Prompt # 17

It’s my birthday (week)!! I am celebrating by leaving my apartment for once. While I’m out in the wild, I always enjoy a little people-watching (read: eavesdropping) to remind me that humanity isn’t good or bad, it’s just silly. Today’s prompt can help channel overheard conversations to jumpstart your writing. If you take away anything from this prompt, I think I want it to be a reminder to listen. We can pull voices and characters from anywhere, and the world is full of people ready to enter your story!

If I overhear something fun while I’m out and about, I like to invent a story about them and run with it. What kind of person would say such a thing? What’s the context of the conversation? What is their relationship to the person they’re speaking to?

Today’s task is to use a random soundbite from out in the wild to jumpstart your writing. You can do this exercise in your living room while your family chats, at a cafe or restaurant where you can overhear passersby, or anywhere you want!

If you want to stay at home (an impulse I’m familiar with), you can turn on your TV or use Instagram reels or TikTok to play a game of roulette. Scroll or flip through channels until you hear something jump out at you—a phrase, a sentence, a quick exchange, whatever you want. You can also use Overheard LA or one from your city. Set your timer! Write!

Share this post to write with a friend!

I’m watching The Gentlemen on Netflix, and Cowboy Carter Memes

I’m reading Hollywood’s AI Judgment Day from

I’m listening to a 10-hour collaborative road-trip playlist for my upcoming drive to Baja!

How did it go? As a birthday gift, let me know in the comments.