Watchful Writers

I'm going to let you in on a little secret . . .
Are you listening? Lean in closer, I don't want anyone else to hear. You ready?

You are being watched.

Not just by the government, God, and your nosy neighbor, but by writers.
As a writer, I constantly am on the look out for wearied people, quirky conversations, and odd events to put into a book. Why? Because a book isn't believable if believable things don't happen. Therefore, a writer must have a HUGE collection of real life weirdness for inspiration. For example I memorize conversations that are amusing so that I can put it into a story someday. If I see a customer who's odd, I watch and listen to them so that I'll have a new personality to base a character off of.
One time I took my watchful ways to an extreme. My s'ittle l'is (aka little sis) and I went to Wal-Mart with earbuds and a note book. We put in the earbuds and pretended to shop REALLY close to other people. By the way, the earbuds weren't plugged into anything and we weren't shopping. We were there to listen. Dialogue is a very key part in character development. What better why to learn how to craft such a delicate factor of a story then to listen to every day people during their every day lives?
I still have that note book of conversations by the way.
So watch yourself! You're being watched by the writers around you! You can't see us, but we can see you! We are everywhere! Beware!
BEWARE!