People Watching

Kind of a response to Tara's rhetorical question and I quote: "But how do you "research" guys hanging out without looking like some weird stalker?"

My only answer? Become a very good stalker.

People watching feels really awkward but you can actually get pretty good at it if you're constantly observing them.

"And here we see the now not so rare occurrence of a person who has no idea what they're talking about. Careful or we might spook 'em"

Ahem. My safari tour guide impression needs work. Moving on.

The best ways to actual observe people in their natural habitat is to ingrain yourself into their natural habitat. What do I mean by that, you ask? The answer is fairly simple, but it's just go make friends.  They don't even have to be your direct friends.  They can be your friend's friends that you would normally never hang out with save for the fact that some how your friend has given this group of people the 'ok'. (Which also may mean you need new friends anyway... but that's a psychology/sociology problem not a writing problem)

Sure they might not exactly be your cup of tea, but it's not like you're inherently obliged to keep in contact with them (barring of course if you actually want to pursue a longer lasting friendship).  You can just be known as the friend of the friend.  That's fine. I'm not asking you to go and literally make friends, but to put yourself in situations to go out into the world and well... experience new things and environments.

"Birds of a feather flock together"

The old adage that still rings true.  Chances are you and your most intimate group of friends have quite a bit in common. Sure, you may not have the same exact tastes, but I'm sure in the grander scheme of things you're more similar than different. If not, then good for you for branching out.  Either way, you're not going to  find any new fish if you keep fishing in the same metaphorical pond.

No friends to pester? No problem. Go join a new club/hobby/extracurricular/what have you.  The more interests you have the more 'ponds' you can choose from.

Now to the actual observation part.  This is probably the hardest thing to do because you need to function like a normal (well as normal as one can get) human being and still be observing them.  The easiest thing I've found is to actually listen rather than talk.  See who is talking and who is listening as well.  The power balance of the group.  Who's the 'leader'? Who's the 'yes man'? Who's the 'lancer'? Who's the whatever? (check tvtropes cause there's a trope for everything)

After you've established the roles of the group see how they deviate from those roles.  When does the person essential break out of their trope or add on a new one? When are they 'out of character'? This will help show that people can break out of their respective roles and surprise you.

And finally the what.  What on earth are they actually talking about? Conversations are actually very fluid and nonsensical, but nobody wants to read about how characters always ask how things are going so book conversations tend to be rather fast paced (especially where plot is involved).  Pacing is a tricky thing, so it's best to just let it go naturally and then go back and remove 'word fluff' (excessive words that don't help the story, although they may not hinder the story either, but there is a time and place for everything).

So let's sum that up real quick cause it's late and I'm kind of tired of typing. Here's my advice:

-Hang out with people that you normally don't or wouldn't hang out with (just once is fine, I do however suggest more.  But please don't hang out with super sketchy people.  Most important rule of human interaction, make sure you are comfortable and safe. If not, get out now)

-Think about how you would categorize actual people into characters (using tvtropes is a great way to get ideas)

-finally what do they talk about? (using real life ideas can help make your conversations more interesting and random. Remember the truth is stranger than fiction)

That's my advice... yup.