacy, read nonfiction to understand how other people think and see the world.

With this in mind, let's begin by describing a person. You can imagine him or her in a fiction or nonfiction setting. People are judged, known by what they look like, how they dress, wear their hair, where they live and work, how they decorate their home and office and how they make a living.

I. Carefully describe one of these characters/persons so that your reader has an accurate and lingering first impression:

A member of a cutting edge rock/rap/grunge/hip hop band
A failed actor
A person with a significant handicap
An unusually attractive man or woman sitting at the end of the bar
A gambler down on his luck
An unsuccessful politician
An immigrant from Bosnia
A retired truck driver
A middle age man or woman trying too hard to look younger
A 12 year old living in a boarding school
A former child star
A plumber
A stock broker
A professional thief or con man
A waitress who has just won big in Vegas or Reno
A person everyone at the office despises

II. Describe their setting. Our possessions and surroundings make powerful statements about our tastes, class, financial circumstances, lifestyle and habits. What does his or her office or cubicle look like? Or describe a bedroom, car, backyard, favorite room in the house, or institutional setting.