eavesdropping 101

by Karen Dums


A tried, true and taught technique for writer's is eavesdropping. Finding yourself in a situation, any situation, can provide fodder for the pen.

You are dining in a small cafe'.  At a table near you is a young couple. They are engaged in a heated exchange. Your powers of observation kick in! Conjure a scenario that could make it to your page, or if you have a notebook handy, jot it down immediately. Possibilities are easy. Since the observer has no true knowledge of the situation, he/she can make one up. Is there a ring on her finger? No. She wants to get married, he doesn't. Or, both are wearing wedding rings. His mother is coming to visit, he's happy, she's not. Perhaps one of them just lost a well paying job. "How will we make the rent?" One of them just had an affair. "What do you mean you slept with Jack?!"

Recently I was a vendor at a flea market. To my right was a man with a small Jeep and one table. "How is he going to make a dime?" thought I. A pony saddle for sale plus three fish filleting knives and three bone pullers on his small table.  Would he take orders for delivery? Would buyers trust him to do that? His table was approached, people listened to his spiel. When we were packing up to leave he shared some info -- not one sale. Hmmm. Was my guess correct? Or do folks already know how to fillet fish without gizmos and trinkets? I don't know, but I could make something up...

On my left were an older man and a younger one. His grandson? They were selling cabinet pulls made from rocks and a type of mineral found in Mexico. "I spend my winters in Mexico," I heard the older man tell a potential customer. He didn't sell much either, nor was he as friendly as the man on my right. Rude? Shy? Unsociable? I don't know, but I could make something up...

Across the way was a couple, one male, one female, with six or seven tables loaded with household items. "Bet they're selling off their "inheritance" thought I. They did a brisk business all day. As we were packing up they said their folks had passed on. They'd been selling off what they could at flea markets and rummage sales all summer. Thus the hodgepodge of lamps, dishes, knick knacks, were what I had earlier guessed. Someone else's "stuff."  Did I know the entire story? No. But I could make something up...

Eavesdropping 101. Stop. Look. Listen. One never knows from whence the muse shall come.