Every week, Wrightspeak shares writing exercises with readers. This week’s exercise focuses on dialogue.

Everyone has overheard a conversation in public that they probably were not meant to hear. Oftentimes, hearing nuggets of an interesting conversation can spark creativity in writers. For this exercise, go to three public places this week and (secretly) listen in on three private conversations. Write down one line of dialogue from each conversation. Draft three short (2-3 paragraphs) scenes in which one character from each story uses a line.