Eavesdropping : It's your job!

The number one rule when a writer is out and about is: EAVESDROP

And make sure you have a notebook, or device to write conversations down!

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eavesdrop |ˈēvzˌdräp|verb ( eavesdrops, eavesdropping ,eavesdropped ) [ no obj. ]secretly listen to a conversation: she opened the window just enough to eavesdrop on the conversation outside.DERIVATIVESeavesdropper nounORIGIN early 17th cent.: back-formation fromeavesdropper (late Middle English)‘a person who listens from under the eaves,’ from the obsolete nouneavesdrop ‘the ground onto which water drips from the eaves,’ probably from Old Norse upsardropi, fromups ‘eaves’ + dropi ‘a drop.’
__________________________________________The saying that life is much more fantastic and unbelievable than fiction is often true. All you need to do is listen to conversations around you to believe it. People, not just children, say the funniest, oddest, and most disturbing things. And, I have the evidence.

Here is a list of odd sentences that I have overheard from random citizens:
1. "My dad always said we got Dubois, where's Dugirls?"
2. "She was green from a migraine headache."

3. "You can use big words in picture books, but they have to float off the tongue."

4. "I am just wild. I mean, maybe I'll have two dinners tonight."

5. "A poem should be like a sturdy toaster, you should be able to take it apart and put it back together and it should still function."

6. "Does sex in brackets work for you?"

7. "Laid off, so there could be x opportunities out there for me."

8. "For all I know he's a slob that kicks holes in the walls and raises goats in his living room."
9. "Daddy threw my poppin doll. Bam! He does not like my little doll cause he threw him. And, I laid on him and cried. He would not like it if I threw something of his."
10. "She hung her head as if the stem of it were broken."
11. "Yes, for Dick I will do anything."
12. "This espresso is yuck! It's garbage! This is garbage!"
13. "What happened? His back is all red. Did you hit him?" - "No. I didn't hit him, Mommy. And, I didn't step on him either."
14. "As long as my line gets wet, I'm content." (in reference to fishing)
15. "He's metrosexual in a tough guy way."
16. "That's so sorority chic of you!"
17. "I was always curious of death."
18. "Words are just words, you give them power."
19. "Why is it when you call a woman a slut, she gets so offended?"
20. "I don't like the woods, they are spooky."- "Tiger woods, I presume."- "No the woods woods."
21. "It's a good thing a keyboard doesn't run out of ink."
22. "I know I'm not gay, but I don't want to kiss a girl."
23. "Getting sick of this script." - "Never mind, I like this script again."
24. "OMG today was so awesome. I got a great deal on a mani/pedi and rockstar parking at the mall."
25. "No matter how hard you try to stay ahead of technology, they always get you."
_______________________________________As you can tell from some of the odd, funny, and plain disturbing bits of conversations, people are great at coming up with odd groupings of words. My favorite all time sentence is #8: That was from a man in his 40's sitting with a co-worker in an Olive Garden back East. I had to write that down!So, pay attention when you are out there. Write down what you hear. You may just get the first line of your next novel.
Write~On Angie