From fact to fiction writing challenge

It’s been a fun and creative fortnight running The Open Book book shop in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Book Town. Our imaginations have run riot. See what you can do with yours and this writing challenge:

Take someone you know – or have bumped into – or have seen across a crowded coffee shop – and describe them as accurately as you can, looking for the idiosyncratic, specific detail that’ll pin them down.

Then, using that person as a seed, create a slightly larger than life character inspired by him or her – and use her in a short scene that could form the start, or part of a larger story. Set your scene in a book shop, preferably The Open Book.