Im drawing characters at the moment. Another little procrastination trick I’ve learned. I have several hundred to choose from.

For years I’ve been in the habit of people watching. I carry my notebook everywhere. Sketch what I see. With words instead of lines.

The man who wears the dirty Octoberfest tshirt to let everyone know he went to Germany 13 years ago. He never did anything else. Not in his whole life. But he went to Germany. And he drank beer. Once. I drew him.

I drew a man with heavy jowls. Blue suit. Red tie. Explosives expert in the 2nd world war. Before he became a preacher. His voice was soft. It rolled like thunder. The slow kind that lets you know something’s coming…but not yet.

I drew a woman with six children. Her husband left her. Her boyfriend didn’t want her but he let her support him. He was hungry and she was fat. She loved her children. They hung from her. The weight of them made her short.

I draw people at a glance. If their lives are anything like I imagine I never know. It’s better that way. They are my peoples. They are what I want them to be. What I need them to be for my fiction. I have books and books full of people. Ready to come to life. When I need them to.

I draw with words. Sometimes im a bit long winded.