I Promise, I'm Not a Creep...I'm Just a Writer

Spent the day out and about today (Greek Festival, lunch, kicking around downtown, then a stop by the grocery store--Saturday is the only day I don't write), and realized I have a strange habit: chronic eavesdropping. I'm always on the lookout for things that will work in stories, and writing realistic dialogue is essential. So, I often find myself listening in to random people's conversations just to hear how they interact with each other (I do love to play the omniscient narrator--uh, Freudian slip: I initially typed omnipotent), especially when I have specific characters that I want to flesh out. For example, I had a three year old minor character in one novel, but my daughter's 14 going on 35, so I can barely remember what she sounded like at exactly three and listening to other little kids helped immensely. I just like to listen to the way people speak to one another, but I realize this can seem creepy, especially in those dangling, awkward seconds before I notice I've been made...