It’s Time to Start Eavesdropping… For Fun and Inspiration!
So, Eavesdropping? Seriously?
Eavesdropping really works, and it is probably a writer‘s best tool. Once you start listening in on conversations, you will open up a whole new world. Because real dialogue, interspersed with your created dialogue, adds realism. And it’s the kind of realism you may not have been able to pull off by yourself.
Subtlety
First of all, you have got to be subtle. This means maybe you pretend to play with your phone. Or you look out a window or stare into space. Because you should not be obvious about such things.
Furthermore, conversations are often layered. While you are perhaps listening to one person talk to three other people, there is a give and take between that person and the others. However, there are also words passed among the others in the group. Then they might even break off and begin their own conversations.
This doesn’t even get into what happens when you’re in a crowded room. Since it is hard to follow a lot of conversations, concentrate on only one or two. You won’t hear it all, anyway. Furthermore, if you split your focus, you won’t get anything good.
Nosiness
I am not saying you need to be nosy. Furthermore, this is not for gossip. You’re not some latter day Gladys Kravitz. Rather, you are a writer and you are doing research. And do yourself a favor and mix up what you hear. Don’t copy paragraphs outright. Instead, grab a sentence here and there. Write them down and put them away for later. Since you will presumably be writing for years, a sentence might work a decade from now. You never know.
The Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Innocent
Have you ever heard that? Make sure to change names. Or eliminate them altogether. You can also swap gender. Hence if a friend is complaining about her boyfriend, why not change the friend to a man? Or slip the complaint into something else. The complaint could be about your protagonist’s coworker.
Eavesdropping: Takeaways
Be subtle. Don’t use what you hear in order to gossip. Change the details. Finally, don’t repeat truly personal information (bank account numbers and balances, divorce proceedings, fatal disease diagnoses, etc.) unless you change nearly all of the verbiage. Be your usual pleasant, polite, and caring self. Yes, even as you gather some writing fodder.
And by the way, if someone notices you’re using their words, and they don’t want you to, be a sport and change your manuscript. That is, if you care about maintaining any sort of a relationship with them.
If not, then bombs away, I guess.
Eavesdropping — all the cool writers are doin’ it! 😉