Like the boy in William Henry Hunt’s painting, you might enjoy listening to other people’s conversations. You’re more likely, however, to overhear quotable lines today in a restaurant, on a train, or in a hallway than in a barn.

An Eavesdropper’s Journal brings pleasure to its creator both at the time of collection and at the time when the words are paraphrased or directly inserted into a character of one’s own.

Collect choice words, phrases, sentences, or even multi-sentence dialogue that you hear. Capture distinctive examples of dialect, diction (word choice), syntax (word order), style, or content. Use your transcribed sound bytes to help you create realistic dialogue in your fiction.